Vacancy Introduction

You are responsible for supporting the Branch Manager in the entire running of your Branch.  In a typical day, you will be leading the Branch Team, managing stock levels, maximising profitability, ensuring Health & Safety compliance and supporting a positive customer experience at all times. 

This is an important role for the East of England Co-op, since the team you lead represents the Society in the community in which you are based.

You will participate in the Branch Management Team rota. Your working pattern will include shifts which reflect your branch’s operations, including weekends and evenings, and your Branch Manager will agree these with you, taking your need for flexibility into account where possible.

You may be asked to work elsewhere in some circumstances.

Role Responsibility

There are 4 key elements of your job on which your performance will be evaluated: Customer Service, Profitability, People Management and Compliance. 

We do not expect you to carry out all of the duties yourself, but to share appropriately with your Branch Manager, Team Managers and Customer Service Assistants and contribute to the management of their performance as agreed with the Branch Manager.

If you feel you need training, or if you experience any problems in delivering these elements, you should talk to your Branch Manager in the first instance. 

Accountability 1: Customer Service

Promote and manage a consistent and positive in-branch customer experience:

• Encourage a culture within the branch that puts customers as our top priority
• Develop and encourage employees to be friendly, flexible and helpful with customers and appropriately presented at all times
• Monitor the number of customers queuing and redeploy colleagues as necessary
• Keep the aisles uncluttered and free from stock and equipment Deal promptly with complaints and compliments, ensuring colleagues are updated
• Greet customers and make them feel welcome in their co-op branch
• Engage with customers and seek feedback on their shopping experience
• Encourage customers to become members        

Accountability 2: Profitability

Achieve Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as discussed with your Branch Manager:                                             

• Streamline and manage the process of promotional changeover to maximise sales
• Maintain stock availability in line with society space planning requirements and customer demand, having a balanced stock
• Minimise stock loss through security awareness and reporting
• Manage personnel costs through scheduling and use of systems e.g. Riteq
• Manage costs, consumables and depreciation, through accurate ordering and reduce to clear procedure, ensuring pricing is accurate and all expenses are justifiable
• Take positive action to minimise shop-lifting and other criminal activity
• Assess risks in your locality and plan how to deal with them e.g. Competitor activity, road works
• Be aware of local events and seasonal activities and plan how to maximise opportunities e.g. BBQ season, festivals and work with your community
• Ensure all legal requirements are met by you and your colleagues, good handling procedures in place

Accountability 3: People Management

At all times, work according to  the Society’s values and principles, time-frames, maintaining integrity and confidentiality, so that your colleagues are able to succeed in their roles and ably support your Branch:

• Actively contribute to the achievement of Branch KPIs with your Branch Manager and Team Managers and monitor and support progress throughout the year
• Contribute to managing the performance and attendance of all staff in the branch, ensuring cover is in place for planned and unplanned absences
• Manage issues as they arise – capability, conduct, training in agreement with the Branch Manager
• Participate in the Performance & Development Review for your colleagues, ensuring clear feedback is shared, understood, documented and acted upon
• Work with the Branch Manager on succession planning in your Branch and take action as needed
• Provide or arrange relevant training and development opportunities for your staff
• Participate in recruitment activity to get the right people in the right jobs at the right time
• Provide feedback for probationary reviews on time, so that new colleagues meet Society standards
• Talk to and listen to all your colleagues, ensuring your communications are understood and that all colleagues feel engaged with the success of the Branch and the Society
• Participate in change processes in your branch, set the standards, lead by example and ensure changes stick
• Support Engagement Survey participation and take part in action to lead improvements

Accountability 4: Compliance

As Assistant Branch Manager, support your Branch Manager in all safety, security and compliance related matters at your Branch, including, but not limited to:

• Consistently achieving and maintaining high standards of cleanliness, housekeeping and food hygiene
• Achieving, maintaining and managing compliance with all health & safety, food safety, age related sales, and security related policies and procedures including the society’s challenge 25 policy
• Ensuring all safety and security related accidents, incidents or significant occurrences are reported in line with the society’s reporting processes
• Ensuring all colleagues complete all required compliance related training courses
• Making sure there is a qualified first aider present on all shifts where practicable
• Striving to achieve consistently high-risk compliance audit scores and ensuring all findings / failings are rectified without delay

Additional Requirements:

Performance in your role depends as much on how you perform as well as what you do.  Use your skills and behaviours to be a positive member of your team, being a role model for the Society’s ethics and values.

The Ideal Candidate

• Willingness to abide by and role-model the Society’s values
• Good standards of numeracy and literacy
• Good communication skills with a broad range of customers and colleagues
• Proven good management or leadership skills
• Commitment to continuously improve the performance of your Branch
• Drive, determination and resilience
• Flexibility regarding working hours, and ability to plan to ensure the Branch Management Team covers the branch during all working hours

Package Description

Click here to find out more https://www.eastofengland.coop/careers/benefits-of-working-for-the-east-of-england-co-op.

About the Company

As a co-op we’re a different type of business. We’re owned by our members and we work for the benefit of people and our communities, not just for profit.  We’re driven by our democratic values which are based around being fair, doing the right thing and caring for all those we deal with.  This includes our customers, our suppliers, our environment and each other.  We expect colleagues who work with us to share these values. We’re still a business and we work in a very competitive area so it’s still important that we’re efficient and work to the highest professional standards.

Click here to find out more https://www.eastofengland.coop/.

East of England Co-op