Automation system performance and Continuous Improvement Leader

Location: 

Northampton, GB, NN4 7HT

Contracted Hours:  39
Salary:  £35000
Sport:  Any Sport

THE JOB  

As a Department Manager, you'll combine your love for sports with your leadership skills to create a thriving environment for both your team and our customers. You'll be responsible for developing and implementing strategies to enhance the customer experience, drive sales performance, and foster a passionate and collaborative team environment within your sport department.

Drive Omnichannel Performance and Growth

  • Develop a Winning Strategy: Create and implement a localised omnichannel strategy that aligns with overall store goals and maximises sales performance across all channels (in-store, online, and beyond).
  • Build Customer Loyalty: Provide exceptional customer experiences at every touchpoint to foster long-term relationships and encourage repeat business.
  • Optimise Retail Spaces: Continuously improve the physical and digital store layouts to enhance customer experience and product discovery, and drive sales conversions.
  • Champion Safety and Circularity: Lead the implementation of safety and circularity initiatives, ensuring compliance with company standards and promoting sustainability practices.
  • Achieve Performance Targets: Set, monitor, and achieve commercial objectives and profitability targets across all sales channels.
  • Build a High-Performing Team: Develop and manage a skilled and adaptable team to support business needs, drive growth, and achieve efficiency targets.

 

Lead and develop a high-performing team

  • Foster a Positive Work Environment: Cultivate a positive and engaging workplace where Decathlon's values and culture are embraced and celebrated.
  • Empower Teammates: Inspire, mentor, and empower team members to develop their skills, autonomy, and entrepreneurial spirit through personalised development plans and regular feedback.
  • Drive Customer Excellence: Ensure all team members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to exceed customer expectations and contribute to strategic goals.
  • Ensure a Fair and Inclusive Workplace: Uphold and enforce company policies and legal regulations to create a fair, inclusive, and respectful work environment for all team members.
  • Plan for Future Success: Design and implement staffing plans that align with current and future commercial objectives, economic activities, and organisational changes.

 

Oversee Daily Store Operations Performance

  • Maintain Store Security: Ensure a safe and secure environment for both customers and teammates by implementing and upholding security measures.
  • Optimise Team Availability: Manage team schedules and resources to effectively meet customer demands and provide exceptional service throughout the day.
  • Ensure Product Availability: Manage inventory levels, coordinate supply chain operations, and ensure seamless product availability to meet customer needs.

THE PROFILE

We're seeking a passionate and driven leader who embodies our values and is excited to inspire their team to achieve outstanding results. You:

  • Are passionate about sports and dedicated to fostering a thriving team environment. You prioritise tasks effectively, are organised, and excel at collaboration and knowledge sharing. You actively listen, communicate persuasively, adapt to challenges, and demonstrate efficiency and emotional intelligence.
  • Are dedicated to providing exceptional customer experiences and building strong relationships with the community.
  • Possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills, enabling you to develop and implement effective strategies to drive business growth and achieve key performance indicators.
  • Communicate clearly and persuasively, actively listen to understand diverse perspectives, and provide constructive feedback to foster growth and development.

Key Skills and Abilities:

In addition to the above qualities, you possess the following skills and abilities or demonstrate the capacity to quickly learn and effectively apply them: 

  • Planning & Forecasting: Develop and implement action plans to ensure your team is prepared for key periods throughout the year, promoting relevant products and services to meet customer needs.
  • Performance Management: Manage the performance of your department, including layout optimisation, product promotion, and stock availability, to maximise sales and profitability.
  • Sales Force Management: Lead and motivate your team to achieve sales targets and develop business opportunities.
  • Stock Management: Ensure stock reliability, optimise stock performance, and maintain profitability through effective inventory management practices.
  • Commercial Strategy: Analyse market trends, define target audiences, and develop and implement commercial strategies to achieve business objectives.
  • Product Range Selection: Curate a product range that meets the needs of your customers and aligns with seasonal demands.
  • Financial Management: Understand and manage the department's profit and loss statement (P&L), ensuring economic viability and profitability.
  • Activity Management: Lead and debrief team activities, implement action plans, and monitor progress towards objectives.
  • Circular Economy Promotion: Promote and encourage the use of circular services, such as product trade-ins, second-life options, repairs, and rentals, to support sustainability initiatives.
  • Safety & Security: Ensure a safe and secure environment for customers, teammates, and products, upholding safety regulations and protecting customer data.
  • Team Development: Foster team cohesion, collective intelligence, and a shared vision to achieve common goals.
  • Staff Management: Develop and mentor teammates through performance reviews, identify individual needs, and provide opportunities for growth and development.
  • Recruitment & Onboarding: Define recruitment needs, attract and recruit talented individuals, and ensure smooth onboarding and integration of new teammates.
  • Human Resources Management: Oversee the legal framework for staff management, define organisational structure, and coordinate team flexibility to meet business needs.
  • Scheduling & Operations: Manage daily store operations, including scheduling, task allocation, and resource management, to ensure efficient and effective workflow.
  • In addition to these skills and abilities, you're comfortable working in a dynamic retail environment, including weekends and holidays, and are excited to contribute to the success of our team.

If you’re someone who thrives in a dynamic environment, a career at Decathlon could be a great fit. Our welcoming culture, rooted in values of vitality, responsibility, generosity, and authenticity—and brought together by a shared passion for sports—offers a truly enriching experience for everyone.

