Main Store Manager Grade 2

Funky Pigeon; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Employee discounts up to 50%

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

WHSmith is seeking a Store Manager for a M&S store in Greater London. You will lead a fast-paced team to deliver exceptional customer service, hit sales targets and drive store performance while ensuring a safe, welcoming environment for colleagues and customers alike.

You will focus on developing staff, coordinating with the regional team, and maintaining high standards of store operations, compliance, and customer satisfaction.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a high-performing team to achieve sales targets.
• Ability to create a learning culture with development opportunities for colleagues.
• Proven skill in setting clear, measurable targets and monitoring progress.
• Strong ability to share local insights with central teams to maximise opportunities.
• Experience planning for people development and succession with regional support.
• Proven ability to manage performance and drive store standards.

Responsibilities

• Drive a high-performing team to achieve sales goals.
• Create a culture of learning, support and recognition across the team.
• Set and review clear targets, aligned with business objectives.
• Collaborate with Support Centre to maximise local opportunities.
• Develop and implement people development and succession plans.
• Maintain store performance communications and continuous improvement.

Skills

People leadership

Retail operations

Customer service

Organisation

Stakeholder management

Recruitment onboarding

Job description

Our teams work hard to make customer and colleague journeys in life possible, we offer our amazing products to everyone on any of life’s journeys. We are particularly proud of the great partnerships we have with M&S.

WHSmith has a remarkable heritage and we are growing particularly in our airports, hospitals, rail stations and motorway services.

As a Store Manager in our M&S store, you’ll lead and inspire your team to provide exceptional customer service, meet business objectives and create a working environment that helps our colleagues to develop and achieve. We want you, our customers and our colleagues to be proud they’re starting and sharing their journeys with us.

What being a Store Manager is all about:

• Driving a high performing team to achieve great sales results.
• Creating a culture of learning, support and recognition - spotting opportunities for development of personal skills, product knowledge and self-awareness, in an environment where everyone feels valued and welcome.
• Playing a key role to make sure your colleagues are supported, setting clear and measurable targets, which are reviewed regularly.
• Working with our Support Centre to share your knowledge of the local environment to maximise local opportunities and community involvement.
• Having a robust people and succession plan in place and working with the Region to support people development for all colleagues.
• Keeping teams up to date on store business performance and appropriately challenging what can be done to improve.
• Creating a sense of pride within the store to ensure both colleagues and customer facilities are of a good standard, and that we are operating safely and legally.

What our Store Leadership Team would love to see:

• Current Store Manager (or equivalent) in a fast-paced food retailer or similar environment.
• Someone who can energise, influence and motivate the team to deliver exceptional service and performance.
• Strong organisation skills and someone who is proactive and able to prioritise well, in a fast-paced retail environment.
• Experience of proactively leading from the front, getting stuck in and helping your team on the shop floor.
• Experience in managing the employee lifecycle from recruitment, onboarding and ongoing performance reviews.
• Proven people development experience, focused on fostering a supportive, productive, efficient and inclusive environment.
• Strong stakeholder management experience, someone who can influence and communicate with your team, peers, Support Centre colleagues and senior stakeholders.

How we reward our teams:

We know you’ll work hard to make WHSmith a success and keep our customers happy, so as well as your salary, pension scheme, holidays (Management - 33 days including bank holidays) and employee discounts (up to 50%), we’ll reward you with a range of deals from retail partners that will help you save money and make memories, whether a delicious meal, an adventurous day out, or tickets to see the latest blockbuster.

Whatever the future brings, our Employee Assistance Programme will support you with help and guidance for your wellbeing whether physical, mental or financial.

WHSmith are proud to be an inclusive employer, we want our colleagues to feel welcome, and free to be themselves with us.