Retail Assistant Manager Campus Services 107148 Grade 4

Position Details

Campus Services

Location: University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range 27546 to 29171 with potential progression once in post to 32595

Grade: 4

Full Time Permanent

Closing date: 29th April 2026

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years andweare equally proud to be recognised as a leading global want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond support them to succeed and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here todevelopthrough our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programmewhichprovides allprofessionalservices staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full almost 5000professionalservices jobs in a wide-range of functionsin Edgbaston andin our campus inDubai there are plenty of opportunities foryou to be able to develop yourcareer at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas innovation and warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we areand how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees andtothe success of the University and depending on the role we offer avarietyof flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible addition you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 dayspaid holidaya year one paid day a year for volunteering occupational sick pay and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus including main bus routes and a train station on campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool shopsplaces to eat and drinkour own art gallery museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham

Background

Department overview

Campus Services (CS) employs over 1000 staff with a turnover exceeding 65m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the quality of the student staff and visitor experience providing services across diverse areas such as the Universitys sporting facilities food and beverage cleaning conferencing hotel operations day nurseries Portering post branded and own-brand retail outlets visitor services and attractions (e.g. Winterbourne House & Gardens) student housing transport waste disposal and recycling. CS is a highly commercial organisation operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda in terms of growing our service profile across both our Birmingham and Dubai campuses.

The Food Beverage and Retail team run over 25 retail outlets on campus at The Exchange Winterbourne and Vale Village alongside all hospitality and delivered catering for the university. From hairdressers to bookshops opticians and supermarkets we manage a diverse range of shops and services that cater to the daily needs of students staff and visitors.

As part of Campus Services the Business and Operations department offers a variety of outlets to staff students and visitors across campus and also in student accommodation from small coffee shops to large also provide hospitality services for conferences and events held on campus and further afield.

Role Summary

As the Assistant Manager you will support the Store Manager in effectively leading and managing the daily operations of a university-run convenience supermarket. Your role will involve driving sales managing inventory ensuring compliance upholding standards and leading a team of supervisors and retail assistants to deliver outstanding customer the absence of the Store Manager you will be the senior manager on shift taking full responsibility for store operations safety staff supervision and resolving any issues that arise. This position requires strong leadership skills sound judgment operational expertise and the ability to inspire and motivate your team. To make the best use of resources you may also be asked to work in other areas of the department or across the wider University.

Main Duties

• Ensure that areas within your area of responsibility are set up and operated adhering to Standard Operating Procedures or Brand Guidelines.
• Prepare for operational and standards audits ensuring everything is in order to ensure a successful audit.
• Provide proactive assistance in supporting your manager to deliver financial will include:
  • Contributing to the creation and delivery of sales plans to achieve the sales targets;
  • Ensuring all costs are controlled: staffing costs gross profit percentages consumables maintenance and repairs and any other controllable costs;
  • Carrying out and acting on results of monthly stocktakes suggestion improvements to ensure gross profit percentage is met;
  • Delivering all event activity on time and within budget constraints;
  • Monitoring all cash handling and till / system functions to ensure accuracy and consistency dealing with any anomalies.
• Ensure that shifts within your responsibility are managed in a safe & efficient manner.
• Ensure compliance with the sale of alcohol and all age restricted products.
• Audit the units on a regular basis to address any potential or developing problems as they arise and become more serious.
• Ensure that all facilities are maintained and will be expected to deal with most issues yourself but you will be able to escalate where appropriate to your manager.
• Support the Store Manager with daily operational oversight including opening closing floor management and acting as Duty Manager.
• Ensure the store environment is clean well merchandised safe and compliant with agreed planograms and brand standards.
• Oversee stock accuracy and availability ensuring timely replenishment correct rotation and effective waste and shrinkage control.
• Monitor and manage equipment issues (e.g. refrigeration display units handheld devices) and escalate or resolve as appropriate.
• Support the implementation of seasonal campaigns promotions and retail initiatives to maximise sales and customer experience.
• Review sales and stock data to identify trends highlight risks and recommend improvements to the Store Manager.
• To adhere to and ensure that the team follow all work rules and codes of practice including:
  • Health & Safety codes of practice
  • Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH)
  • Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) hygiene and allergen recording systems.
  • Manual Handling
  • Ensure that all Admin and paperwork is completed in a professional & timely manner.
• You will ensure that goals and objectives are set for your staff and that you develop organisational capability by coaching the team.
• You will display a customer comes first attitude by ensuring excellent service training and supporting staff to ensure they deliver the same approach.
• Proactively evaluate customer needs; reviews working environment and key business indicators to identify problems concerns and opportunities for achieving operational goals.
• Provide continued training of staff both regular and casual members as new guidance is released as well as ensuring the level of service is maintained via effective training and regular refreshers for all will include on the job training and delivering training sessions as required by your manager.
• Carry our regular job chats and PDRs with the team ensuring compliance with the Universities policies and procedures.
• To deputise for the Manager as required ensuring that your area of responsibility runs effectively and compliantly in your absence.
• Supports equality and values diversity moderating own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.

