Head of Retail

As Head of Retail you will have full accountability for all the activities in our Shops and Concessions, both in the UK and abroad. Managing a retail headcount of over 1,200 staff you will be a natural and strong leader, giving direction and inspiration to a team of 5 UK Area Managers, Concessions Area Manager and an International Retail Manager. With a strong background in retail you will have a firm grasp of the role of shops in an evolving multi-channel customer mindset, and you will work closely with your peers in E-Commerce and Wholesale to ensure a seamless customer experience and that our Shops play their part in delivering our ambitious growth plans. You will report into a Trading Director who will give you the support and guidance you need to succeed in the job, but you will hold ultimate accountability for delivery and performance in shops. You will work closely with functions such as retail operations, merchandising, property, HR, finance etc. to ensure that your teams have all the tools they need to succeed, and you will be the 'voice of retail' in the Head Quarters in London, ensuring that retail shops, Concessions and International Concessions are at front of mind in strategic decision making. We anticipate this role to be split 1/2 days in HQ in London and the rest out in the field. What you'll be doing: Trading and Commercial

• Act as an 'owner' of the shop side of retail and Concessions to deliver commercial results in line with White Stuff's vision, mission and values.
• Deliver a high performing team through clear vision and goal setting, coaching and motivation.
• Maximise the performance of the shop portfolio through a combination of strategic planning and 'reactive trading'.
• Acts as the 'voice of retail' by bringing the high street into the business and providing timely, relevant and commercially useful feedback to help drive trade decisions.
• Bring proactive and thinking planning to the role - showing a strong ability to analyse data to spot trends and to plan solutions for the short, medium and long term that are in line with the retail and overall business strategy.
• Ensure delivery against key KPI's
Visual
• Take ownership of the delivery of the commercial visual proposition within shops.
• Coaches Area Manager team & International Retail Manager to deliver this consistently across the shop portfolio utilising the tools available.
• Works closely with visual merchandising, design, creative & marketing to feedback on visual factors affecting commercial performance and to help drive solutions and initiatives, and ensure a consistent brand experience for our customers
Customer Experience
• Champion our customer by ensuring that they are at the heart of decision making.
• Gain customer feedback to help improve the operation and enhance the overall customer experience in our shops.
• Champion, through the Area Manager team & International Retail Manager, the customer experience strategy for shops and Concessions. Ensuring consistent standards and delivery as well as innovation and future planning.
Product
• Ensure a product focus in our shops and Concessions through teams who are knowledgeable and passionate.
• Drive product feedback from the shops and Concessions back to the business.
• Build strong relationships with the product teams to enhance 2-way communication.
People, Talent and Succession
• Builds and leads a high performing team
• Drive a focus on people and talent with the Area Manager team and International Retail Manager.
• Ensure there are strong succession tools in place that are used consistently to grow talent within the business and utilise it well.
• Be the gatekeeper of standards of new hires and ensure that the benchmark is high and that there is a consensus of 'what great looks like' across the Area and Shop Teams.
• Coach the Area Manager team & International Retail Manager on people decision making to ensure the balance of commercial and employee is maintained.
Leadership
• Is a role model for the team and is able to inspire people through creating an exciting vision for the future.
• Is able to clearly demonstrate through actions and behaviours the company values.
• Is seen as a credible leader across the whole business and a true 'ambassador' for shops by being able to develop and maintain relationships across all departments at both peer and a more senior level.
• Can build good external networks.
• You will have frequent exposure to the Executive Team and be present at all multi-channel trading discussions and have the ability to input and influence future trading and strategic decisions.
What you'll need:
• Already a Head Of in a smaller environment retailer, or hold a wide remit retail role in a bigger organisation, looking for an opportunity to take full ownership of a retail portfolio.
• You will have worked your way up through a retail career and have experience of managing retail space as a manager in large space.
  
  You will be a real retail entrepreneur with a true passion for being out in shops delivering great commercial performance and customer experience.
• An intuitive and commercial retailer.
• Deliver with great energy and drive and have the ability to inspire and lead a field-based team.
• You will love our customers and ensure that they are foremost in the strategy and decision making for the team.
• Have strong leadership qualities that translate across the wider business and be able to naturally build close and beneficial relationships with key stakeholders.
• Is a role model for the company values in both actions and words.
• Straight talking and honest without the need to rely on corporate rhetoric to get the message across.
• A forward-thinking retailer who is abreast of the ever-changing retail landscape which includes technology, multi-channel and the future of retail and shopping habits.
• Outstanding communication, influencing and relationship building skills that enable you to build strong links both internally and externally to the company.
• A strong understanding of multi-channel retail and the ability to work cross functionally with other channels to support the whole success of the business, whilst being a clear 'voice' for the retail channel and its needs., You will have Area Manager experience in both big space and more niche boutique backgrounds.
• Your experience will be strongly based in apparel and ideally encompassing both womens and menswear product, with an emphasis on womenswear.
• Significant experience of delivering success within a commercial Brand led retail environment.
• Can demonstrate examples of delivering a cohesive retail strategy across a national geography which includes both stand alone and concession business models.
CHARACTERISTICS AND SKILLS:
• Possess outstanding commercial and analytical skills as well as showing a true insight into customer behaviours and needs.
• Positive, enthusiastic individual with a 'can-do' attitude
• Desire and ability to work collaboratively, balanced with a sense of individual accountability
• Results driven whilst remaining empathetic to colleagues and customers
• Strong thinker with an enquiring mind, decisive but fair
• Strong communication and influencing skills, a confident and effective communicator able to engage with a diverse range of audiences
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate a field-based team and right across a national and International geographic estate.
• Recognises and acknowledges achievements and efforts appropriately and intuitively whilst learning from past experiences
What we will offer you

As a Head of Retail at White Stuff you will be entitled to an array of great benefits, some of which include:
• Hybrid working
• Annual bonus opportunity
• Up to 36 days holiday per annum
• 2 extra (paid!) days off per year to volunteer in the local community
• 50% discount
• Subsidised BUPA Dental Insurance
• Healthcare cash plan and Life Assurance
• Interest free season ticket loan
• Pension Contribution
We are committed to creating an environment where we can all be proud to work and be ourselves. Part of this commitment is being an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, and age.