Retail Operations Manager, Guinness Open Gate Brewery, London
Convent Garden, London
Permanent, Full Time
Closing Date: May 16, 2025
About the Team
The Open Gate Brewery, London is a new Guinness neighbourhood that will inspire the best in brewing, food, retail and culture. Consisting of 52,000 square feet of buildings and central courtyard in the historic brewing quarter in Covent Garden, GOGBL will become a key growth driver for Guinness, placing the brand in culture, and driving relevancy and brand saliency amongst a new generation of drinkers. GB is the biggest Guinness market globally and Guinness is enjoying a period of exceptional growth and cultural magnetism, with the brand growing by around 50% since 2019 to the biggest it has ever been in value, volume and market share in the brand's 264-year history.
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Beer will be produced at a 15hl on site brewery, a world-leading brewing facility which will produce innovation and limited-edition liquids to be served across the GOGBL site. The brewery will form part of a grain to glass immersive visitor experience in 1 Mercer Walk, which will also house dedicated space to build Diageo's southern hub for the Learning 4 Life programme, training hundreds of people per year in hospitality skills.
We believe that the power of community is now more important than ever. At GOGBL we will create opportunities for local jobseekers, give our brewery waste products a second life in the community, and share GOGBL spaces with local community groups.
Key elements of the site include:
- Iconic Guinness Gates as main entrance to the experience, offering huge cultural impact in the heart of London.
- Restaurants/Taproom/bars - world class food and beer produced and served on site.
- Central all weather historic courtyard with world class bar experience.
- Two retail spaces, one of which will stock items produced through exciting short-term brand collaborations.
- Bespoke 5th floor glass box rooftop eating and drinking experience creating brand new rooftop view of London.
- Brewery and beer experience/tasting tours.
- Cultural events space designed and fitted out with technology to enable world class meeting and conference experiences.
Purpose of Role
The Retail Operations Manager will be responsible for the management of retail operations across both the Mercer Walk and Neal Street stores at GOGBL. Working closely with the Head of Retail, the ROM will be main point of contact for all stakeholders to ensure an efficient, profitable, reputable, world class retail operation. They will ensure, through supporting the site retail team, that the standards of service, presentation and experience are consistently at the highest level and that retail operations are meeting site KPIs. This role may also be called on to identify opportunities for other retail experiences such as pop up stores and street markets, and to develop the business cases, planning and execution of these.
Dimensions of the Role
Store Operations
- Decide on and implement operational processes and staffing levels.
- Monitor retail performance, identifying commercial opportunities, and recommending and implementing improvements to deliver growth.
- Report on Mercer Walk and Neal Street stores' performance against agreed financial KPIs
- Work with the GOGBL Sales & Marketing team to agree operational plans for brand collaborations taking place in the Neal Street store. Manage the schedule of Neal Street activations and the timely and effective turnaround of the store in between activations.
- Responsibility for maintaining the image and reputation of the Guinness brand throughout the GOGBL stores.
- Identify operational pain points or bottlenecks and recommend solutions to improve efficiency, such as staffing adjustments or process redesign.
- Decide on inventory levels, order merchandise and manage stock to meet customer demand while minimising excess inventory and markdowns.
Inventory Management
- Predict future product demand to maintain optimal inventory levels.
- Analyze sales data, market trends, and seasonal patterns to forecast demand accurately. This helps in planning purchases and reducing overstock or stockouts.
- Monitor and manage inventory levels efficiently. Implement systems for tracking stock levels, reordering products when necessary, and ensuring accurate record-keeping. This includes setting minimum and maximum stock thresholds
- Ensure timely procurement of goods from suppliers. Build strong relationships with suppliers, negotiate favourable terms, and managing purchase orders to ensure timely delivery of products. Also ensuring management of payment process to ensure suppliers are paid in a timely manner.
