District Manager (East) Jobs

"We’re hiring! Mastermind Toys - Canada’s Authority on Play - has big plans and we want YOU to join our growing team! We have a customer-obsessed culture, which we believe starts with employee experience. We jump at the chance to co-create with our customers and employees, while staying true to our Canadian roots. Over 39 years later, Mastermind Toys is the nation’s largest specialty toy and children’s bookstore, and we deeply believe that “Play is Kids’ Work”.

We are currently seeking a District Manager to join our team, supporting our East stores located within Canada.

The successful candidate will direct the seamless execution of Mastermind Toys’ brand at retail, focused through the lens of the consumer experience and enacted through the direct support of our Store Leaders, and focus on creating success through our People in Process and Product.

Job Responsibilities

Business Leadership:

·Demonstrate sound retail business practices through supporting store leaders in their daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly planning to grow the positive contribution their stores to brand experience, employee development, operational efficiency and sales performance.

·Facilitate the analysis of business results and trends for each supported location with an eye to controllable metrics:sales, labour, promotion, retention, inventory and cost management

·Actively understand the local business context, consumer landscape, competition, and trends to capture insight on the most impactful local adaptations to boost store contribution.

·Unlock customer-facing hours through operational efficiency, collaborating with stores to develop their operational practices, skills development and productivity.

·Embody Mastermind Toys’ joy for our industry, and passion to create moments of wonder for our customer; empower the leaders in your charge to do the same.

Staff Training & Development:

·Partner with the Human Resources team to recruit, sustain and develop a diverse, enterprising team of passionate store leaders

·Collaborate with HR, peer field leaders and Play HQ to calibrate talent on a regular basis, identifying and executing plans according to the performance and potential of the District team.

·In partnership with the HR Manager, continuously reinforce with store leaders the Mastermind Toys employee experience philosophy, to deliver on our Individual Value Proposition, and ensure consistent performance management

·Evaluate and coach your team’s performance through consistent, structured contact; collaborate to capture development opportunities, mark developmental milestones, and address gaps.

·Plan and conduct regular District meetings; share information, communicate goals, and celebrate individual and team success

Store Operations:

·Partner with Store Operations to ensure communication to, from and across stores is effective and efficient

·Coach, share and support product knowledge development practices in and across all stores

·Ensure best practice merchandising standards are consistently maintained; work with store leaders to review stock levels, sell through, and space availability to eliminate barriers between going from good to great

·Alongside store leaders, regularly review the total store experience from a customer viewpoint, including in-store communication, staff engagement, visual excellence, and back of house processes

·Ensure compliance to all standards (health and safety, emergency processes and loss prevention)

·Ensure accurate completion and security of all necessary store, customer and staff records; support

·Participate in required planning and implementation of store changes including new stores, re-fit, re-site and store closures

·Support in the delivery of new initiatives into the stores and the retirement of obsolete processes, in partnership with Store Operations

·Continuously act as the voice of the customer and store leader to provide insight and feedback to business partners

Qualifications:

·Post secondary diploma/degree in Business, Retail Management or acceptable combination of education and experience required

·Minimum of five years retail management experience supporting multiple locations required

·Demonstrated ability to actively participate in developing & overseeinga team of retail professionals (from a distance)

·Proven interest and ability to take a hands on active role in all aspects of daily store operations

·Proven record to meet/exceed financial goals: strong business acumen to identify opportunities; generate sales & profit

·Strong sales, store operations, merchandising, service, coaching and leadership skills required

·Team oriented individual willing to be actively involved in all facets of store operations

·Proficient with Outlook applications, excel, word, email, power point, inventory, budget software

·Interest in Mastermind product

·Strong & clear verbal and written communication skills; proficiency using business, POS and inventory software

This position is remote in nature.

Mastermind Toys is committed to accommodating applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment and selection process. Upon request, Mastermind Toys will, in consultation with the applicant, determine the nature of any accommodation that may be required.

If you require any accommodation, please contact us at [email protected] and we’ll work with you to meet your accessibility needs.