Music is Universal
 
It’s the passionate and dedicated team at Universal Music who help make us the world’s leading music company. From A&R to finance, legal to digital, sales to marketing, Universal Music is the place to grow and develop your career within a truly commercial and innovative business that leads in everything it does.

Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, age, marital status, background, pregnancy, or caring responsibilities. We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought within our teams and are fully committed to embracing the talents of people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other forms of neurocognitive variation.

We will always seek to make appropriate adjustments to recruitment, workplaces, and work processes to be fully inclusive to people with different needs and working styles. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments for you from application onwards, including alternatives to the online form or to disclose a neurocognitive condition, please email UniversalMusicCareers@umusic.com.

The A Side: A Day in The Life

Abbey Road Studios is a market leader with a global reputation and is no doubt the most famous recording studio complex in the world.  The Studios are a pilgrimage for music fans globally and a major tourist attraction in the capital.  The Abbey Road gift shop gives visitors an idea of what it is like inside the actual Studios, and sells a range of high quality merchandise from Vinyl LPs and Beatles memorabilia to Abbey Road Studios’ own product range.  The Supervisor role is a tremendous opportunity to join this world renowned organisation and play a key role in promoting this iconic brand.  In partnership with the HOR and Shop Manager, the Supervisor will run a small business unit, getting involved in visual merchandising, store management and team development. It also offers the music lover the opportunity to curate the whole customer experience and provide international fans and pilgrims with a unique insight into The Studios, past, present and future.

The B Side: Skills & Experience

Retail Management

• Work with the Abbey Road Studios senior management team to develop the commercial strategy, ensure the shop meets its revenue targets and that the products on sale both reflect the Abbey Road Studios brand and appeal to visitors.
• Help develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to maximise sales and enhance the visitor experience, support targets and minimise shrinkage. Ensure that all staff fully understand their responsibilities and comply with these procedures at all times.
• Ensure that accounting and financial procedures are strictly adhered to and embed a culture of control and financial discipline.
• Maintain a good knowledge and understanding of the retail market and in particular its relation to the arts and heritage world, feeding that knowledge into retail planning.

Retail Performance

• Constantly review the trading data and take actions as required/agreed on matters relating to the day-to-day and longer term retail operations. Identify and communicate business critical issues.
• Prepare timely, accurate, and high quality reports using the EPOS system and adding relevant supporting information.  Communicate performance to the Management Team as required.
• Produce sales forecasts to inform stock management and the longer-term development of the retail strategy.

Retail Operations

• Perform daily opening, closing, and reporting procedures.
• Sell store merchandise and manage stock levels and reordering.
• Coordinate store displays and special promotions.
• Reconcile weekly sales and prepare bank deposits.
• Process cash and card transactions using the EPOS system, in accordance with the cash handling procedures.
• Capture customer details, through store POS system. Build and maintain the customer database.
• Organise appropriate levels of staffing to ensure the efficient operation of the shop, matching operational requirements and salary budget.

Visual Merchandising and Display

• Ensure retail spaces are presented and merchandised to a high standard at all times and that standards are defined and maintained to reflect the brand and the commercial strategy and to promote sales growth
• Ensure that the visual merchandising, POS, layout and arrangement of the shop is continually evaluated and improved in order to maximise profit by monitoring sales against different arrangements and adapting layouts accordingly.

Team Management

• Build a strong, knowledgeable and commercial retail team through effective recruitment, induction, appraisal and disciplinary processes.
• Develop and motivate the new team to deliver the highest customer service by setting clear objectives and ensuring development needs are identified and met.
• Regularly review the performance and operation of the retail team in order to continuously improve the visitor experience and maximize sales and margin. Ensure the shop is maintained and run to the highest standard.
• Manage, schedule, and supervise store personnel ensuring that the peaks and troughs of customer flow are well managed and key targets are met.

Customer Service and Brand Experience

• Demonstrate real passion for the Studios, communicating in depth knowledge of the Studios’ past, present and future and how this relates to the retail range – not only to build sales but also to provide a unique customer experience (which will have the added benefit of encouraging visitors to make repeat visits to the store or website and to spread the word)
• Manage the inevitable peaks and troughs of customer flow through staffing and crowd management as identified in the Retail Operations Manual
• Identify opportunities to enhance customer service, including building a customer database and exploring added value services
• Build a culture of strong customer service to enhance the visitor experience and encourage linked sales

Retail Brand, Marketing and Communications

• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the events and marketing programme of the Studios and understand the link between the Studios and the products in the shop.
• Use this knowledge to develop a programme of marketing, PR and in-store promotions (in collaboration with the Marketing department) that maximises sales opportunities and customer engagement.
• Benchmark Abbey Road Studios retail against other relevant retail offers, in the sector and beyond, including products, prices, displays and promotions

Legal, Security, Health and Safety

• Be aware of and comply with all relevant Trading Standards requirements and ensure team are fully briefed
• Ensure that the company’s health and safety regulations and procedures, as they relate to the shop, (and associated areas) are complied with at all times.
• Assist in the evacuation of the shop in the event of a fire, security alert or other emergency in accordance with stated procedures. Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of emergency procedures.
• Ensure that the retail team maintains vigilance at all times to ensure the safety and security of property (the building, cash and stock) and the safety of the public.

Other

• Lead or act as a member of project teams for the development of new initiatives
• Undertake other duties that may be necessary from time to time, that are appropriate to the role, within the competence of the role holder and commensurate with the post.

Person Specification

• Passionate about music and Abbey Road’s history and heritage
• A strong track record in retail store management, ideally with experience of corporate and entrepreneurial environments
• Commercial knowledge and awareness, including the ability to retain and disseminate commercial data and of working with P&L accounts, budgeting and forecasting
• Demonstrable experience of recruiting and effectively managing teams in a retail environment, including performance management and skills training
• Extensive customer-facing retail experience, including cash handling, use of EPOS systems and experience in establishing written procedures

Bonus Tracks: Your Benefits

• Group Personal Pension Scheme (between 3% and 9%)
• Private Medical Insurance
• 25 paid days of annual leave
• Interest Free Season Ticket Loan
• Holiday Purchase scheme
• Dental and Travel Insurance options
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Salary Sacrifice Cars
• Subsidised Gym Membership
• Employee Discounts (Reward Gateway)

Just So You Know…

The company presents this job description as a guide to the major areas and duties for which the jobholder is accountable. However, the business operates in an environment that demands change and the jobholder's specific responsibilities and activities will vary and develop. Therefore, the job description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive, and exhaustive statement.

Job Category: