Leads a district to maximize each store’s potential, achieving sales productivity goals and profitability.  Hires, coaches, and develops store management talent through inspiring and encouraging leadership.  Ensures store management coaches, develops, and inspires associates as selling and style advisers. Ensures stores achieve excellent visual merchandising and operational standards. Acts as a liaison to the corporate office to develop and implement programs and initiatives for the stores.

• Drives multi-store sales performance and ensures stores within the district achieve sales and productivity goals.
• Maintains awareness of all store goals and results, and develops strategic, actionable plans with store management to improve store performance and maximize opportunities.  Ensures store management is using current tools to consistently and effectively coach and communicate goals and priorities to all associates.
• Forecasts and analyzes business trends and make effective action plans to drive results and hold teams accountable, while managing expenses.
• Identifies and celebrates store and individual successes.
• Maintains communication with Regional Director regarding store performance and opportunities.
• Builds customer loyalty by leading store management to identify and leverage local customer outreach opportunities and company programs to acquire new customers and increase frequency of customer visits.
• Works with store management to resolve merchandise and customer service issues timely and effectively, ensuring positive customer experiences and continued customer loyalty.
• Accesses market, shares information and surfaces opportunities within markets.

Talent Development

• Identifies and continually recruits management talent to support J. Jill culture, goals and objectives, maintaining bench strength to ensure all positions are filled in a timely manner.
• Creates a high performing, talented team that is focused on achieving individual and company goals.  Coaches and develops management and associate skills through positive and inspiring feedback and challenging assignments.
• Conducts ongoing training and development of store management on selling culture and techniques, policies and procedures, and operational and visual merchandising standards.
• Evaluates and coaches to performance by providing timely, actionable and specific feedback to ensure achievement of goals, consistency in brand standards and a positive customer experience.
• Resolves associate relations issues timely and professionally, in accordance with company policy.

• Ensures all store management teams create a positive, energetic and inspiring store atmosphere of both teamwork and individual associate contribution.
• Develops management and associates to model J. Jill selling culture by reinforcing selling and learning tools, determining unique customer needs and delighting all customers with their experience at J. Jill.  Directs and coaches store management to ensure a consistent environment of greeting every customer promptly and genuinely, re-engaging on the selling floor, and wardrobing customers by providing guiding, helpful service.
• Directs store management to ensure an effective leader is scheduled and functioning in the role of sales floor leader on the sales floor at all times.
• Challenges store teams to learn and grow and try new skills and selling approaches.
• Ensures all management and associates project J. Jill brand and a style adviser image.

• Directs store management to effectively plan, schedule, and execute floor sets and ongoing re-merchandising of stores.
• Partners with Regional Visual Manager to develop visual merchandising skills of store teams.
• Holds management accountable for ensuring excellent visual standards are consistently maintained, including continual replenishment of the sales floor, and appropriate fixture and product placement.

Operational Excellence

• Coaches and directs store management to create optimal weekly work schedules to drive sales and support customer selling and service.  Approves schedules weekly to ensure top talent is scheduled during peak traffic periods while meeting payroll expense goals.
• Ensures store management consistently utilizes current reporting and tools to plan effective strategies for sales floor coverage and management of tasks.
• Directs and coaches store management to achieve excellence in all operational standards and functions including: knowledge and implementation of all company policies and procedures, marketing, product replenishment, markdowns and promotions, store cleanliness and backroom organization.
• Leads and resolves loss prevention investigations with LPI representative and make decisions on appropriate actions in alignment with company guidelines.  Consult with Store Operations and Human Resources as warranted.  Protects company assets and reduce merchandise shrink by managing internal, external and administrative inventory processes according to company procedures.
• Ensures compliance to company policies and procedures and federal, state, and local employment laws to ensure a safe environment and protect company assets.

Benefits, Tailored for You.

• Bonus eligible
• 401(k) retirement plan with discretionary match and tuition reimbursement.
• Medical, dental, vision, company paid LTD/STD, and generous amount of paid time off.
• Generous associate discount; group discounts on auto, pet and homeowner insurance.
• Discount Marketplace for travel, consumer products, food, auto buying, etc.
• Associate resource groups.

• Outstanding leadership qualities, training and team building skills.
• Proven excellent customer service skills with statistical track record of driving multi store sales.
• Strong strategic and analytical skills to identify opportunities and coach to success.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to communicate effectively with business partners at all levels in the organization.
• Exceptional style, merchandising and wardrobe skills.
• Ability to forecast and analyze business trends and make effective action plans.
• Proven ability to network; acquiring and maintaining talent.
• Strong ability to assess market, and surface opportunities.
• Passionate about fashion and the J. Jill brand; consistent high level of engagement.
• Treats everyone on the team with dignity and respect and motivates through inspiring and encouraging leadership.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• 6+ years of women’s specialty retail management experience.
• 3+ years in a district manager/multi-store position preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Proven experience in Human Resources and Associate Relations.
• Established history in recruiting and retaining a talented management and sales team.     
• Point of Sale and office software technical experience (Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word).

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by associates assigned to this job.  They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of this position.