Team Manager

John Lewis plc; West Byfleet; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Night premium £4.75/hr

Job summary

John Lewis plc is seeking a Team Manager for Waitrose in West Byfleet. You will lead a busy shop, drive customer service excellence, and coach Partners to achieve high performance while managing holidays and absences. Expect varied hours and a competitive package, including potential night premium arrangements.

You will shape daily operations, engage your team, and partner with leadership to sustain a high standard of retail service and store performance.

Qualifications

• Experience of leading a team in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment.
• Ability to build high-performing teams and conduct regular performance conversations.
• Passion for retail with understanding of competition and market factors.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day shop operations in a fast-paced environment.
• Maximise sales and minimise wastage through commercial decisions.
• Maintain availability, merchandising, and secure store operations.
• Lead and inspire the team, manage holidays and absences.
• Foster a culture of care, pace and productivity, and implement change.

Skills

Team leadership

Customer service

Retail operations

Communication

Workforce planning

Recruitment experience

Disciplinary & Grievance

Education

Food Hygiene Level 3

Personal licence holder

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

Due to working time regulations, applicants must be 18 years or over to apply. As a Team Manager in one of our Waitrose shops, you'll influence and motivate your team and be a positive role model for delivering outstanding Partner-led, customer service that is distinctively Waitrose, passionate Partners serving food lovers. Your strong leadership and team working skills will make all the difference to your team and, ultimately, the impression our customers have about the Waitrose brand. Keeping them returning again and again by earning their trust and loyalty for a lifetime, whilst helping to maximise 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 £4.75 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Key Responsibilities

It's fast paced and at times you'll oversee the entire day-to-day operation of the shop.

• Using your commercial skills to maximise sales and profit while minimising wastage.
• Ensuring consistently high levels of availability and merchandising as well as delivering an efficient, legal, and secure store operation.
• Improving and maintaining customer satisfaction.
• Using your people skills to manage your team, from leading and inspiring to people related tasks like organising holidays and managing absences.
• Create a supportive culture of care, belonging, pace and productivity.
• Engage and lead partners in delivering and embedding change consistently and effectively within your shop.

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Experience of leading a team with a proven track record in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment.
• Ability to build high-performing teams, recognise talent, and hold regular, honest performance conversations.
• A passion for retail, understanding competitors and the economic factors impacting the Partnership.
• Ability to assess workload realistically and adapt plans to ensure deadlines are hit and stakeholder relationships are maintained.
• Ability to communicate with clarity and influence stakeholders at all levels.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Experience with Disciplinary & Grievance processes.
• Hiring Manager/ Recruitment experience.
• Food Hygiene Level 3.
• Personal licence holder.
• Experience in regulatory compliance management.

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Job Details

Closing Date: October 30, 2026

Pay: £32,000.00 - £45,600.00

Annual Contract Type: Permanent

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

Job Level: Partnership Level 8

Where You'll Be Working: West Byfleet (Waitrose & Partners), 60 Station Approach, West Byfleet, Surrey, KT14 6NE

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. At the John Lewis Partnership we're not just employees; we're co-owners, and that's why we're called Partners. Being a Partner means not only do we all collectively share the responsibilities of being the UK's largest employee-owned business, but we also share in its rewards and successes. It's this ownership model that makes the Partnership a very unique place to work.