Customer Service

• Lead the team in delivering excellent customer service ensuring all customers receive prompt courteous and knowledgeable assistance.
• Manage the escalation of customer issues complaints or complex queries resolving them professionally.
• Monitor service standards throughout the day and address issues immediately.
• Encourage a procustomer culture by coaching staff in product knowledge communication and service behaviours.

Commercial Performance

• Support the Store Manager in achieving sales margin waste and shrinkage targets.
• Identify opportunities to increase sales enhance product availability improve merchandising or optimise operational efficiency.
• Monitor product performance and customer demand feeding back insights to management to inform ordering and range decisions.
• Ensure timely implementation of promotions pricing changes and pointofsale materials.

Operational requirements

• Hours as required based on a 35 hour week 7/365operation (BH and Closure days) on a rota basis includes weekend and evening work activities to align with Campus Services and University.
• To participate in the BOPS duty management rota (7/ 365).
• To undertake works activities across all UoB campuses as requested that are commensurate with the grade and role activities to support the Division and wider UoB activities.

Required Knowledge Skills Qualifications Experience

• Literacy and numeracy skills which may be evidenced by Mathematics and GCSE grade C or 4 (or other equivalent level 2 qualifications).
• Significant experience in a retail or supermarket environment ideally in a supervisory or team leadership capacity.
• Full clean driving license is desirable as your role may involve driving University vehicles.
• Current Personal License holder for the sale of alcohol or be willing to obtain said license with training and support.
• Confident decisionmaking skills and ability to manage operational challenges independently
• Ability to contribute to the planning organising and development of sales and service plans to grow and advance current business levels in all areas.
• Knowledge of the Health and Safety at Work Act HACCP COSHH waste disposal and other regulatory guidance is essential as is knowledge of Fire procedures.
• Proficiency with Microsoft suite of programs.
• Clear and concise communication skills are essential as you will be in regular communication with managers staff and customers good interpersonal skills are also essential with the ability to demonstrate a friendly and courteous manner toward both internal and external customers.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to work within a team environment and to deadlines.
• Highly motivated team player able to engage across multiple student and staff groups with the ability to work under pressure and to timelines.
• An understanding of the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
• The ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
• Ability to present in a smart way uniform will be provided for this purpose.

Dimensions

You will provide proactive contributions in developing and delivering sales and service will also lead a team in providing excellent customer service in one of the catering teams areas/outlets.

Planning and organising

You will be expected to contribute proactively to the planning of the service and also to sales plans and will be able to organise your unit to meet targets as appropriate.

Problem solving and decision making

You will take action to ensure audits are successful and will identify any actions to be taken through your own regular audit of your units performance. You will be able to deal with the majority of day to day issues that occur without referral to your will also be expected to deal with more difficult escalated complaints from customers.

Internal and external relationships

Professional working relationships across the catering team and with your manager in your team and suppliers.

Informal enquiries to Peter Kelland email:

View our staff values and behaviourshere

Use of AI in applications:We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyoneon our website.