Retail Store Manager

The Works; Dorking; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

The Works in the United Kingdom is seeking a Retail Store Manager in Dorking to lead a busy store on a 40-hour contract. You will inspire and develop your team, drive commercial performance, and ensure a welcoming, well-run shopping experience for customers.

You’ll own store operations, from people and performance to standards and service, using data and market insight to hit targets. This role offers hands-on leadership and opportunities to grow with The Works.

Qualifications

• Proven retail management experience.
• Excellent communication and organisation.
• Ability to use data to drive decisions.
• Experience with rostering and payroll is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop your team to deliver excellent customer service and achieve store targets.
• Lead by example as a brand ambassador representing The Works to inspire your team.
• Take full ownership of store performance, using data and insights to drive results.
• Ensure high standards of visual merchandising, stock availability, and store presentation.
• Recruit, onboard, and train new team members, building a high performing team.
• Manage rotas, payroll, and operational tasks to ensure efficient day-to-day running.
• Maintain compliance with health & safety, cash handling, and loss prevention policies.

Skills

Retail management

Leadership

Customer service focus

Data-driven

Store operations

People development

Communication

Tools

EPOS systems

Job description

Retail Store Manager

40 hour contract

Why The Works?

We don’t just sell products. We inspire reading, learning, creativity and play.

You could recommend the paint set that helps someone discover their inner artist. The book that inspires a future author. The game that brings a family together. Or the puzzle book that reconnects someone with a treasured memory.

You never know what future outcomes your customer interaction might spark, or who someone might become. With your passion and our products, you’ll help people discover new interests, explore their creativity, find a new hobby or reconnect with something they once loved.

Whether you’re engaging with customers on the frontline or supporting our colleagues behind the scenes, your impact can be profound and far-reaching.

The unseen possibilities are limitless - and it all starts with you.

Become a Retail Store Manager

As a Store Manager, you are responsible for leading your store to success. You’ll inspire and develop your team, drive commercial performance, and ensure every customer enjoys a welcoming, well-run, and engaging shopping experience. You’ll take ownership of all aspects of store operations, from people and performance to standards and service.

Your mission is to deliver exceptional service, spark brilliant conversations, and help customers with their shopping missions - whether it’s discovering new products they'll love, or finding the perfect gifts for someone else. By getting to know their interests or shopping mission, you’ll be ready to recommend things that surprise, delight, and inspire them. You’ll also play a key role in keeping the store well-stocked, tidy, safe, and welcoming. You help create an environment where everything runs smoothly and everyone feels supported, included and developed in the team.

Being a Brand Ambassador

Being a brand ambassador at The Works isn’t your job title. It’s the way you bring our brand to life every day through the moments you create. It’s the smile that puts someone at ease, the warm welcome into the store, the way you support your colleagues with kindness and teamwork, the conversation that helps a child discover their new favourite toy, or the encouragement that inspires someone to reconnect with their creativity, or their love of reading. These small interactions - the ones that feel ordinary to you, often become extraordinary memories for the people who walk through our doors.

Whether you’re on the shop floor, in our distribution centre, or at our support centre, you’ll always be representing our products, services, values and behaviours in a positive and authentic way, whatever the environment, where ever you are. You help build trust, brand awareness and loyalty simply through how you show up. At The Works, we are all Brand Ambassadors.

Your Mission

• Lead, coach, and develop your team to deliver excellent customer service and achieve store targets.

• Lead by example as a brand ambassador representing The Works to inspire your team to follow.

• Take full ownership of store performance, using data and insights to drive results.

• Ensure high standards of visual merchandising, stock availability, and store presentation.

• Recruit, onboard, and train new team members, building a high performing, engaged team.

• Manage rotas, payroll, and operational tasks to ensure efficient day-to-day running.

• Maintain compliance with health & safety, cash handling, and loss prevention policies.

• Foster a positive, inclusive, and supportive team culture where people feel developed, and genuinely cared for.

• Collaborate with your Area Manager, stores in your area and central teams to implement business initiatives and share feedback from the shop floor.

Skills / Behaviours That Will Set You Apart

• Proven experience in a retail management role.

• Strong leadership and people development skills.

• Commercially focused with a track record of delivering results.

• Excellent communication, planning, and organisational abilities.

• Confident using data to inform decisions and improve performance.

• Flexible, resilient, and able to adapt to changing priorities.

• Experience in a high-volume or value retail environment.

• Familiarity with retail systems and reporting tools.

• Experience managing recruitment, training, and performance processes.

• Tech savvy with using back-office systems, EPoS Tills, emails and video calls.

Being a Great Leader

As a great leader with wonderful people skills, you'll create an environment that's more inclusive than just co-workers - it's a team.

• Inspire and motivate your team in line with our employer brand, values, behaviours and purpose.

• Lead your team to reach their potential and steer your store to break records and get in the spotlight.

• Work collaboratively with support departments and peers.

• If something's not quite right, speak up so we can work together to get it right or make it better! - Nobody is too proud for constructive feedback so we all win together!

• But let's not forget about the most important part… your