Retail Deputy Manager

18 hour contract

Why The Works?

We don’t just sell products. We inspire reading, learning, creativity and play.

You could recommend the paint set that helps someone discover their inner artist. The book that inspires a future author. The game that brings a family together. Or the puzzle book that reconnects someone with a treasured memory.

You never know what future outcomes your customer interaction might spark, or who someone might become. With your passion and our products, you’ll help people discover new interests, explore their creativity, find a new hobby or reconnect with something they once loved.

The unseen possibilities are limitless - and it all starts with you.

Become a Retail Deputy Manager

As a Deputy Manager, you play a vital role in supporting the Store Manager to lead the team and deliver an exceptional customer experience. You’ll help drive commercial performance, maintain high operational standards, and step up to lead the store in the Store Manager’s absence. You’ll be a role model for the team - motivating, coaching, and ensuring every shift runs smoothly.

Your mission is to deliver exceptional service, spark brilliant conversations, and help customers with their shopping missions - whether it’s discovering new products they'll love, or finding the perfect gifts for someone else. By getting to know their interests or shopping mission, you’ll be ready to recommend things that surprise, delight, and inspire them. You’ll also play a key role in keeping the store well-stocked, tidy, safe, and welcoming. Alongside your teammates, you help create an environment where everything runs smoothly and everyone feels supported and included in the team.

Being a Brand Ambassador

Being a brand ambassador at The Works isn’t your job title. It’s the way you bring our brand to life every day through the moments you create. It’s the smile that puts someone at ease, the warm welcome into the store, the way you support your colleagues with kindness and teamwork, the conversation that helps a child discover their new favourite toy, or the encouragement that inspires someone to reconnect with their creativity, or their love of reading. These small interactions - the ones that feel ordinary to you, often become extraordinary memories for the people who walk through our doors.

Whether you’re on the shop floor, in our distribution centre, or at our support centre, you’ll always be representing our products, services, values and behaviours in a positive and authentic way, whatever the environment, where ever you are. You help build trust, brand awareness and loyalty simply through how you show up. At The Works, we are all Brand Ambassadors.

Your Mission

• Support the Store Manager in leading the team to deliver excellent customer service and achieve store targets.
• Take ownership of key operational areas such as stock management, merchandising, and compliance.
• Lead by example on the shop floor, setting high standards for service, presentation, and teamwork.
• Coach and develop team members, providing feedback and support to help them grow.
• Step up to manage the store in the absence of the Store Manager, ensuring smooth day-to-day operations.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and training of new team members.
• Monitor store performance and contribute ideas to improve sales and efficiency.
• Ensure health & safety, cash handling, and loss prevention procedures are followed.
• Foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performing team culture.

Skills / Behaviours that will set you apart

• Experience in a supervisory or team leadership role within retail or customer service.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Confident in leading a team and making decisions.
• Organised and able to manage multiple priorities.
• Customer-focused with a passion for delivering great service.
• Flexible and reliable, with a hands‑on approach.
• Experience in a high-volume or value retail environment.
• Familiarity with retail systems and reporting tools.
• Experience supporting recruitment, training, or performance management.

Being a great leader

• Inspire and motivate your team in line with our employer brand, values, behaviours and purpose.
• Lead your team to reach their potential and steer your store to break records and get in the spotlight.
• Work collaboratively with support departments and peers. If somethings not quite right, provide quality constructive feedback so we can work as a team to get it right!
• But let's not forget about the most important part… your team's well-being and aspirations. You'll be their biggest supporter, cheering them on. You'll have amazing everyday conversations with your team, discussing everything from performance to career aspirations and helping them get there

Our PERKS really are ‘The Works’

• 25% Colleague Discount! - Plus, exclusive Double Discount days!
• MyWorks - Access exclusive online discounts across hundreds of retailers, holidays, utilities deals, tech and more!
• Family Friendly Leave - Enjoy some time well spent with enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay.
• Holiday – 33 days, including bank holidays. Plus, your holiday allowance increases with long service.
• Can-Do Academy - Grow your skills and career with instant access to further training and development in areas that interest you.
• Stream - Claim early access to 50% of your wages as you earn them – for when ‘life’ happens!
• Share Scheme - Unleash your inner Monopoly mogul and own a piece of The Works!
• 24/7 support for you and your family - Through our partnership with Retail Trust Charity, we provide an Employee Assistance Programme and so much more!
• Healthcare Cash Plan – To support your everyday healthcare costs.
• And loads more! – Long service awards, pension, life assurance, Cycle to Work scheme and optional charity giving.

Our Purpose

To inspire reading, learning, creativity and play

Our Values

Crafty | Smart with what we've got.

Caring | Heart in every action.

Can-do | Energy that gets it done.

Promoting Diversity, Inclusion, and Applying Reasonable Adjustments.

At The Works, we’re proud to have an inclusive culture where everyone can feel able to be themselves. Our roles are open to everyone, and we particularly welcome applications from people and communities that are under-represented in our business.

We’re open to conversations about working hours and flexible working and, where possible, we’ll try to support this. If you need any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process - or would like to discuss how you could carry out an essential part of the role - please let us know. We’ll be happy to explore what support may help.

The Works is the UK's leading specialist retailer of affordable, screen-free activities for the whole family, providing customers with fantastic value across four product categories: arts and crafts, stationery, toys and games, and books.

We don’t just sell products. We inspire reading, learning, creativity and play.

Because when people spend time doing what they love, it’s Time Well Spent .

And with the right passion - It All Starts With You.

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