Store Operations Manager – WHSmith

Our goal is to make every one of life’s journeys better and at the heart of this are our people, customers, and partners. As the Stores Operations Manager, you will play a critical role in ensuring that every customer’s journey is enhanced by an exceptional experience. You will be pivotal in driving operational excellence, leading your teams performance and creating an exceptional customer journey. You will be responsible for the day to day running of the store to support the Multi-Site Store Manager to deliver the business trading plan.

What being a Store Operations Manager is all about:

People:

• Developing and mentoring your team in customer service and operational excellence.
• Ensuring that each employee is knowledgeable about the product range, understands customer needs, and is equipped to deliver on sales goals. For InMotion, ensuring your team are experts in selling techniques, product knowledge, service assisted sales and are passionate about owning and closing the sale.
• Conducting regular performance reviews and new starter inductions with your team, setting clear objectives and identifying areas for improvement using the development tools available.
• Carrying out weekly 1:1's with colleagues to highlight performance peaks and opportunities, giving regular feedback.
• Fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where wellbeing is prioritised.
• Embedding and role modelling the Stores and Divisions/Districts engagement plan, ensuring colleagues understand their impact and feel empowered to contribute.
• Ensuring full compliance with HR processes, legal requirements, and people-related policies. Including Mandatory Training, Working Time Directive, Right to Work regulations, and HMRC guidelines.
• Managing and overseeing recruitment processes and activities, ensuring the selection of qualified candidates while aligning with company standards and hiring practices.

Plan:

• Working closely with the Multi-Site General Manager to support the delivery of the Business scorecard, People metrics and sales performance. Using data to formulate SMART plans into actions to drive the variability gaps in KPI's.
• Driving seamless store operations to ensure product availability for customers while minimising stock loss. Leading your team in maintaining organised stock areas by ensuring the implementation of processes and standardisation.
• Creating a safe working and shopping environment by adhering to safe and legal compliance.
• Keeping up to date with business communications and initiatives, ensuring these are clearly communicated to your teams across multiple channels.

Customer:

• Acting as a brand ambassador for WHSmith, InMotion and brand partners role modelling a customer-first culture with a passion for delivering a world-class experience. Ensuring everyone in your team knows how to sell, manage queues, and delight customers through friendly and helpful interactions.
• Regularly gathering and assessing customer feedback, sharing insights with the Multi-Site General Manager to continually refine and improve the customer experience across all formats.
• Creating excellent relationships with brand partners and suppliers for the benefit of our customers. Ensuring landlord relationships are managed proactively.
• Ensuring deployment schedules optimise customer service standards at key trading times, with a focus on sales and assisted service.

How we reward our teams:

We know you’ll work hard to make WH Smith a success and our customers happy, so as well as your salary, pension scheme, holidays (Management - 33 days including bank holidays) (Hourly paid 6.6 weeks including bank holidays) and employee discounts (up to 50%), we’ll reward you with a range of deals from retail partners that will help you save money and make memories, whether a delicious meal, an adventurous day out, or tickets to see the latest blockbuster. On top of that, you’ll get free staff parking, free travel on the A1, A3 and A4 busses and 25% off Holiday Airport Parking.

Whatever the future brings, our Employee Assistance Programme will support you with help and guidance for your wellbeing whether physical, mental or financial.

About us:

WHSmith has a remarkable heritage and we are growing particularly in our airports, hospitals, rail stations and motorway services. Our aim is simple, to offer our products to everyone on any of life’s journeys. Our InMotion brand, a leading digital accessories business, continues to grow and develop, offering an amazing customer experience with all the latest tech. We have created great partnerships with the likes of M&S and Costa Coffee, ‘broaden our offering’ to our customers throughout the UK. That’s why, as we continue our journey, our aim is simple: to make every one of life’s journeys better!

WHSmith are proud to be an inclusive employer, we want our colleagues to feel welcome, and free to be themselves with us.