L&D Head - Cultstore

Curefit; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Cult, from Curefit, is seeking a Training Head to build a retail learning function that lifts conversion, customer interactions and product sell-through across stores.

Lead competency definitions for sales roles, design an annual learning plan, onboard new stores, coach leaders, and partner with Operations and HR to track impact and sustain excellence.

This role requires hands-on store presence and a track record of translating frontline coaching into measurable business results.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant experience in retail sales training or frontline capability programmes.
• Experience leading multiple locations and onboarding at scale.
• Strong facilitation, coaching and assessment skills.
• Ability to translate product knowledge into customer-ready training.
• Willingness to spend substantial time in stores.

Responsibilities

• Own the retail capability agenda and set competency standards.
• Develop annual learning plans aligned with store expansion and product launches.
• Improve needs discovery, product recommendations and closing with customers.
• Standardise onboarding and certify readiness before independent floor deployment.
• Coach store leaders and develop trainers and frontline managers.
• Manage curriculum standards, learning systems and reporting.
• Collaborate with Operations and HR to measure impact and sustain improvements.
• Track productivity milestones and training-driven conversion.

Skills

Retail sales training

Customer service excellence

Frontline capability programmes

Facilitation

Coaching and mentoring

Product knowledge training

Performance analysis

Trainer development

Job description

About Cult

Curefit Healthcare Pvt Ltd, founded in 2016, is India’s largest fitness company and wellness platform. Cult, from the house of Curefit, was established with a mission to make fitness easy, fun and accessible to everyone, and has emerged as a community celebrating the joy of fitness. The brand today offers a range of fitness services ranging from group workouts, gyms and personalized fitness solutions, as well as an expansive selection of quality fitness products for the everyday athlete. The company’s vision is to empower everyone towards an active and healthier lifestyle through innovative fitness solutions, enabled by technology.

Role Summary

Build a retail learning function that improves conversion, customer interactions, employee productivity and product sell-through. We welcome leaders with a track record in retail sales capability or customer service excellence who can translate frontline coaching into measurable business results. Support existing stores and expansion through onboarding, certification and manager development.

Key responsibilities

Own the retail capability agenda

• Define competencies for Sales Associates, ASMs, Store Managers and Area Managers.
• Build an annual learning plan aligned with business priorities, product launches and expansion.
• Diagnose capability gaps through business data, customer-interaction observations and employee assessments. Agree priorities with Operations.

Improve conversion and customer interactions

• Develop needs discovery, product recommendations, value explanation, objection handling and closing through helpful, personalised customer interactions.
• Train listening, empathy, service recovery and complaint handling using standards owned by Operations. Use observation, customer feedback and mystery-shopping findings to target gaps and measure improvement.

Build sportswear and footwear expertise

• Translate technical features into customer benefits, including fit, sizing, intended use, footwear selection, apparel performance and product care.
• Work with Buying and product teams on accurate content. Deliver training before launches and assess practical recommendation skills.

Strengthen onboarding and new store readiness

• Standardise onboarding and certification before independent floor deployment.
• Agree readiness standards and productivity milestones with Operations. Plan trainer capacity against hiring and opening schedules.
• Track new employees until they reach the agreed productivity benchmark.

Develop store leaders and daily coaching

• Build development pathways for Sales associates, Store Managers and Area Managers.
• Equip managers to observe customer interactions, diagnose skill gaps and coach employees during normal trading.
• Support leadership development and succession plans with HR and Operations.

Build and lead the training function

• Develop the existing Training Manager and future trainers.
• Own curriculum standards, assessments, learning systems, certification records and reporting.
• Manage approved budgets and external partners. Combine classroom learning, digital content, role plays and store-floor practice.

Accountability and interfaces

The Training Head owns learning strategy, employee capability standards and measurable improvement from training interventions. The Training Manager owns delivery, scheduling, assessments, records and store follow-through.

Operations retains accountability for total store conversion, manpower availability, daily coaching execution, NPS, mystery shopping and service standards. The Training Head uses these findings to design interventions and develops employees to execute the standards.

Measures of success

• Training-led conversion improvement in participating stores, supported by observed selling and service behaviours.
• New-hire time to productivity against agreed role and store-cluster benchmarks.
• Product proficiency and sell-through improvement for priority categories through appropriate customer recommendations.
• Employee certification readiness before new-store openings.
• Store Manager coaching capability and application, including closure of identified selling and service skill gaps.

Targets will be agreed after establishing baselines. Impact evaluation will consider promotions, stock availability, staffing and traffic changes.

Candidate profile

• 10+ years of relevant experience, including leadership of retail sales training, customer service excellence or frontline capability programmes.
• Relevant backgrounds include footwear, sportswear, apparel, premium or specialty retail, hospitality and other customer-facing service businesses. Footwear or apparel experience is preferred, not mandatory.
• Retail sales capability candidates should demonstrate conversion or productivity gains. Customer service excellence candidates should demonstrate better service behaviours and customer outcomes, with a credible link to purchase, repeat business or productivity.
• Experience supporting multiple locations and onboarding at scale, with the ability to support new-store openings.
• Strong facilitation, floor-coaching and assessment skills. Ability to learn technical products and build category training with product experts.
• Ability to analyse performance, distinguish skill gaps from operating issues and partner with Operations to evaluate impact.
• Experience building repeatable learning programmes and developing trainers and frontline managers. Willingness to spend substantial time in stores.