Relief Manager - Charity Retail
| Posting date: | 27 November 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £28,300 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 27 December 2025 |
| Location: | Hertfordshire, Eastern England |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Willow Foundation |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: |
Summary
Willow’s charity shops deliver sustainable income for the charity, supporting the delivery of more than 1,000 special days, treats or breaks for our beneficiaries each year. Our shops also play a key role in the local community, raising awareness and support for Willow, as well as providing opportunities for volunteers.
Job Purpose
The Relief Manager provides operational cover across Willow’s retail shops, ensuring smooth daily running, strong sales, effective volunteer management, and high shop standards. The role supports the Area Manager, drives income through donations and Gift Aid, and maintains excellent customer and donor relationships—all while promoting Willow’s mission. This is a mobile role requiring flexibility, organisation, and confident leadership.
Key responsibilities
To provide cover in Willow retail shops, managing Assistant Manager(s) and Volunteers, including the recruitment and retention of a motivated team of volunteers.
To ensure income and profit maximisation through maximising donations, preparation of items for sale, sales and disposals of un-saleable items to trade merchants.
Achieve sales and profit targets in order that we are able to increase the number of Special Days for seriously ill young adults
To achieve the optimum price for all donated stock.
To maximise sign-ups for Retail Gift Aid and ensuring full records are maintained for donations under this scheme.
To control shop expenditure in line with budget, applying Willow policies for purchasing at all times.
To manage customer and donor engagement ensuring the best possible relationship with Willow.
To manage the physical appearance of the shop maintaining high standards of shop merchandising and visual layout, controlling stock density and rotation systems, ensuring that it is inviting to customers and safe for customers, staff and volunteers at all times.
To contribute to the development of retail through innovation, ideas and creativity, feeding back all team ideas to the Area Manager and Head of Retail.
To demonstrate understanding of Willow’s purpose and activities striving to improve brand awareness and communicate key messages in order to raise the charity’s profile.
To complete all shop administration including cash handling and banking functions accurately and to deadline, ensuring company policies and procedures are adhered to.
To plan and organise daily workload for team, encouraging effective communication, setting objectives and fostering a positive team spirit.
To ensure that trading standard regulations are adhered to at all times.
Generic Responsibilities:
To ensure all duties are carried out in a manner which promotes Willow’s equality and diversity policies
To promote a health and safety culture within the workplace, observing all health and safety rules and procedures and attend all training courses as required
To ensure that essential information of a sensitive or personal nature is not disclosed to, or discussed with inappropriate persons and that all information is maintained in accordance with the Data Protection Act
To undertake other duties, commensurate with the post, as required
Travel Requirements:
To cover shops in the Willow network on a regular basis; to attend meetings at Head Office; to attend Shop Managers meetings; training sessions as required.
Willow's shops are located in: Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead, Hertford, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City and Biggleswade.
Unsocial hours requirement:
To work on Saturdays (and by prior agreement Sundays) on occasion.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Qualifications
Good understanding of retail operations
Good understanding of stock management
Understanding trends and best practice in charity retail
Good understanding of retail gift aid and related processes
Good understanding of health and safety and trading standards
GCSE Maths and English or equivalent literacy and numeracy skills
Key Skills
Accurate, conscientious, and self-motivated
Ability to work on own and use initiative and make decisions
Ability to plan, prioritise, and organise
Good communication skills at all levels
Creative e.g. visual merchandising, marketing
Ability to motivate, engage and develop teams to deliver results
Experience
Proven retail experience in charity sector
Personal Attributes
Self-starter - high energy levels
Positive and enthusiastic
Resourceful, problem solver
Strong professionally - credible with integrity
Good listener - will challenge constructively and respond well to feedback
An affinity with Willow's objectives and activities
Other
Mobility - the job entails frequent travel
Some Saturday and Sunday working is required (with notice)
Job Purpose
The Relief Manager provides operational cover across Willow’s retail shops, ensuring smooth daily running, strong sales, effective volunteer management, and high shop standards. The role supports the Area Manager, drives income through donations and Gift Aid, and maintains excellent customer and donor relationships—all while promoting Willow’s mission. This is a mobile role requiring flexibility, organisation, and confident leadership.
Key responsibilities
To provide cover in Willow retail shops, managing Assistant Manager(s) and Volunteers, including the recruitment and retention of a motivated team of volunteers.
To ensure income and profit maximisation through maximising donations, preparation of items for sale, sales and disposals of un-saleable items to trade merchants.
Achieve sales and profit targets in order that we are able to increase the number of Special Days for seriously ill young adults
To achieve the optimum price for all donated stock.
To maximise sign-ups for Retail Gift Aid and ensuring full records are maintained for donations under this scheme.
To control shop expenditure in line with budget, applying Willow policies for purchasing at all times.
To manage customer and donor engagement ensuring the best possible relationship with Willow.
To manage the physical appearance of the shop maintaining high standards of shop merchandising and visual layout, controlling stock density and rotation systems, ensuring that it is inviting to customers and safe for customers, staff and volunteers at all times.
To contribute to the development of retail through innovation, ideas and creativity, feeding back all team ideas to the Area Manager and Head of Retail.
To demonstrate understanding of Willow’s purpose and activities striving to improve brand awareness and communicate key messages in order to raise the charity’s profile.
To complete all shop administration including cash handling and banking functions accurately and to deadline, ensuring company policies and procedures are adhered to.
To plan and organise daily workload for team, encouraging effective communication, setting objectives and fostering a positive team spirit.
To ensure that trading standard regulations are adhered to at all times.
Generic Responsibilities:
To ensure all duties are carried out in a manner which promotes Willow’s equality and diversity policies
To promote a health and safety culture within the workplace, observing all health and safety rules and procedures and attend all training courses as required
To ensure that essential information of a sensitive or personal nature is not disclosed to, or discussed with inappropriate persons and that all information is maintained in accordance with the Data Protection Act
To undertake other duties, commensurate with the post, as required
Travel Requirements:
To cover shops in the Willow network on a regular basis; to attend meetings at Head Office; to attend Shop Managers meetings; training sessions as required.
Willow's shops are located in: Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead, Hertford, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City and Biggleswade.
Unsocial hours requirement:
To work on Saturdays (and by prior agreement Sundays) on occasion.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Qualifications
Good understanding of retail operations
Good understanding of stock management
Understanding trends and best practice in charity retail
Good understanding of retail gift aid and related processes
Good understanding of health and safety and trading standards
GCSE Maths and English or equivalent literacy and numeracy skills
Key Skills
Accurate, conscientious, and self-motivated
Ability to work on own and use initiative and make decisions
Ability to plan, prioritise, and organise
Good communication skills at all levels
Creative e.g. visual merchandising, marketing
Ability to motivate, engage and develop teams to deliver results
Experience
Proven retail experience in charity sector
Personal Attributes
Self-starter - high energy levels
Positive and enthusiastic
Resourceful, problem solver
Strong professionally - credible with integrity
Good listener - will challenge constructively and respond well to feedback
An affinity with Willow's objectives and activities
Other
Mobility - the job entails frequent travel
Some Saturday and Sunday working is required (with notice)