JOBPROFILE:RETAIL

MANAGER
THEWORK
Retailmanagersareresponsiblefor
runningretailoutletsrangingfromlarge
supermarketstosmallindependent
stores.Somemanagerswillruna
departmentorsection,whileothersare
responsiblefortheoverallbusiness
successofastore.
Asaretailmanager,someofyourduties
woulddependonthetypeofstoreand
whetheritisindependentorpartofa
chain.Yourworkcouldinvolve:
managingandmotivatingstaff
makingthesurethatyourstoreor
departmentmeetssalestargets
lookingforwaystoincreasesalesand
improveefficiency
managingstocklevels
analysingsalesfiguresandforecasting
futuresales
dealingwithtakings
recruitingandtrainingnewstaff
beingawareofcompetitors,market
trendsandcustomerexpectations
ensuringstandardsforquality,
customerserviceandhealthandsafety
aremet
handlinganycustomercomplaintsor
queries
organisingspecialpromotions,displays
andevents.
Youmightalsoneedtoservecustomers
whenrequired.
HOURSANDENVIRONMENT
Inafulltimejobyouwouldnormallywork
between35and40hoursaweek.Your
hoursarelikelytoincludeweekendsand
mayincludeevenings,dependingon
yourstore'sopeninghours.
Youwouldhaveanofficebaseinthe
store,butyouwouldspendmuchofyour
timeontheshopfloor.
SKILLSANDINTEREST
Youshould:
beagoodteamleaderwithlotsofself
motivation
beabletocommunicateclearlywitha
varietyofpeopleatalllevels
becommittedtotheneedsofthe
customer
havestrongdecisionmakingskills
bewillingtotakeonresponsibility
havetheabilitytounderstandrelevant
laws
becomfortablewiththeuseof
informationtechnology.
ENTRY
Tobecomearetailmanageryoudonot
usuallyneedspecificqualifications,
althoughyouwillneedtobecompetent
inmathsandIT.Itismostcommontobe
promotedtosupervisorormanagerin
houseafteryouhavegainedexperience
asasalesassistant.Youmayalsobeat
anadvantageifyouhavemanagement
experiencefromotherindustries.
Youmaybeabletogetintotheretail
industrythroughanApprenticeship
scheme.TherangeofApprenticeships
availableinyourareawilldependonthe
localjobsmarketandthetypesofskills
employersneedfromtheirworkers.For
moreinformationonApprenticeships,
visitwww.apprenticeships.org.uk.
Youcouldalsojoinalargeretailchain
directlyasatraineemanager,througha
managementtrainingscheme.Most
companieswillaskyoutobequalifiedto
atleastAlevelstandardtojoina
managementtrainingscheme.
Whenyouarelookingforwork,youmay
finditusefultohaveafoundation
degree,BTECHNCordegreeinretail
management,businessoramarketing
relatedsubject.Youcantakearetail
degreeasasandwichcourse,which
includesayear'sworkplacementtogive
youhandsonexperience.See
FoundationDegreeForwardand
UniversitiesandCollegesAdmissions
Serviceformoreinformationandtofind
courses.
TRAINING
Onceyouareworkingasaretail
manager,youmaybeofferedsomein
housetrainingifyouworkforaretail
chain.Youwillalsobeexpectedto
developyourmanagementskillsonthe
job.
Yourtrainingmayincludethechanceto
gainworkbasedqualificationssuchas
NVQLevel2inRetailSkills,Level3in
RetailandLevel4inSales.
Structuredgraduatemanagement
trainingschemesusuallylastaround18
monthstotwoyears.Larger
organisationswillofferaprogrammeof
ongoingtrainingthroughoutyourretail
career.
OPPORTUNITIES
Theretailsectoremploysaroundthree
millionpeople,or11%oftheUKs
workforce.
Jobsmaybeadvertisedinthelocaland
nationalpress,JobcentrePlus,on
employers'ownwebsites,instoreandon
specialistrecruitmentwebsites.
Withexperience,youcouldprogressto
areaorregionalmanagerifyouworkfor
aretailchain.
Youmayfindthefollowinglinksuseful
forjobvacanciesandfurtherreading:
http://www.drapersonline.com
http://www.inretail.co.uk
http://www.jobsinretail.co.uk
http://www.retailcareers.co.uk
http://www.retailmoves.com
http://www.retailweek.com
http://www.brc.org.uk
Wedonotacceptresponsibilityforthe
contentofexternalsites.
ANNUALINCOME
Startingsalariesareusuallybetween
14,000and20,000ayear.
Withexperiencethiscanriseto
between21,000and28,000ayear.
Someseniorstoremanagersearn
40,000ayearormore.
Youmayalsoearnextrabonusesand
commissionformeetingsalestargets.
Figuresareintendedasaguidelineonly.
FURTHER INFORMATION
SkillsmartRetail
FourthFloor
93NewmanStreet
London
W1T3EZ
Tel:08000935001
http://www.skillsmartretail.com