Retail Area Manager

Are you an experienced Area Manager with the knowledge and skills to motivate people and drive performance and growth in a retail environment?

Do you have a history of achieving targets and KPIs driven by engagement and teamwork?

Are you looking for stability, growth, and opportunity?

Jones Bootmaker was established in 1857, a family-run business creating shoes known for their exquisite craftsmanship with collections curated with a light-hearted sense of fun and occasion. This key brand was bought in 2018 by Pavers, restoring the family-run values.

In this a newly created position we are looking for a well-established Area Manager to join our retail management team as part of the continued growth of the group. This role will be integral to fortifying the Jones Bootmaker brand proposition and will drive our strategic growth plan around performance and increasing our store portfolio.

You will take full ownership for all our Jones Bootmaker stores nationwide (c. 22 Stores), however the majority are located in London and the South East therfore being within the commuter belt of London would be advantageous.

As a group Pavers opened 12 new stores in 2023 and are looking to continue our growth strategy into 2024 by adding further to our 180+ store combined estate.

This is an autonomous role where you will inspire, lead, train, mentor and support the area’s Store Managers in delivering the best experience to our customers whilst maximising and driving the store’s potential across sales, KPI’s and strategic/commercial goals.

You will have a 6-month induction plan to aid your development, combined with hands on mentorship provided by your Regional Managers and a great group of peers to ensure your success.

Pay & Benefits as our Retail Area Manager:

£50,000 to £60,000 Dependent on experience.

• Fully expensed Company Car
• Discretionary Annual Bonus
• Company Contribution Pension
• Private Medical Insurance
• Death in Service
• Generous Staff Discount
• Free Mortgage advice through our partners Radcliffe & Newlands
• Access to RetailTRUST (Wellbeing Support)

Responsibilities of our Area Managers

• Ensure the customer is at the heart of the decisions we make and continually strive to improve service levels.
• Create a positive, innovative & fun atmosphere which encourages our people to commit to exceeding their targets and, where necessary, to go beyond the call of duty to achieve it.
• Responsibility for driving your area’s sales and service performance and support your stores exceed their KPI’s
• Manage controllable costs & budgets in line with company targets. Ensure cost efficiencies are delivered within this key strategic pillar.
• Work closely with all relevant Head Office departments, build strong relationships with all key stakeholders.
• Ensure your stores are compliant with loss prevention & security processes, completing audits and ensuring correct procedures are being maintained.
• Support new store openings, refits & relocations as required.
• Be involved in business or retail projects by effectively delegating to your Area Support Manager to free up the required time.
• Inspire, mentor, motivate and support your stores and teams in achieving results through teamwork and sharing best practice both in and off area.
• Analyse product, people, or efficiency data to develop SMART objectives and actions to drive sales, service levels or save time / costs.
• Drive positive change in your area through clear communication with a blend of verbal, written and video methods and keep your managers informed of developments.
• Create an innovative and open feedback culture that encourages new ideas and initiatives. Champion good ideas and share best practice.
• Ensure that the shops in your area conform to the Company Health & Safety policy and housekeeping standards are maintained.

Requirements to be our Area Manager:

• 3 - 5 years plus experience in a similar Area Manager role
• Proven leader with a track record of effectively managing change and motivating teams and a consistent achiever of targets.
• Excellent Sales and Business acumen, highly analytical, using data and commercial awareness to drive decisions.
• Proven HR/ER experience with complex situations
• Sound operational knowledge of retail, visual merchandising & inventory management.
• Full drivers’ licence with flexibility to travel to the needs of the area.

About Us

We are passionate about providing comfort and happiness to our customers, and we make sure to employ people who are as passionate as we are. We always look for happy, confident, upbeat people, and we provide great jobs in a supportive family environment for them. We know that without our colleagues there is no business, and so the better we look after you, the better service you will provide our customers. We always try and do the right thing by our people.

Pavers has been trading for 50 years and is a highly profitable family owned-and-run retail business with a strong balance sheet, over 180 retail locations, and a rapidly expanding digital presence. We also own the Jones Bootmaker and Herring Shoes footwear businesses, remain acquisitive, and employ over 1600 people. We were recently recognised by Best Companies as one of the UK’s Top 10 Retail Employers, are Carbon Neutral, have donated more than £1m to charity in the past 3 years, are currently applying for B Corp accreditation, and are imminently undertaking a significant expansion and modernisation of our Warehouse, Head Office, and Retail estates.

We strive for diversity of thinking across the business and believe strongly in supporting our local communities. In 2018 we donated over £2.2m to establish the Pavers Foundation, with the specific purpose of providing grants for causes important to all our colleagues in the areas of health, education, and community. In terms of the environment, we are constantly seeking to reduce our impact. Since 2021 we have been fully carbon neutral, and we also have one of the largest solar arrays in the North-East of England on our warehouse generating clean energy. Because every year we give a percentage of our annual profits to our Foundation, our overarching aim is to be financially successful, but to achieve this in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.