Job Description
Outdoor Horticulture Area Manager /Outdoor Plant Area Manager
Full-time (working 4 week days plus a weekend day and some bank holidays)
About Perrywood Garden Centre & Nurseries Ltd:
Perrywood is an independent, family-owned garden centre and nursery run by the Bourne Family in Essex. Our vision is to inspire people to get more plants in their lives. Perrywood Tiptree is surrounded by beautiful countryside with views over the Kelvedon valley. In 2018 we took over our second site, Perrywood Sudbury (formerly the Wyevale Sudbury Garden Centre).
Rewards and Benefits
In addition to your salary will receive the following benefits:
- Discount - From the start of your employment you will receive 10% discount, on specific items. Following a successful probation period, the discount increases up to 20% discount, on specific items and after one year’s service up to 40% discount, on specific items. (some exceptions apply)
- Paid holiday - holiday entitlement is 22 days per year, plus bank holidays. Restrictions apply (part-time pro rata)
- Annual Christmas bonus
- Part-uniform provided
- Employee Assistant Programme - a confidential personal and professional support service available to all employees and their immediate families 24/7, 365 days a year.
- Training & development, as required. We have an e-learning scheme called GROW, and also take part in other training with product suppliers and external trainers
- Company sick pay – following a successful probation period employees are entitled to 10 days paid sickness (part-time pro rata)
- Access to our Retail Discount Scheme – savings on retailers including Tesco, Pizza Express, M&S, Waitrose, Argos, Apple, Currys PC World, Thomas Cook and 100’s more
- Workplace pension
- Free parking
Requirements of an Outdoor Plant Area Manager:
- Proven experience at retail sales/plant expert role, Team Leader or similar retail position, and can clearly demonstrate leadership skills
- You’ll need to work four week days, plus every other weekend day
- You’ll need to work most bank holidays, but will be given a day’s holiday in lieu
- Horticultural experience essential, whether that’s in the form of a relevant qualification and/or experience of working in a garden centre, plant retail or a similar environment
- Excellent plant knowledge - essential
- Ability to lift and carry e.g. stocking up, moving displays
- Excellent communication and customer service skills essential
- Good standard of English and Maths
- Good IT and technology skills
- Smart appearance
Responsibilities of an Outdoor Plant Area Manager:
- Lead a small team to plan and organise day to day work according to annual and seasonal team goals (as directed by your manager - which feed into the overall business strategy) and create a positive culture which is focused on maintaining high standards, by inspiring and developing talent within your team
- Take responsibility for your team (and wider plant area team in absence of other team leaders/managers)
- Ensuring we meet a high level of retail standards for example, stocking up, watering, cleanliness, merchandising and driving sales through excellent customer service
- Ensuring your team is working efficiently and know their tasks for the day/week. Planning rotas and holidays so that we are adequately staffed
- Work closely with retail colleagues, buyers, visual merchandising and communications teams to plan ahead - ensuring hot spots and display areas are eye catching, seasonally relevant, link into communication themes and have the right POS
- Line manage your team - conducting informal and formal catch ups, coaching and supporting them to be the ‘best they can be’ in their role, managing performance, managing absence and holidays, and organising training & development opportunities. Work with your manager to deliver inductions, training, disciplinary, grievance, performance meetings etc.
- Take the lead on coming up with experiential ideas for your department e.g. product demonstrations, opportunities for customers to trial/taste/touch/smell
- Be a great role model for your team; delivering excellent customer service, confidently answering customer queries and being the point of call for customer complaints. Be knowledgeable about planting combinations and looking after plants
- Assist managers and senior team, as required, taking on specific projects to improve running of the business
- Ensuring health and safety duties are met
- Responsible for the management of the outdoor stock area and the transfer of stock between Tiptree and Sudbury
This is not an exhaustive list and you are required to be flexible in your approach to carrying out your duties.
The ideal candidate
- You are confident in dealing with members of the public. You can effectively deal with difficult customer queries and ensure that all customers leave with a smile on their face
- You can follow instructions from your manager, and must be able to work on your own initiative and prioritise tasks effectively
- You can lead with authority and inspire and motivate your team, acting as a positive role modeland encouraging each team member to be at their best
- You are a clear communicator and can use a variety of methods to keep the team well informed
- You are creative, and know effective planting combinations
- You react well in a crisis, and can think on your feet to problem solve
- You have in-depth knowledge of standard retail procedures such as merchandising and stocking up, customer service, product knowledge, cleanliness and health & safety
- You are always looking for ideas and opportunities to maintain and improve our garden centre of excellence status
- With your guidance, your area of work will always be a safe place to work and shop
If this Outdoor Plant Area Manager role sounds like the ideal opportunity for you then apply to us directly, we’d love to hear from you!
Closing date for applications is 26th May 2023
For further information please visit the Perrywood website https://www.perrywood.co.uk/careers/
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: From £29,933.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Employee discount
- On-site parking
- Referral programme
- Sick pay
- Store discount
- Wellness programme
Schedule:
Supplemental pay types:
Application question(s):
- 'Due to our rural location it would be preferable if you had your own transport
- Do you have any horticulture qualifications for example RHS?
- Tell us about your plant knowledge
- Please give examples of when you have managed a team and any challenges you experienced
Experience:
- Horticulture: 2 years (required)
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 26/05/2023
Reference ID: Outdoor Plant Area Manager