National_Retail Operation Assistant Manager

Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one
of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses
headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating
divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare;
employing more than ‎35,000 employees across more than ‎20 countries in the
Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over ‎200 of the
world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group's
entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to
continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers
within the societies in which we operate.
By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity;
Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our
customers each and every day
ROLE PURPOSE:
The Retail Operations Assistant Manager will be accountable to maintaining and
increasing the efficiency of Store Operations. Responsible for identifying
cost improvement opportunities within the operation, working on key busines
projects with senior stakeholders maximise store efficiency for betterment of
customers and staff and lead the implementation of new processes to reform in
store operations improving Service, Standards and across the business
Supports and assists the Head of commercial operations with trade and
commercial planning, Works closely with Regional Managers and Store managers
to deliver the business strategy.
Systematic planning, implementing, monitoring, and revision of all the
channels of communication between stores and regional office. It also includes
the organization and dissemination of new communication directives connected
with all different departments of Marks and Spencer. The job holder will be
responsible for the Store operations from process flow & improvements,
technology, and vendor/solution selection in collaboration with stake holders.

This position is critical to the success of the M&S MENA operations which
include the overall business growth strategy in Foods, the clothing & home
goals and the shift in customers shopping habits. This will be achieved
through shift in store operational processes delivering best practice through
technology and experience.

Retail Operations
* Design & development of operational retail efficiencies aligned to and supporting the M&S store transformation
* Develop business cases and/or demand requests as required and work in partnership with AF retail teams to deliver projects (POS , RFID , CAFÉ)
* Utilise existing and new platforms to stay in touch with the needs of our customers and colleagues
* Develop an effective network in other industries to share and learn best practice and identify opportunities to apply the most effective future industry thinking
* Identify, Deliver and Embed cost reduction initiatives in OPEX Cost Areas and the end-to-end operations
* Design and Implement more efficient processes and ways of working in stores
* Constantly explore opportunities to drive customer experience, growth, loyalty and data
* Ability to recognise new opportunities in a retail environment to drive sales

Sales & Reporting
* Uses the business daily, weekly and monthly MI to understand store
* performance in line with the Operations Plan and KPI's.
* Support business to make discernible differences across the
* operations with accurate and insightful data analysis. - Timely reporting - Data Analysis and process
* Demonstrate knowledge of and experience with software tools to create, edit, and analyze complex reports, graphs, and presentations. Be able to make sound decisions and the ability to take initiative and accountability for the accuracy of information. Collaborate with EIT and others to standardize reporting and automate reports where possible

People & Communications
* Work with HRBP to deliver targeted people solutions to create employee engagement, compliance to HR Policies and local legislation
* Set up succession plans to sustain continuity and development.
* Role model M&S and AL Futtaim Leadership Competencies and Way behaviours
* Build, coach and develop the team across each region ensuring the talent pipeline
* Ensure clear goals and accountabilities are set and communicated to the team
* Support Head of Commercial Operations in communicating and cascading key messages to store team members.
* Monitors stores' staffing model reflects store activity; makes recommendations to utilise the maximising resource process to ensure right people, right place, and right time.
* Ensures the retail communication plan is delivered on time through the working week framework

Cost
* Investigates & manages all store reporting to maintain accuracy,
* Drive efficiency and provides advice & solutions where necessary to maintain data integrity.
* Provides evidence to stores to drive actions required to reduce stock and cash losses.
* Monitors the shrinkage action planning process and assists in the identification, protection and improvement of stock loss across the store.
* Provides productivity data, reviews, and makes recommendation to improve Business targets Service
* Delivery of KPI measures of performance and operational excellence through leveraging colleague capability, teamwork, and collaboration
* Working as part of a diverse and experienced store team where you will be confident to challenge peers and work collaboratively creating an inclusive and diverse workplace
* Work with Sake holders to drive a productive and efficient operation in a store which trades and operates legally and safely, protecting Customers, Colleagues, and the M&S brand
* Responds to and deals with internal and external customer queries, concerns and complaints
* Delivers great service for our customers and acts as a role models '"Doing the Right Thing' and living our Values in retail " Inspiration""Innovation" "Integrity" and "In Touch
* Prepares and provides all retail MI and delivers on time in line with agreed SLA's

Education, Experience, Knowledge and Behavioural Competencies:
* University degree
* ‎5+ years work experience
* Excellent communication skills across all levels, including influencing senior stakeholders
* Resilience and confidence to drive and deliver cultural and behavioural change and develop at team of colleagues for the future
* Highly analytical person with great precision and attention to detail
* Problem solving skills
* Working knowledge in SAP - ERP system (preferred) Good knowledge of MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint Strong analytical skills

About Al-Futtaim Retail
Al-Futtaim Retail has established itself as one of the leaders in Retail
across the Middle East, Africa & Asia over the past ‎30 years. We have
developed partnerships with some of the biggest and most respected Brands in
the world including IKEA, ACE and Toys R Us in the Middle East and the Inditex
Group of Brands (Zara, Mango, Bershka and P&B) across Asia. We are also one of
the largest Global partners of Marks and Spencer's in both regions with over
‎75 stores offering both fashion & food options.

Most recently we have been responsible for bringing brands to the Middle East
for the first time with the exciting launches of Watsons and B&Q and we aim to
continue to be agile and adaptive to our markets with new launches and further
development. For this to be possible we aim to recruit the best talent from
all backgrounds who will continue to challenge and develop our diverse
workforce which includes over ‎100 nationalities across ‎12 countries. Join us
today and make a difference…