Shop and Café Manager

Village Greens; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Village Greens Community Co-op in Prestwich is seeking a hands-on Shop and Café Manager to lead day-to-day store operations, nurture community engagement, and drive sustainable growth.

You will balance retail excellence with our cooperative values, manage a diverse team of staff and volunteers, and ensure high standards of food safety and customer service. This role requires strong leadership, financial acumen, and a passion for healthy, local produce.

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing a retail store or cafe environment.
• Strong financial management and budgeting experience.
• Experience leading diverse teams including volunteers.

Responsibilities

• Drive profitability by increasing customer footfall and average spend.
• Oversee daily store operations, stock, cleanliness and presentation.
• Lead training and build a positive team culture with volunteers.
• Collaborate with the Board to set strategic direction and market-responsive products.

Skills

Retail Mgmt

Financial Mgmt

People Mgmt

Compliance Knowledge

Communication

Co-op Values

Co-op Experience

Food Safety

Barista Skills

Grant Applications

Events Marketing

Tools

EPOS systems

Job description

Position Type: Full-Time, 37 hours per week (consider min 30 or job share)

Reporting to: The Board of Directors

Location: Village Greens Community Co-op, Prestwich

Village Greens is a community owned organic supermarket and café in the heart of Prestwich. We are usually open 7 days per week. Our mission is to become the community hub for happy, healthy, and sustainable living. As a community-owned co-operative, we provide quality products and services that are healthy for mind, body, and pocket, while ensuring our profits are reinvested right back into the local community.

We are looking for an energetic, commercially minded, and values-driven Shop and Café Manager to lead our store operations, champion our ethical mission, and drive sustainable financial growth.

Role Purpose

As shop and café manager, you will lead the day-to-day operations of the store, acting as the primary ambassador for our values. You will balance commercial retail excellence with community engagement, creating a vibrant, profitable, and welcoming environment for customers, staff, and volunteers alike.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial and Financial Performance

• Drive profitable growth by increasing customer footfall and average basket spend.
• Manage and deliver on key business KPIs, including Sales, Spend, Staff Costs, and Gross Profit.
• Formulate purchasing strategies to procure high-quality products aligned with our values at competitive prices.
• Generate positive cash flow to fund future community investments, store improvements, and new services.

Store Operations and Compliance

• Oversee all daily store operations, ensuring the shop is clean, well-stocked, and visually engaging.
• Establish and execute simple, efficient core retail processes to optimise daily workflows.
• Maintain strict adherence to ethical, legal, and regulatory standards, including Health & Safety, Food Hygiene, Weights and Measures, and Soil Association certification.
• Manage supply chain relationships to ensure reliable stock availability and healthy vendor partnerships.

Team Leadership and Community Engagement

• Line manage, rota, and develop a diverse team of paid staff and dedicated community volunteers.
• Build a positive, respectful, and high-morale working environment rooted in outstanding teamwork.
• Deliver planned training programmes to increase team capabilities and operational efficiency.
• Cultivate deep customer engagement, providing exceptional customer service that supports our community's lifestyle choices.

Strategic Development

• Collaborate closely with the Board of Directors to set strategic direction, deliver key targets, and implement change.
• Analyse market trends and customer feedback to introduce new, relevant products and community activities.

Person Specification: What You Bring

• Retail Management : Proven experience as a Shop Manager or Assistant Manager within a retail/hospitality environment
• Financial Management : Proven experience in budgeting, stock rotation, reducing waste, and operating EPOS systems.
• People management : Ability to motivate, train, and support paid staff and community volunteers of all backgrounds and ages.
• Compliance Knowledge : Familiarity with UK retail and hospitality regulatory requirements, including food safety standards, and health and sanitation practices and UK employment regulations, including the Equality Act 2010, and the Employment Rights Act, 2026.
• Communication : Clear, and accessible oral and written skills for interacting with members, sub groups, and local suppliers.
• Co-op values : An understanding of, or passion for, cooperative values and community-led businesses.
• Co-op Experience : Understanding of working within cooperative structures or community enterprise models.
• Food Safety Certification : Possession of a Level 2 (or higher) Food Safety and Hygiene certificate.
• Barista Skills : Competence in operating professional espresso machinery and training volunteers to use it.
• Grant application : Experience of applying for community grants
• Events management and marketing , including social media

Village Greens is committed to encouraging equality, diversity, and inclusion among our workforce. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative of all sections of society, and for each employee to feel respected, supported and able to give their best.