- Minimize inventory shrinkage due to theft, damage, or errors. Implement security measures, conducting regular stock audits and cycle counts, and train staff on proper handling and storage procedures to prevent loss.
Sales and Marketing
- Analyse sales data and overall store performance to identify trends and opportunities for growth. Make recommendations to Head of Retail on strategies to improve results and meet targets.
- Recommend and execute promotional campaigns, pricing strategies and product assortment to drive sales and attract customers.
- Support seasonal and brand activations with store design, visual merchandising, logistics and vendor management.
Staff Management
- Manage all staff scheduling to ensure efficient and effective store performance.
- Support the Head of Retail in recruiting, training and managing GOGBL retail team.
- Coach the GOGBL retail team to improve their commercial knowledge, providing vision and direction.
- Foster a positive work environment that encourages effective teamwork.
Customer Service and Experience
- Establish customer service standards and ensure these are standards are met across both stores.
- Recommend improvements to store layout, signage and ambiance to create a more inviting and engaging shopping environment.
- Manage escalated customer complaints and issues promptly and effectively to maintain satisfaction and loyalty.
Compliance
- Ensure compliance with company policies, processes, and legal regulations related to areas such as safety, security and labour laws.
- Maintain and own the retail operating systems for EPOS sales, back office reporting, inventory management and financial record keeping.
Additional Leadership Responsibilities
- Promote an inclusive and diverse culture in line with Diageo and Guinness values.
- Champion a positive and flexible work culture, promoting continuous improvement
- Identify training needs across the GOGBL retail team, and work with the GB capability team to address these needs
Key Stakeholders
The role reports to the GOGBL Head of Retail. While the role does not have direct reports, it will manage the roster for a team of around 10 sales associates plus additional contingent labour. The role holder will also work closely with the GOGBL Sales and Marketing team; Irish and Scottish Brand Homes, and The Bar at Home, retail teams; and the GB Beer Brand team.
Qualifications and Experience Required
- Minimum of 5 years' experience in a retail management role
- Demonstrable experience of driving a high-performance culture across retail teams
- Fluency in commercial requirements; understands how their role impacts wider business profitability. Ability to analyse data effectively to drive the decision-making process.
- Excellent time management skills with the ability to work under pressure and to regularly re-prioritise to meet deadlines in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Proficient in using retail management software, experience with LS Central a plus.
- Resilient; prepared to tackle problems head on and persist despite setbacks or difficulties.
- Able to bring the Guinness values and purpose to life and be a role model for the GOGBL retail team
- Highly effective team player, able to recognise, value and utilise the strengths of the team.
The ideal candidate should be able to demonstrate strong leadership with the ability to work with a broad spectrum of skills, the poise to deal with managers at different levels, and be able to work at both micro and macro level. This role will suit a proactive, commercially focused retail expert who wants to work in an entrepreneurial, dynamic business. The role will require a flexible approach to work with evening and weekend working required.
Working with Us
Flexibility is key to success in our business and many of our people work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time, compressed hours, flexible location. Please talk to us about what flexibility means to you and don't let anything stop you from applying.
- We offer a highly competitive rewards and benefits package including: Contemporary work life balance policies and wellbeing activities
- Annual merit increases (performance based)
- Annual bonus (performance based)
- Subsidized gym membership
- Contributary pension scheme
- Share options
Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and listened to, is a crucial part of this.
We believe the most diverse and inclusive culture makes for a better business and a better world.
We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realise its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base.
Around the world we have a number of inclusive Business and Employee Resource Groups known as BRGs and ERGs. These influential groups, made up of our people, represent various viewpoints, experiences and communities who generate thought-provoking work to enhance our business and workplace, creating a sense of belonging and opportunities for all.
Join us, and you'll be part of an organisation that embraces diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you'll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You'll be part of - and help build - an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mindsets, and more. And you'll help us champion inclusion and diversity across our entire business: with our employees, our suppliers, across our brands, and within the communities in which we operate.