Seasonal Toy Demonstration Lead

FAO; New York (NY); On-site; USD 32,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Store Incentive Bonus

Comprehensive Medical, Dental & Vision

Employee discounts

Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits

Retirement Plan (401k + Match)

Paid Vacation + paid company holidays

Paid + Unpaid sick time

Job summary

FAO Schwarz in New York seeks a Seasonal Toy Demonstration Lead to guide a team on the demo floor, maintain high-energy guest engagement, and translate curiosity into sales through storytelling and performance.

You will own daily routines, coach in the moment, collaborate with store leadership, and ensure demonstrations are ready, on-brand, and world-class during peak retail periods.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of leadership experience in retail, hospitality, theatre, or experiential environments.
• Experience coaching and developing team members through feedback and daily floor leadership.
• Strong presence on the floor with real-time decision-making in a busy guest environment.
• Ability to balance theatrical guest engagement with operational discipline and commercial awareness.
• Strong communication skills and adaptability across a diverse team and guest base.
• A genuine interest in toys and the FAO Schwarz brand.
• Ability to stand for extended periods and lift up to 25 pounds.
• Flexibility to work days, evenings, weekends, and peak retail periods.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Sales Floor: set and protect standards across demonstrations for energy and guest readiness.
• Coach and develop a team of Toy Demonstrators with on-the-spot feedback.
• Run opening/closing routines and ensure props, products, and tech are ready.
• Manage guest flow and zoning, adjusting coverage to keep demos smooth.
• Drive demonstrations during events and brand activations with team briefings.
• Partner with Visual, Operations, and Store Leadership to stay on-brand and aligned.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Decision making

Guest engagement

Job description

The Role at a Glance

The Seasonal Toy Demonstration Lead is the hands-on leader behind the magic on the demo floor. You’ll guide and develop a team of Toy Demonstrators, foster a strong sales and performance culture, and maintain the standard of energy and expertise that makes FAO Schwarz demonstrations unmissable. You work closely with your team, coach in the moment, and make real-time decisions to keep the magic alive.

You balance people leadership, operational discipline, and high-energy guest engagement to ensure every demonstration is world-class.

Creating the Magic

Lead the Sales Floor

• Set and protect the standard across all demonstrations, ensuring every demo feels energetic, expert-led, and consistently guest-ready.

• Complete regular observations and give direct, specific feedback that raises the bar on quality and guest connection.

• Work shoulder-to-shoulder with the team during busy moments, role-modelling the energy, pace, and guest engagement that turn curiosity into excitement and excitement into sales.

• Manage guest flow and zoning in real time, adjusting coverage and pace to keep demonstrations running smoothly throughout the day.

• Play an active role in special events and brand activations, ensuring your experiences are prepared, the team is briefed, and every moment lands as it should.

• Escalate guest feedback and demonstration issues to store leadership in a constructive, solution-focused way.
  

Lead the Team

• Coach and develop a team of Toy Demonstrators, adapting your style to bring out the best in each person.

• Show up for new team members during onboarding, ensuring they ramp quickly and feel confident in delivering your experiences to a high standard.

• Recognize strong performance and hold the team accountable when expectations aren’t met, escalating people concerns when needed.

• Embed selling skills and demonstration standards on the floor, reinforcing the connection between great storytelling, guest engagement, and sales results through practical, everyday application.
  

Run the Operation

• Own the daily zone chart, deploying the demo team across stands so coverage is clear, balanced, and responsive to what’s happening on the floor throughout the day.

• Lead opening and closing routines across demonstrations, ensuring all props, products, equipment, and technology are in place and ready before the store opens.

• Monitor stock levels across demonstrations, identifying and escalating out-of-stock risks and ensuring store on-hands align with sales plans and trends.
  

Drive Business Performance.

• Understand how your demonstrations contribute to store performance and drive behaviors that lead to strong guest engagement and sales results.

• Monitor demonstration performance and use floor observations to identify opportunities and share relevant context with the team.

• Coach team members on guest engagement and selling techniques, ensuring they can confidently convert interest into action and consistently meet or exceed targets.

• Drive a culture where strong guest experience and commercial results go hand in hand.

Partner Across the Store

• Collaborate with Visual, Operations, and Store Leadership teams to keep your experiences on-brand, well-presented, and aligned with store priorities.

• Work closely with fellow Leads so the floor operates as one cohesive team; sharing knowledge, aligned on standards, and covering each other where needed.

• Act as the guardian of the demonstrations’ floor standards, ensuring FAO Schwarz and any partner brand expectations are upheld consistently.

• Be the eyes and ears on the floor, surfacing guest insight, team feedback, and demonstration trends to store leadership so the right decisions get made.

What Success looks like

You’re doing well in this role when:

• Your demonstrations are running to standard – energetic, immersive, and consistently guest-ready.

• The team knows what’s expected, feels supported, and is growing.

• Sales targets are being met, and the associates understand how their engagement drives results.

• You’re the calm, trusted presence that leaders rely on and associates turn to.

• Operational routines are tight, and demonstration readiness is never a question.
  

This role aligns with Level M3 in our Career Framework and reflects first-line leadership responsibility, subject-matter expertise across your experiences, and growing ownership of team performance and delivery. It provides a strong foundation for progression into Assistant Manager roles (Level M4).

You don’t need to be perfect, but you do need to be confident leading a team in a fast-paced, high-energy environment.

• 2+ years of leadership experience in retail, hospitality, theatre, performance, or experiential environments.

• Experience coaching and developing team members through feedback and daily floor leadership.

• Strong presence on the floor and confidence in making real-time decisions in a busy guest environment.

• The ability to balance theatrical guest engagement with operational discipline and commercial awareness.

• Strong communication skills and the ability to adapt across a diverse team and guest base.

• A genuine interest in toys, play, and what the FAO Schwarz brand stands for.

• Ability to stand for extended periods and lift up to 25 pounds

• Flexibility to work days, evenings, weekends, and peak retail periods.
  

This job description should not be construed to contain every function/responsibility that may be required to be performed by this role. Employees are required to perform other related functions as assigned.

• $23.00 - $25.00/hr + Store Incentive Bonus

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental & Vision coverage

• Employee discounts

• Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits

• Retirement Plan (401k + Match)

• Paid Vacation + paid company holidays

• Paid + Unpaid sick time

Thisjobdescriptionshouldnotbeconstruedtocontaineveryfunction/responsibilitythatmayberequiredtobeperformedbythisrole.Employeesarerequiredtoperformotherrelatedfunctionsasassigned.

FAOSchwarzisanEqualOpportunityEmployer.Wedonotdiscriminateonthebasisofrace,color,religion,creed,sex,age,nationalorigin,citizenshipstatus,maritalstatus,sexualorientation,genderidentityorexpression,disability,militaryorveteranstatus,arrestorconvictionrecord,predisposinggeneticcharacteristics,statusasavictimofdomesticviolence,oranyothercharacteristicprotectedbyapplicablefederal,state,orlocallaws.