Assistant Store Manager – ESPA (Cheshire Oaks – 12 month fixed term contract)
This role involves inspiring and educating the retail team, overseeing daily store operations, ensuring exceptional customer experience, leading service, sales and store initiatives, and occasionally stepping into the role of Store Manager.
Responsibilities
Service
- Ensure the store delivers a best‑in‑class, highly personalized level of customer service
- Build and maintain customer relationships using CRM to drive repeat visits and tailored shopping experiences
- Create a warm, welcoming environment and a seamless customer journey from welcome through to purchase
- Resolve customer queries quickly and professionally, consistently prioritising customer satisfaction
Sales
- Lead the team to achieve daily, weekly and monthly retail financial targets and KPIs
- Drive sales through exceptional service, storytelling and product expertise
- Support business planning aligned to the marketing calendar, optimising all product launches and key trading moments through eventing and in‑store activation
- Plan and execute engaging events, connecting with local businesses and identifying opportunities to attract new footfall
People
- Lead by example on the shop floor and act as Duty Manager when required
- Inspire, motivate and engage the team daily to deliver world‑class service
- Coach, train and develop team members to elevate product knowledge, experience delivery and selling capability
- Deliver regular, actionable feedback and foster a culture of open, two‑way communication; conduct and support HR conversations with professionalism, confidence and care
Operational Excellence
- Oversee daily store operations ensuring smooth running of all opening, mid‑day and closing procedures
- Ensure all operational processes including cash handling, banking, scheduling and rotas are completed accurately and on time
- Maintain compliance with all H&S policies, hygiene standards and risk management procedures, ensuring the store meets audit readiness at all times
- Uphold perfect store standards across ESPA and partner brands, ensuring immaculate retail execution and on‑brand visual merchandising
- Oversee deliveries and process POs accurately within the EPOS system
- Conduct regular stock counts and liaise with HQ on discrepancies, damages and replenishment needs
- Take ownership of stockroom organisation, space optimisation and replenishment routines
- Support loss prevention strategies to minimise shrinkage, ensuring all team members follow LP procedures
- Ensure all staff compliance tasks, training modules and operational briefs are understood, actioned and completed on time
- Communicate effectively with HQ, brand partners and external stakeholders to ensure alignment across operations, reporting and store standards
Qualifications
- Experience in retail management is essential
- Minimum 2 years’ experience within beauty, skincare or wellbeing retail
- Strong understanding of the ESPA brand, heritage and product mix
- Experience working in a standalone or FSS environment preferred
- Highly organised with excellent communication and time‑management skills
- Full availability including weekends and bank holidays
- Confident using Excel, Outlook and Teams
THG is proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. If you are invited to interview, please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to the recruitment process that will enable you to perform to the best of your ability.
THG is committed to creating a diverse & inclusive environment and thus welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
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