General Manager

Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd; Tewkesbury; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading garden retail company is seeking a General Manager to oversee store operations and drive exceptional customer experiences. You will be responsible for achieving commercial targets, developing your team, and ensuring compliance with health and safety standards. The ideal candidate will have a background in retail management and strong leadership skills. This role offers a generous annual leave entitlement, employee discounts, and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Generous annual leave entitlement

50% off in restaurants

Access to financial wellbeing support

Employee wellbeing platform

eLearning platform for development

Qualifications

• Proven experience of leading multiple direct reports.
• Ability to coach teams to deliver a first-class customer experience.
• Proficient in managing budgets and driving retail sales.

Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of the store management.
• Oversee the complete business operation.
• Create a great place to work and ensure team development.

Skills

Retail management expertise

Excellent communication skills

Commercial awareness

Adaptability

Coaching and training

Job description

Our General Managers play an essential role in delivering customer experience across our stores - driving sales, promoting customer loyalty, maintaining high operational standards and smashing commercial targets.

Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of the store management, ensuring everything is in place to hit commercial targets with responsive management of budgets and cost controls
• Oversee the complete business operation, maximising profitable sales and growth while creating a unique customer focussed environment
• Take the lead in creating a great place to work for everyone on a day-to-day basis whilst thinking ahead to ensure your team have a development journey with Dobbies
• Spark your team's passion for delivering the best customer experience possible by creating a brilliant customer journey
• Observe your team's service levels, identifying ways they can improve and finding the best way to suit that individual in coaching them to improve
• Work closely with our central support teams, maintaining excellent communication, stock supply and response
• Ensure all compliance with health & safety regulations, whilst caring for employee and customer welfare at all times

Who we are looking for

• Retail management expertise with proven experience of leading multiple direct reports and their teams
• Commercial awareness and understanding of budgets, profitability from driving retail sales and improved ways of working
• Ability to identify training needs. You’ll be effectively coaching and training all levels ensuring teams are delivering a first-class customer experience
• Excellent communication skills. You’ll ensure that successful initiatives and actions are shared across the business and that performance is monitored
• Adaptability. You’ll act quickly and enthusiastically to changing priority, workload and concepts
• Positivity managing change. You’ll lead the team through each season with care and motivation to deliver best
• Can demonstrate our values at all times – we’re one team, getting better everyday. We bring a smile. We live and breathe gardens. We make it work for our customers

What we offer

• Generous annual leave entitlement. Use your holidays when you want with limited statutory days off required
• Treat yourself with generous uncapped discount across our stores with 50% off in our restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our food halls
• Access to Stream – support your financial wellbeing, with ability to access earnings ahead of pay day, save for the future and financial advice
• Access to Retail Trust – seek confidential support, access to a virtual GP, free counselling services and discounted retail rewards with our employee wellbeing platform
• Access to Dobbies Academy – continue your development with our eLearning platform and development programmes
• Thriving culture; the Dobbies team are passionate, diverse and committed to making it work for our customers

About us

At Dobbies, we’re proud to have a history dating back to 1865. We were founded by James Dobbie and are the only garden centre retailer to have stores in every nation across the UK.

Our passion and joy for gardens and plants is what makes us special. In our stores, we showcase this through own brand and branded products, concession partners and services. We champion garden living all-year-round.

Many of our stores feature a restaurant or coffee shop, where customers can enjoy refreshments or meals in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

We offer a calendar of events and experiences that bring people and communities together, and we have a national charity partner that both our colleagues and customers raise money for.

We’re committed to being a great place to work. We’re one team and we encourage our colleagues to be the best version of themselves, every day; to share their wins and celebrate success. Together, we make it work for our customers.