Department Manager

JOB PURPOSE

The Department Manager is responsible for the overall management and performance of the assigned department, ensuring smooth day-to-day operations, excellent customer experience, product availability, inventory accuracy, merchandising standards, hygiene, and achievement of sales and profitability targets.

The role requires strong people management, product knowledge, operational discipline, and the ability to deliver a premium retail experience aligned with Food Square's standards.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Department Operations

• Manage the complete day-to-day operations of the assigned department.
• Ensure the department is adequately staffed and operationally ready at all times.
• Plan and allocate tasks to Team Members based on business requirements.
• Ensure compliance with company SOPs, operational processes, and service standards.
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness, hygiene, safety, and department presentation.
• Ensure smooth coordination with other departments, Store Operations, Warehouse, Procurement, and Support Functions.

2. Sales & Business Performance

• Drive department sales and achieve assigned sales targets.
• Monitor daily sales, customer footfall, average transaction value, and product performance.
• Identify opportunities to improve sales through effective merchandising, cross-selling, upselling, and product recommendations.
• Track fast-moving and slow-moving products and take corrective actions accordingly.
• Support promotional activities, seasonal campaigns, and new product launches.

3. Inventory & Stock Management

• Ensure optimum stock availability and maintain appropriate inventory levels.
• Monitor stock movement, expiry, damages, shortages, and wastage.
• Conduct regular stock checks and support periodic physical inventory counts.
• Ensure proper stock rotation using FIFO/FEFO, wherever applicable.
• Coordinate with the Store Manager, Procurement, and Warehouse teams for replenishment.
• Minimise stock variance, pilferage, expiry, and product wastage.

4. Product Quality & Department Standards

• Ensure all products are displayed, stored, handled, and presented as per prescribed quality standards.
• Monitor product freshness, quality, packaging, labelling, and expiry dates.
• Ensure temperature and cold-chain requirements are maintained for applicable departments.
• Immediately escalate any quality, safety, or product-related concerns.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, hygiene, and statutory requirements applicable to the department.

5. Customer Experience:

• Deliver a premium and personalised customer experience in line with Food Square's brand standards.
• Assist customers with product selection, recommendations, and product-related queries.
• Ensure effective handling and resolution of customer complaints and feedback.
• Develop strong relationships with regular and high-value customers.
• Encourage team members to demonstrate product knowledge and a customer-first approach.

6. Team Management & People Development

• Lead, supervise, and motivate the department team.
• Prepare daily work allocation and ensure adequate manpower deployment.
• Conduct on-the-job training and coach team members on product knowledge, customer service, and operational standards.
• Monitor team performance, attendance, grooming, discipline, and adherence to company policies.
• Provide regular feedback and identify training and development requirements.
• Support performance evaluations and recommend recognition or corrective action where required.

7. Visual Merchandising & Product Presentation

• Ensure products are attractively displayed and appropriately replenished throughout the day.
• Maintain department planograms, displays, pricing, promotions, and POSM as per company guidelines.
• Ensure all products have correct pricing and relevant information displayed.
• Maintain premium presentation standards consistent with the Food Square customer experience.

8. MIS & Reporting

• Maintain accurate department records and operational documentation.
• Prepare and submit daily/weekly/monthly reports as required.
• Monitor department KPIs and highlight key business trends and operational challenges.
• Analyse sales, inventory, wastage, and productivity data to improve department performance.

9. Compliance & Loss Prevention

• Ensure strict adherence to company policies, SOPs, food safety standards, and statutory requirements.
• Monitor and prevent pilferage, stock loss, product damage, and operational leakage.
• Report any discrepancies, misconduct, or policy violations to the Store Manager.
• Ensure safe working practices and compliance with workplace safety guidelines.

DEPARTMENT-SPECIFIC PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE

The Department Manager must possess or develop strong working knowledge relevant to the assigned department:

• Bakery Retail: Bread, cakes, pastries, desserts, baked products, freshness, display, storage, and product handling.
• Cheese Counter: Domestic and imported cheeses, cheese varieties, storage, temperature control, cutting, portioning, pairing, and customer recommendations.
• Meat Counter: Meat and poultry products, cuts, storage, cold-chain management, hygiene, handling, portioning, and product safety.
• Grocery: FMCG and packaged food products, brands, categories, shelf management, expiry control, and inventory rotation.
• Fruits & Vegetables: Freshness, quality grading, seasonal produce, handling, storage, display, wastage control, and product rotation.
• Dairy: Milk and dairy products, cold-chain management, expiry monitoring, storage, quality standards, and product handling.
• Home & Personal Care: Personal care, household, and home-use products, category knowledge, product features, shelf management, and customer recommendations.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

• Achievement of department sales targets.
• Gross margin and profitability performance.
• Stock availability and inventory accuracy.
• Reduction in stock variance, wastage, expiry, and damages.
• Customer satisfaction and complaint resolution.
• Product availability and display standards.
• Team productivity and manpower utilisation.
• Compliance with SOPs, hygiene, and safety standards.
• Team attendance, discipline, grooming, and performance.
• Customer conversion, cross-selling, and upselling performance.

QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE

• Graduate in any discipline; candidates with Retail Management, Hospitality, Food & Beverage, or relevant qu`alifications will be preferred.
• 1–2 years of relevant retail experience, preferably in premium grocery, gourmet retail, supermarket, food retail, FMCG, hospitality, or speciality retail.
• Prior experience in managing a department or leading a retail team will be preferred.
• Candidates with relevant product knowledge for the assigned department will have an added advantage.