Job Description

We're not just an amazing, award-winning visitor attraction that's home to over 30,000 incredible animals within 128 acres of stunning gardens. We're not just the UK's most popular zoo. We're an international wildlife charity that's committed to the recovery of endangered species.
Retail Assistant Manager
We are excited to offer an excellent opportunity for a Retail Assistant Manager to join our dynamic Retail Management Team at Chester Zoo. Our retail operation is diverse and fast-paced, encompassing onsite shops, offsite and pop-up locations, event outlets, activities such as face painting and hand art, a central warehouse, and our online gift shop.
As a Retail Assistant Manager, you will play a key role in leading our retail teams, driving sales, and delivering world-class customer service, while also ensuring our visual merchandising standards are second to none. The Assistant Manager we are currently looking to recruit will be responsible for our gift shops at the Zoo as well as our gift shop in Chester Market.
Key Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire a large team, setting clear objectives and ensuring sales targets are achieved.
• Proactively manage labour, stock, and operational expenses to maximise efficiency while maintaining exceptional service standards.
• Recruit, supervise, develop, and motivate team members to deliver outstanding customer experiences.
• Oversee and enhance visual merchandising standards, ensuring displays are engaging, innovative, and consistently of world-class quality.
• Utilise retail systems and data to plan, organise, and review performance, driving revenue and achieving commercial KPIs.
• Support the Retail Operations Managers in delivering and enhancing retail standards across all outlets, working closely together as one team.
• Uphold safe working practices and compliance with all health and safety requirements, including rota duties as Bronze Commander for the wider Zoo.
• Build strong internal and external networks to understand and respond to market trends, ensuring Chester Zoo remains an industry leader.
• Commit to personal development and support succession planning, fostering a learner-led culture across the team.

What We're Looking For

• A proven track record in retail management, ideally within a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Strong skills in visual merchandising, with an eye for detail and a passion for creating engaging customer spaces.
• Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate large teams.
• Commercial awareness with the ability to analyse data, control costs, and drive performance.
• A strong commitment to delivering world-class customer service.
• Excellent organisational and problem-solving skills, able to thrive in a busy and varied environment and set direction for yourself and your team.

The Package

• Permanent Contract
• 40 hours per week, 5 days out of 7 on a rota basis including weekends, evenings and bank holidays
• Salary - 30,000 per annum
• 33 days annual leave (includes bank holidays) plus the option to buy or sell up to 5 days.
• Pension scheme with generous employer contributions up to 9%
• Healthcare plan and employee assistance programme.
• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Discounted gym membership
• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks

Our Requirements

• Management experience, ideally gained in a retail environment (or equivalent, such as a visitor attraction).
• Experienced people manager who is able to lead and inspire a team in a range of disciplines and manage performance.
• Exceptional customer service skills
• Have a creative eye and commercial flair to make decisions on layout and visual merchandising
• Good practical knowledge of budgets, forecasting and setting targets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with the ability to liaise to people at all levels, working with colleagues whose priorities may differ from yours
• Computer literate with working knowledge of Excel and other Microsoft products
• Good working knowledge of Health & Safety processes

Shortlisting of applications and arrangement of interviews will take place while the advert is live, candidates are therefore encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible. We reserve the right to close the advert early.

Skills Required