Store Manager

Position: Store Manager
Location: South Clapham, LONDON
Contract: PERMANENT
MUST HAVE: RETAIL MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE + PASSION FOR COFFEE

About Us:

Café Pod is one of the UK’s most exciting coffee brands, known for bringing high-quality, sustainable coffee pods to thousands of homes. Now, we’re bringing the brand to life in a whole new way — with its first-ever bricks-and-mortar retail store.

This store is the first of many – an opportunity to shape what Café Pod looks and feels like in person. It’s not just about coffee; it’s about building a local community, sparking conversations, and delivering an experience that goes beyond the cup.

About You:

Role Purpose
The Store Manager is accountable for the overall commercial, operational, and experiential performance of CaféPod’s store. This role requires a balance of strategic thinking and hands-on leadership to create an environment that drives sales, customer loyalty, and brand advocacy. As the first CaféPod retail site, the Store Manager will establish and document the operational and cultural blueprint that will guide future store openings. The position demands a high degree of business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit, and community engagement, alongside a relentless focus on customer experience, team development, and operational excellence.

Key Accountabilities

Leadership and Team Development
• Lead, motivate, and inspire a high-performing team to deliver outstanding customer service and operational standards.
• Recruit, induct, and train new team members, embedding CaféPod’s values and culture throughout.
• Conduct regular one-to-one meetings and performance reviews, setting clear objectives and development plans.
• Build a culture of accountability, empowerment, and recognition within the team.
• Create a succession pipeline by identifying and developing future leaders within the store.
• Ensure consistent communication across all team members regarding goals, priorities, and expectations.

Customer Experience
• Champion a customer-first culture by ensuring every visitor enjoys a personalised, knowledgeable, and memorable experience.
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Maintain expert knowledge of CaféPod products, brewing methods, and memberships to enhance customer engagement.
• Use customer feedback and insights to continuously improve the in-store experience.
• Resolve customer concerns promptly and professionally, maintaining brand reputation at all times.
• Ensure the store environment reflects the CaféPod brand- clean, inviting, and aligned with visual and experiential standards.

Operational Management
• Oversee all store operations including opening and closing procedures and reconciliation.
• Manage till operations, ensuring accuracy, security, and compliance with financial policies.
• Maintain stock integrity through effective ordering, receiving, rotation, and stocktaking processes.
• Ensure compliance with all company procedures, including health and safety, food hygiene, and data protection.
• Oversee supplier deliveries, waste management, and equipment maintenance.
• Maintain daily operational checklists and ensure audit readiness at all times.
• Implement efficient processes and reporting systems to enable future scalability across the retail estate.

Financial and Commercial Performance
• Take full accountability for store P&L, driving sales, profitability, and cost control.
• Analyse trading results, identifying opportunities to improve conversion, average transaction value, and overall performance.
• Manage payroll and labour scheduling in line with budgets and business needs.
• Work closely with the Account Manager to forecast sales, plan budgets, and monitor performance against KPIs.
• Ensure all financial procedures are compliant, accurate, and transparent.
Marketing, Community Engagement, and Events
• Act as a brand ambassador for CaféPod within the local community, fostering strong relationships with local businesses, partners, and influencers.
• Lead local marketing initiatives designed to increase awareness and drive footfall in a low-traffic location.
• Plan and host in-store events, coffee tastings, and brand collaborations that engage both new and existing customers.
• Collaborate with the CaféPod marketing team to execute local campaigns, seasonal activations, and PR opportunities.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of local marketing activity through measurable results and feedback.
• Proactively pursue business-to-business opportunities, building community relationships and generating potential customer partnerships as a result.
Business Development and Brand Growth
• Demonstrate entrepreneurial flair by identifying and trialling new initiatives to grow sales and enhance the customer experience.
• Contribute insight and feedback to inform future store openings, store design, and retail strategy.
• Document operational learnings, best practice, and process improvements to support the creation of a scalable retail blueprint.
• Provide regular commercial and customer insight reports to senior leadership.
• Serve as the connection point between CaféPod’s central teams, Agile Retail, and the store’s customer community ensuring that business objectives, brand direction, and customer needs are consistently aligned.

Health, Safety, and Compliance
• Ensure compliance with all statutory and company health, safety, and environmental regulations.
• Conduct regular risk assessments, equipment checks, and fire safety audits.
• Maintain accurate training and certification records for all team members.
• Ensure store policies are reviewed, communicated, and consistently applied.
• Promote a proactive safety culture across the team.
Competencies and Attributes
• Commercially astute: Demonstrates a strong understanding of retail operations, cost management, and profitability drivers.
• Customer-obsessed: Displays passion for delivering exceptional service and building customer loyalty.
• Entrepreneurial mindset: Identifies opportunities, adapts quickly, and takes initiative to improve performance.
• Strong leadership: Inspires others, communicates effectively, and fosters a high-performance culture.
• Community-focused: Builds meaningful relationships that connect the brand to its local audience.
• Operational excellence: Maintains high standards of accuracy, organisation, and compliance.
• Collaborative: Works effectively with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders.
• Innovative and resilient: Embraces change, solves problems creatively, and remains calm under pressure.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Achievement of store sales, profitability, and KPI targets, including B2B engagement and event attendance.
• Positive customer satisfaction scores and feedback metrics.
• High levels of team engagement, retention, and performance.
• Compliance with operational, audit, and safety standards.
• Successful delivery and evaluation of local marketing and event initiatives.
• Accuracy and quality of reporting, financial reconciliation, and documentation.
• Contribution to the development and refinement of the CaféPod retail blueprint.

INDHP