Retail and Product Development Manager (Fixed Term Contract)

Product Development & Buying
• Develop new product lines from design concept to delivery for the core collection and temporary exhibitions throughout the year.
• Deliver new product ranges to agreed timelines to meet seasonal changes and reflect the public programme, refreshing product lines in response to regular product performance reviews.
• Carefully source and buy in further off the shelf stock to fit with bespoke merchandise.
• Work collaboratively with further internal teams to secure stakeholder buy in and identify gaps in ranges, attending meetings to represent the retail team as required.
• Liaise with existing and new suppliers to source new products and maximise margins.

Finance & Strategy
• Ensure effective processing of invoices and credit notes as stock is received.
• Prepare weekly and monthly financial reports promptly for the Finance Department to assist with accurate reconciliation, investigating and reporting on any discrepancies as they arise.
• Regularly analyse sales figures for shop and ecommerce channels, reporting performance against departmental KPIs to the Head of Commercial & Front of House and devising further strategy to drive improvements.
• Deliver quarterly performance report for trustee papers.
• With the support of the Head of Commercial & Front of House, develop and maintain the annual budget taking into account the forthcoming programme and take responsibility for setting and achieving annual KPI targets.

Stock and Operations Management
• Maintain stock levels, ordering stock and sundries and setting prices to maximise profitability.
• Accurately add stock to the inventory system and manage the system regularly to ensure consistency in records, the online shop front and stock levels.
• Oversee routine stock takes to ensure inventory data is accurate and implement additional controls as necessary.
• Plan and deliver annual stock take, overseeing the team in a series of counts, checks and reconciliation on the inventory system, reporting notable discrepancies the to the Head of Commercial.
• Create and implement appealing visual merchandising plans seasonally to drive sales and promote accessibility and attainability to diverse audiences.
• Review the shop layout and merchandising plans against sales data, implementing promotions and re-pricing and redisplaying product as needed.
• Ensure that established standards of cleanliness and merchandising are upheld on the shop floor.
• Maintain all aspects of Collection policy and procedure with the team and on the shop floor and participate in H&S drills alongside the retail assistants.

Team Management
• Lead on all recruitment, training and ongoing performance management and development for shop floor retail assistants through regular 1-2-1s and annual appraisals.
• Work collaboratively to inspire the team to drive retail sales to achieve KPIs through proactive engagement with visitors, robust product knowledge and upselling.
• Oversee the team in handling all customer enquiries in a timely and courteous manner in person and over telephone or email, leading by example.
• Schedule the team rota to reflect business needs.

Museum Website: https://www.wallacecollection.org/about-us/join-team/