Shop Manager - Maternity cover (6224)

The Children's Society; Greater London; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

36 days annual leave

Pension matching up to 8%

Free counselling

Volunteer time off

Free parking

Career development

Job summary

The Children’s Society in North Chingford is seeking a confident Shop Manager to lead the shop within our Retail Domain. You will manage a small team, deliver excellent customer service, engage with the local community, and drive shop income in line with budgets.

This fixed-term role runs until February 2028, 37 hours per week across 5 days out of 7 (including Sundays). The successful candidate will oversee volunteers, handle cash with accuracy, and contribute to safeguarding and the charity’s

Qualifications

• Retail or supervisory experience required.
• Excellent people and customer service skills.
• Good IT skills.
• Experience cash handling and budgets.
• Confident, positive and resilient leader.
• Advantage: supervising volunteers.
• Advantage: understanding charity retail sector.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team to deliver excellent customer service.
• Drive community engagement and income generation.
• Manage shop operations and volunteers.

Skills

Retail supervision

Customer service

IT skills

Cash handling

Budget awareness

Job description

Fixed Term until February 2028

37 hours per week (5 days out of 7 including Sunday's)

£27,820.80 per annum

Location: North Chingford

Benefits include but not limited to:

• 36 days' annual leave, inclusive of flexible bank holidays, increasing with length of service
• Enhanced maternity/paternity leave
• We match up to 8% pension
• Free counselling service
• Opportunities to develop and widen your skills
• 2 days of paid volunteering time per annum to support another part of the organisation
• Free parking

About us:

The Children's Society has been helping children and young people in this country for over 140 years. We deliver essential local services that provide safe, trusted support to children and young people during times of significant need.

We run over 100 retail shops covering the whole of the UK - every one of these shops play a vital role in our mission to providing support to children and young adults. Every day we're changing the lives of children in this country for the better - and with your help, tomorrow we can be there for even more.

About the role:

This role sits within our Retail Domain, which transforms donated goods into vital income to support young people across the UK. You'll play a key part in our North Chingford shop, leading a team to deliver excellent customer service, community engagement, and income generation. As part of this role, you will be required to follow a shift of 5 days out of 7.

We're looking for a confident and motivated Shop Manager with the ability to lead people, grow a volunteer team and drive shop profits, driving improvements that strengthen the shop's performance and community impact.

Key Skills and Competencies:

The required skills and competencies for this role are:

• Retail or similar supervisory experience,
• Excellent people and customer service skills
• Good IT skills
• Experience of cash handling and basic understanding of performing to income and expenditure budgets
• Confidence, positivity and resilience in managing the shop and making decisions in the absence of the Shop Manager

It would also be an advantage if you have any of the following skills and competencies:

• Experience of supervising volunteers
• Understanding of the charity retail sector

Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 4th October 2026.

Interviews: Date to be confirmed.

The Children's Society is committed to safeguarding and protection of the children and young people we work with. As such, our safer recruitment process includes a Basic or Enhanced DBS check, 2 years of references, and additional vetting checks relevant to the role. We have a comprehensive range of policies and procedures in place to promote safeguarding and safer working practices across all areas of our organisation.

In support of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, shortlisting is carried out on an anonymised basis. Personal details are hidden from the shortlisting panel, and candidates are referenced by a candidate number only. As part of this process, we ask that your CV is anonymised before submission - this means removing personal information such as your name, contact details, age, and any other identifying details.

AI tools can support your application but only when used appropriately. You're welcome to use them to improve clarity, structure, and research. However, overuse or misuse (e.g. inventing experience or using AI during assessments) may lead to rejection at any stage. We want to hear the real you - authenticity matters.