Retail Team Leader

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty; Cranbrook; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Substantial pension scheme

Free entry to National Trust places

Rental deposit loan scheme

Season ticket loan

EV car lease scheme

Perks at work discounts

Holiday allowance up to 32 days

Flexible working whenever possible

Employee assistance programme

Free parking at most Trust places

Job summary

National Trust in Sissinghurst is seeking a Retail Team Leader for the on-site shop. You will manage daily shop operations, lead a team of staff and volunteers, and drive sales while delivering exceptional visitor experiences.

You will oversee stock, promotions and coordination with other teams to support the National Trust's conservation work. The role follows annualised hours with a year-round salary paid in 12 installments.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead, support and develop a retail team.
• Strong focus on delivering excellent visitor service and commercial performance.
• Experience supervising staff and volunteers in a retail environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage onsite shop(s) to ensure a delightful visitor experience and meet financial targets.
• Monitor stock, promote products and support profitability.
• Lead by example and foster income generation for conservation work.
• Coordinate with colleagues across departments to deliver excellent service.

Skills

Team leadership

Customer service

Stock management

Staff supervision

Job description

If you're great with people and have a talent for making the most of a shop's potential, we're looking for a Retail Team Leader in the National Trust shop at Sissinghurst. In this role you can help everyone to have an enjoyable and memorable day.

This role is based on annualised hours, where the amount of hours you work each month may vary, however your salary will be paid in 12 equal instalments over the year.

You'll be working weekdays and weekends including a fair share of bank holidays. Working hours are generally within 9:45-6 in the summer and shorter days in the winter. On average you'll be working two days per week but again this will flex with an increase in our busier months during the summer and a slight decrease in the winter months.

Summary

If you're great with people and have a talent for making the most of a shop's potential, we're looking for a Retail Team Leader in the National Trust shop at Sissinghurst. In this role you can help everyone to have an enjoyable and memorable day.

This role is based on annualised hours, where the amount of hours you work each month may vary, however your salary will be paid in 12 equal instalments over the year. You'll be working weekdays and weekends including a fair share of bank holidays. Working hours are generally within 9:45-6 in the summer and shorter days in the winter. On average you'll be working two days per week but again this will flex with an increase in our busier months during the summer and a slight decrease in the winter months.

For this role, you'll need to complete our online assessment instead of using a C.V. or online application form. This will help us understand more about your strengths and give you more information on the role.

What it's like to work here

To find out more about what it's like to work within "Retail" at the National Trust, click here to watch our video.

What you'll be doing

You'll help manage our onsite shops, ensuring they are a delight for visitors and commercially successful. You'll monitor stock, promote products, and support the achievement of ambitious financial targets. You'll lead by example when it comes to focusing on income and profitability, which help to fund the National Trust's vital conservation work.

You'll be supervising staff and volunteers in both of our retail shops on site, the main shop and the plant shop, an interest in plants may be helpful for the role but not essential. You'll be working alongside colleagues in other departments to give the best possible service to everyone who visits.

Having our own onsite nursery means that you'll need to collect plants by trolly and transport them to the plant shop as well as looking after the paperwork relating to deliveries and stock control.

You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. You don't need to have all the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what's possible in this role.

Who we're looking for

• able to lead, support and develop a team
• confident dealing with a people in a variety of situations, including when they have complaints
• focused on giving great service to everyone you meet
• a team player, but also happy to work on your own initiative
• well-organised and adaptable
• willing to learn new skills

The package

The National Trust has the motto 'For everyone, for ever' at its heart. We're working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It's important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we're for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
• Rental deposit loan scheme
• Season ticket loan
• EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.
• Flexible working whenever possible
• Employee assistance programme
• Free parking at most Trust places

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.

National Trust place

Sissinghurst, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, TN17 2AB

Documents

Retail Team Leader - A2.pdf

Requirements

Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK

Additional information

Closing Date: 11th October 2026

Interview Date: W/C 19th October 2026

Equal Opportunities Statement

The National Trust celebrates diversity and is committed to creating a fair and equal society, free from discrimination. You can read more about our commitment to inclusion and diversity here .

Safeguarding Statement

The National Trust is committed to a safe recruitment processes to help the organisation attract and appoint the right staff/volunteer for the role and responsibilities as set out in the vacancy advert. We will not accept applicants who are not suitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk. If you have any questions around your suitability for this vacancy, please contact the people service centre.