UMENCO is recruiting a passionate Head of Retail & Customer Experience to join the team at a cult Australian fashion and lifestyle brand.

In this role, the Head of Retail & Customer Experience will be accountable to manage the retail division of the brand, ultimately ensuring that all targeted KPIs are met and that the brand’s core values and in-store experience are upheld across all standalone stores and the outlet channel.

The Head of Retail & Customer Experience will consistently work to develop and nurture a retail team that best represents the brand, and that can support the requirements of a growing business. They will ensure that staff performance is to the highest standards, and aligns with the brand’s values and customer service standards. In doing so, the National Retail Manager will lead retail training, and will implement and update training processes as required.

A significant component of the Head of Retail & Customer Experience’s position is to develop store sales forecasts and create an annual set of measurable performance KPIs, both for retail teams and individuals. To bolster this, they will provide ongoing coaching and training directly to Store Managers to help them achieve their goals and develop their performance and capabilities.

The Head of Retail & Customer Experience will also lead the incentivisation programs for all retail teams in order to drive consistent overachievement of KPIs.

They will be accountable for P&L for the retail division, which includes budgeting for wages, operational costs, CAPEX/store maintenance ahead of the financial year, and managing these budgets throughout the year to continuously improve the profitability of all retail channels.

In this role, it is the duty of the Head of Retail & Customer Experience to resource the retail teams in line with budget, brand, growth, and customer service expectations and ensure appropriate training, development plans, and performance review process are in place and actioned.

The Head of Retail & Customer Experience will also identify, streamline, implement and document all operational procedures and systems for retail stores, ensuring best practice and adherence to the size and growth of specific teams.

Alongside this, they will oversee and implement store openings, including assisting in sourcing
locations for stores and leasing negotiations; consistently identify and action areas for operational and customer service enhancements and efficiencies, including but not limited to POS system and in-store order fulfilment.

The Head of Retail & Customer Experience will work closely with the merchandise team to ensure store ranging needs are met, and that stock consolidations and end-of-season stock movement plans meet business plans and KPIs, and will be responsible for ensuring the VM representation in stand-alone locations adheres to the seasonal direction and brand guidelines.

The talent we seek will be a thoughtful and confident communicator, with outstanding people leadership skills and an excellent understanding of the brand and their client profiles.

They will be consistent and attentive across all of their interactions with stakeholders, team and customers, and will balance this with a passion for operational excellence and business growth.