Supermarket Assistant, Team Leader

John Lewis Partnership; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail partnership in Edinburgh is seeking a Team Leader for its Waitrose shop. The ideal candidate will excel in customer service, support shop operations, and lead a team to maximize sales. A strong understanding of retail and leadership skills are essential. The role offers varied hours with a competitive hourly rate of £13.64. Join a company that values its employees and fosters a supportive working environment.

Qualifications

• Experience of working in a customer-facing role.
• Good people and leadership skills.
• Understanding of retail and how to maximize commercial success.

Responsibilities

• Support shop's management with managerial tasks.
• Ensure Partners operate safely and legally.
• Fulfill online customer orders for delivery.
• Manage stock replenishment and layout.
• Drive the shop's commercial performance.
• Reduce wastage through product due diligence.
• Maintain a tidy working environment.

Skills

Good people and leadership skills

Good understanding of retail and commercial success

Experience in a customer-facing role

Good stakeholder management skills

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Team Leader within one of our Waitrose shops, you'll help our difference be felt by our customers on every visit, providing the Partner-led service and passion for food that our competitors can't compete with - passionate Partners serving food lovers.

Your drive to go the extra mile to help both customers and Partners will make all the difference to the impression our customers have about the Waitrose brand and keep them returning again and again by earning their trust and loyalty for a lifetime. All the while helping to maximise on sales and profit. In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £3.50 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Due to working time regulations, applicants must be 18 years or over to apply.

Key Responsibilities

• Supporting the shop's management team with managerial tasks and work with all other areas of the shop to meet customer demand.
• Ensuring Partners are operating in a safe and legal manner.
• Fulfilling online customer orders ready for our drivers to deliver their shopping direct to their doors.
• Stock replenishment - ensuring our shelves remain as full as possible and products are in the right place at the right time for our customers.
• Working with the wider shop team to support when needed including checkout support, managing Click & Collect orders, fulfilling on-demand customer orders and more.
• Being proactive in helping to drive the commercial performance for the shop, offering ideas for continuous improvement to the operation.
• Reducing wastage by following product due diligence and markdowns to those reaching their sell by dates.
• Maintaining a safe and tidy working environment with general shopkeeping tasks.

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Good people and leadership skills.
• Good understanding of retail and how to maximise commercial success.
• Experience of working in a customer facing role.
• Good stakeholder management skills when working with third parties and the wider Partnership.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

Duty Manager Training (Internal Partners only).

Closing Date

November 19, 2025

Pay

£13.64 Hourly

Contract Type

Permanent

Hours of Work

Varied hours of full time work (37.5 hours) across seven days to include early starts, late finishes, evenings and weekends.

Job Level

Partnership Level 10

Where You'll Be Working

Morningside (Waitrose & Partners), 145 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, Morningside, Midlothian, EH10 4AX

About the Partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note

• It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.
• We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.
• We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.