The Opportunity: The Assistant Department Manager is located at our American Girl Los Angeles Flagship Retail location and reports directly to the Department Manager. This role supports the daily operations of the assigned department, ensuring alignment with financial, customer service, and operational goals. Key responsibilities include motivating and developing team members, implementing merchandising strategies, and delivering exceptional customer service experiences that reflect the company’s standards and objectives.
What Your Impact Will Be:
Leadership
- Provide floor leadership to ensure the environment is friendly, positive, and professional at all times.
- Manage lunch and break schedules as well as covering call-offs.
- Coach and motivate the department staff to the expected performance standards.
- Support in leading creative and informative storewide and weekly departmental meetings with all staff.
Customer Service
- Ensures that staff creates a positive, friendly, and professional atmosphere.
- Ensures customer is treated as #1 priority.
- Ensure each customer is greeted within 30 seconds.
- Ensure appropriate sales/cashier floor coverage to maximize service.
- Ensure that the shopping environment is safe for both internal and external customers.
- Oversee in monitoring communication with customers by phone and written correspondence.
- Oversee in the training of the principles of MAGIC-Meet, Assess, Guide, Inspire, and Celebrate in conjunction with the Retail Leadership Team.
- Support Department Manager to achieve data capture goals.
- Oversee in monitoring progress through weekly recaps and regular on floor coaching and developing.
Merchandise Sales/Business Development
- Proactively develops business strategies to exceed sales plans in designated area of responsibility as agreed upon with Department Manager. Support and participate in achieving financial goals, KPI’s, Data Capture for the store and delivery of the Company’s revenue plan.
- Oversee and participate in the strategic plan for new items, special promotions, creation of floor plans; communicates safety stock changes, and signage needs in conjunction with the Retail Leadership Team.
- Oversee and participate in the monitoring of new item selling and special promotions. Oversee and participate in the initiation and execution of seasonal floor moves in conjunction with the Retail Leadership Team.
- Ability to establish and execute priorities with a sense of urgency.
- Shop competition and provide feedback as business dictates.
- Timely completion of assigned projects. Communicate concepts for additional business strategies.
Communication
- Regular discussions with sales department clerks, Department Managers, Visual Manager, and Store Director.
- In partnership with the Department Manager communicate with P&C, Visual, Corporate, Café, AP, ASM, Operations Manager, and others as needed to effectively manage the business.
Performance Management/Staff Development
- Manage in providing regular performance coaching and feedback.
- Partner performance issues with Department Manager on a timely basis with recommendations to overcome the issue.
- Manage in writing and conducting timely comprehensive performance appraisals.
- Ensure associates attend training sessions.
- Hire, coach, and discipline, as necessary.
- Develop specific plans to increase the skills of sales associates.
- Empower associates to solve customer requests.
- Oversee in ensuring compliance of all AG Place policies and procedures.
Merchandise Replenishment
- Execute monthly inventory counts.
- Proactively analyze reports to drive revenue.
- Ensure the selling floor is fully and consistently replenished with entire assortment.
- Maintain product assortment for the top of cash wrap and cash wrap line of fixtures.
- Analyze all aspects of new products to ensure appropriate merchandise flow.
- Work with visual and operations partners on merchandising issues included but not limited to new items and low inventory.