Manager Retail Operations

**Manager, Retail Operations**

**40 hours/week**

**1-year term position**

Applications close: February 12, 2025

**Position Details**

Reporting to the Board of Directors, MEOW Foundation and Board of Directors, Regal Cat Café, the Manager, Retail Operations is responsible for the efficient and profitable operations of all retail entities, including Thrift North, Thrift South, Regal Cat Café, E-Commerce, and future retail ventures, aligned with MEOW Foundation’s vision, mission, and guiding principles.

The position is accountable to execute across three key areas, each with performance indicators and/or targets:

- Operations
- Profitability
- People & Culture

In addition to the duties below, this role is the ‘person of last resort’ to fill staffing gaps and shortages that may arise on a last-minute basis. For example, this position will be required to fulfil Barista and Thrift Shop Associate duties, if needed.

**Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities**
- Financial success
- Achieve financial targets in consideration of changing market conditions (economic, social, political). This includes competitive pricing, sales incentives, and promotional programs.
- Reduce and minimize costs including:

- (1) efficient and optimized staffing/scheduling,
- (2) pro-active maintenance, and
- (3) favorable relationship management with vendors and suppliers established through trust, respect, and effective communications
- Create strategies and deliver reporting on business objectives including gross margins, conversion rates, inventory turnover, and customer retention.
- Review monthly financial reports from accounting with each retail management team and develop and deliver pro-active mitigations and improvements as needed with each retail management team.
- Operational success
- Ensure and optimize successful operations across all locations including:

- retail design
- inventory management/stock levels
- logistics
- customer service
- payment processing
- facilities management/maintenance
- marketing/advertising
- Achieve on operational priorities, strategies, goals, and objectives.
- Develop and deliver on merchandising programs, store sets, and renovations/repairs as needed with each retail management team.
- Maintain and build new community partnerships and alliances.
- Ensure a comfortable, welcoming, and cheerful environment for animals, customers, and guests.
- Ensure all retail locations are prioritizing customer service and engagement, and expediently resolving escalated customer concerns. Provide assistance as needed.
- Ensure all retail operations policies, practices and procedures are aligned with MEOW Foundation’s mission, vision, and guiding principles, and are followed.
- Ensure enhanced security practices are in place including minimizing loss prevention by enforcing inventory controls, levels, turns, and theft investigations.
- Encourage and facilitate collaboration across retail locations as well as MEOW operations.
- **People success**
- Mentor, coach, develop and train the leadership team at each retail location
- Ensure that they have the skills, tools, and resources to ensure a high-performing team is always in-place at their location.
- Ensure the leadership team at each retail location has the tools and resources to develop and train a team of dedicated and passionate volunteers.
- Ensure a workplace where all team members are positive, cheerful, and engaged, aligned with MEOW Foundation’s human resources and health and safety policies, procedures, practices, vision, mission, and guiding principles.
- Manage staff disruptions by rescheduling staff and other resources as needed.
- This role is the person of last resort to fill staffing gaps and shortages that may arise on a last-minute basis.
- **Health & Safety**
- Accountable to ensure:

- day-to-day maintenance and health and safety of physical sites and personnel
- health / safety (including OHS) / hygiene / sanitation / ergonomics / housekeeping
- repairs / upgrades
- space planning / lease renewals, storage
- shipping / receiving / mail/ couriers
- travel and transport between locations / vehicles
- office services / inventory
- relationships with landlords, management companies, trades, insurers, and 3rd party stakeholders

**Personal and Professional Attributes**

In addition to a high level of technical skill and competence, five leadership and relationship management traits are paramount:
1. Humble and high intellectual curiosity
- Display a Servant Leadership style - with a focus on mentoring, coaching, motivating, and encouraging staff and volunteers to shape success.

2. Strong collaborative relationship-building skills
- Lead from a place of inquiry through the use of questions, ‘what-if’ scenarios, and storytelling.

3. Excellent interpersonal, communication, and advisory skills
- Our leadership team members are patient yet focused and display strong emotional intelligence.

4. Compassionate, mature, thoughtful judgment and