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Responsible to: Area Manager

Working hours and contract: Part time, three days per week

Salary: £14,359 London Living Wage, FTE £23,933

Location: East Sheen

Start date: Immediate

Role Responsibilities:

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To deliver shop income plan

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To achieve gift aid income objectives, donor sign up and conversion. Improving processes to deliver maximum value, coaching colleagues to success

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To support and manage pricing to ensure items are processed in line with policies and procedures, training volunteers to ensure compliance, recognising and thanking the team for their contribution

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To develop a culture of ownership and follow up within own team and volunteers

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To adhere to safe, legal & secure requirements and standards for the shop, both front and back of house

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To induct, train and coach new colleagues, as evidenced through induction paperwork and development plans

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To role model and promote effective team communication, celebrating success and sharing best practice

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To liaise closely with the Area Manager, Warehouse Manager, Volunteer Manager, Visual Merchandising Manager and Retail Partnerships team

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To role model exceptional customer service to supporters and donors, providing feedback in a timely manner

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To ensure the highest standards of customer care and service are demonstrated by self, line reports and volunteers

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Promote, monitor and act on internal and external customer feedback

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To evidence effective local networking to generate donations and volunteer engagement, including local business and other stakeholders

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To monitor and check security of stock and debrief variances with the Area Manager

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To proactively assess own development needs and seek out development opportunities to enhance contribution to Retail objectives and operations

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To take ownership of good housekeeping for all areas of responsibility

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To accept responsibility and carry out any other task commensurate to the role

Sales and Profit

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Monitor and be accountable for sales and category performance, and space management, as well as ensure that the team are aware of and engaged in the shop’s financial performance

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Foster a creative and entrepreneurial shop environment where team members seek to maximise income in new and innovative ways both within the shop and through a variety of channels, such as community events

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Manage the team to maximise income from Gift Aid on donated products

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Ensure that all of Vision Foundation financial procedures are adhered to and executed in a timely fashion by the shop team

Shop Floor

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Ensure sourcing sufficient levels of donated stock locally in collaboration with the shop team

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Establish efficient and commercially successful stock processing systems (such as pricing, quality standards, consumer safety, stock density and culling stock), including backroom systems and ensure these are adhered to by the volunteer team. Ensure that all legal and Vision Foundation internal regulations regarding donated stock are adhered to

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Inspire the team to provide a great customer and donor experience, which enables The Vision Foundation to attract new supporters every day. Ensure that feedback, including complaints are escalated to the Area Manager within the agreed timeframes

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Empower the team to create original, appropriate and commercially successful visual merchandising displays, including shop windows

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Make sure that all procedures for the sale of new and donated corporate products are followed by the volunteer team

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Work with the Area Manager to ensure our shops are in good condition, maximise their potential and are fit for purpose

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Provide a safe and healthy working environment and ensure that all team members are aware of and operate within Vision Foundation’s health and safety policies and procedures, including waste management and customer safety

Leadership – Volunteers

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Recruit, induct, and retain an inclusive and diverse volunteer team, which is large enough in numbers and capable to maximise the shop’s income and profitability and guarantee the smooth running of the shop.

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Maintain an empowered, well trained, motivated and engaged volunteer team with excellent levels of communication at team and individual level.

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Connect the volunteer team with Vision Foundation’s work and help them to understand the value of their contribution

Management - being part of Vision Foundation

- Play an active part in the charity, including attending and contributing to all-staff meetings

- Play a key role in enabling the shop to represent Vision Foundation and increase the knowledge of the local community about our mission and work

- Be accountable for the integration of the shop into the local community in collaboration with the shop team

- Empower the team to respond to all appeals and fundraising opportunities.

- Adhere to and enforce Vision Foundation’s safeguarding policies.

Flexibility

-The role description is a general outline of duties and responsibilities and may be amended as the charity develops and the role grows. The post holder may be required to undertake other duties as may be reasonably required from time to time.

Application process

Please forward a CV and supporting statement, outlining your skills and experience relevant to the role and motivations for applying for the role (two pages maximum), with the subject ‘Application for Shop Manager East Sheen’ to us.

The interview process is planned as follows:

-Short telephone interview

-First full interview via Teams

-Final face to face interview with SWOT analysis

We value the authenticity and individuality of our applicants and believe that your CV and cover letter should reflect your unique skills, experiences, and personality. Therefore, please refrain from using AI tools, including ChatGPT, to produce your application materials. Applications drafted with the assistance of AI will be automatically rejected.

Other benefits

We value our staff and volunteers and want to make sure that they are supported in their work. We also offer:

- A great team and a supportive culture

- Employer pension contributions matching up to 10%, and death in service cover

- Generous parental leave

- Study leave and financial support for training & development

- A cycle to work scheme, eye test vouchers, a staff loan scheme, and access to an Employee Assistance Program

- An active Social Committee and staff events

Accessibility

We believe in fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of their abilities or circumstances, feel supported and valued. If you have any accessibility requirements or specific needs that you would like us to accommodate during the application process, please let us know. If you are unfamiliar with MS Teams and would like to familiarise yourself with the platform before the interview, we are more than happy to arrange a tech run-through to ensure your comfort and confidence.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Don’t meet every single requirement? We encourage you to apply anyway. At Fight for Sight and Vision Foundation we are deeply committed to build a diverse and inclusive workforce in all our aspects of our charity. We value the unique perspectives, experiences, and contributions that individuals from diverse backgrounds brings to our team.

We have an inclusive and accessible recruitment process, including any adjustments required to support people from diverse community groups.

EDI Monitoring Form: Fight for Sight is an equal opportunities employer and particularly welcomes applications from people with sight loss. We treat everyone fairly and equitably across the organisation, including providing any additional support and adjustments needed for everyone to thrive. We would appreciate it if you could fill in this Equality and Diversity Monitoring form when applying for our roles. These answers are anonymous and will not affect your application.

Every six minutes someone learns that they are losing their sight. Every five hours, a baby is born with sight problems. In these moments, two profound questions emerge:

• Can this be stopped?

• How do I (or my child) live this life?

The merger of Fight for Sight and Vision Foundation, which took place on 1st April 2023, will enable us to address both questions. By combining our strengths and expertise we are now the only significant national funder with the efficiency,

capability, and capacity to increase investment in medical research and social improvement. Together we can mitigate both the prevalence and impact of sight loss. We have a clear ambition – to save sight and to change lives.

We have worked through our merger and have a clear focus and vision. We are ambitious for the impact we can make. This ambition includes retail growth plans and an income generation strategy to open more shops over the next five years. We currently operate shops across London selling donated goods, including an online eBay shop.

We are now looking for experienced, committed, and creative individuals to join our dynamic team as we launch a new five-year strategy. You’ll be part of something impactful, we’d love to hear from you.

The Shop Manager will play a crucial role in the future growth of our newly merged charity and the impact that we can achieve through partnership for people with sight loss