Get to enjoy the following benefits and perks:

  • Healthy discounts on all Decathlon goodies
  • Fun weekly Staff Sports/Activities
  • Pedal your way to work with the Cycle-to-Work Scheme
  • Dive into top-notch training at Decathlon Academy
  • Dive into hundreds of discount vouchers (think groceries, travel, shopping, and more!) with our discount hub developed by SmartSpending!

… and many more

Warehouse Department Manager

 

 

At Decathlon UK, we offer Careers That Let You Play. As part of the DECATHLON Group, one of the world's largest sports retailers headquartered in France, we specialise in creating and distributing sports products through online and physical stores across 56 countries with over 1,700 locations. With over 40+ stores in the UK, our mission is to be the spirited champion of sports and healthier living in the nation.

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THE JOB 

You will take ownership of our warehouse automation system, Exotec. Your role focuses on keeping this automated system running smoothly by analysing WMS data, managing vendor relationships and controlling costs. By mastering this technology, you will be the key driver in increasing depot capacity and space utilisation while decreasing the resources required for picking. Your leadership will directly result in accelerated productivity growth (+5% annually), significant cost reduction and improved ergonomics, ensuring a superior working environment and streamlined processes.

You will also be responsible for continuous improvement in our warehouse. You will lead the evolution of our warehouse operations, identifying bottlenecks to increase throughput while championing a culture of safety and operational excellence.

System Performance & Accountability

 

  • KPI Ownership: Monitoring the automated system’s performance in real-time. You are responsible for identifying performance gaps and applying contractual penalties when output falls below expected KPIs.

  • Vendor Management: Leading regular meetings with the Exotec team to identify technical issues, review maintenance schedules 

  • Implement action plans for continuous system development.

  • Strategic Optimisation: Collaborating with International stakeholders to optimise system flow, finding opportunities for software or hardware improvements to enhance omnichannel performance.

  • WMS Data Mastery: Using WMS systems as your primary tool to analyse trends, monitor system occupancy, and forecast potential bottlenecks.

Operational Excellence (OE) & Continuous Improvement (CI)

 

  • Standardisation: Guaranteeing 100% implementation of validated standard processes within one month of release.

  • Efficiency Roadmap: Defining deadlines for local projects and building action trackers to monitor warehouse-level progress.

  • CI Initiatives: Leading 5S and Visual Management; supporting teams in Deep Dive analysis (DMS, VSM processes).

  • Upskilling Targets: Training 50% of operatives and 80% of management to an "Intermediate" level in CI/OE.

Financial Management & Cost Control

  • Reviewing and auditing invoices and operational costs related to the automated system to ensure absolute financial accuracy.

  • Driving sustainable performance by ensuring every system update or process change delivers a measurable financial or environmental return.

Safety, Security & Business Continuity

  • Technical Safety: Ensuring all operational standards for the automated installations are met, prioritising the safety of the site and the integrity of the technology.

  • Crisis Management & Resilience: Executing site security measures and crisis management procedures (DRP) to ensure business continuity. This includes coordinating regular stress tests of the system to identify breaking points and ensure the automation can handle peak volume demands.

  • Duty Management: Ensuring the continuous operation of the site through secured openings and closings of the warehouse during assigned Duty Manager rotations.

  • Incident Root-Cause Analysis: Analysing technical incidents and implementing action plans to prevent recurrence and protect company assets.

 

Who You Are:

 

We are seeking individuals who are committed to efficiency, safety and teamwork. You are:

 

  • A Strategic Leader: Someone who can take charge of a technical environment, holding both external partners and International stakeholders accountable to strict performance and CI standards.

  • Analytical & Data-Driven: A master of WMS systems who enjoys "diving into the data" to understand trends, run system stress tests, and find hidden efficiencies to maximise space utilisation.

  • Organised and Efficient: Able to manage the local efficiency roadmap and complex system planning to ensure work is completed within budget and on schedule.

  • Continuous Learner: Obsessed with Operational Excellence; you stay connected with the International CI/OE ecosystem to streamline information and drive productivity growth (+5% annually).

  • Financially Minded: Obsessed with cost reduction and eliminating waste; you understand how to audit invoices and optimise resources to improve the bottom line.

  • A Technical Problem-Solver: Skilled in Change Management, helping the site adapt to new automated standards and technology updates while maintaining a focus on ergonomics and team well-being.

  • Safety & Resilience Focused: Committed to a "zero-incident" culture, ensuring the safety of the site and the integrity of high-tech assets during Duty Management and daily operations.

  • Sustainability-Driven: Interested in making operations more sustainable by optimising resources and reducing the carbon footprint of the automated system.

If you’re someone who thrives in a dynamic environment, a career at Decathlon could be a great fit. Our welcoming culture, rooted in values of vitality, responsibility, generosity and authenticity—and brought together by a shared passion for sports—offers a truly enriching experience for everyone.

 

 

Get to enjoy the following benefits and perks:

 

  • Healthy discounts on all Decathlon goodies

  • Fun weekly Staff Sports/Activities

  • Pedal your way to work with the Cycle-to-Work Scheme

  • Dive into top-notch training at Decathlon Academy

  • Dive into hundreds of discount vouchers (think groceries, travel, shopping and more!) with our discount hub developed by SmartSpending!

… and many more





Decathlon is committed to inclusion and non-discrimination, and thus acts on a daily basis in favor of disability, a multi-generational workforce, social diversity, and equality between women and men. If, due to a disability, you require any special accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know. At Decathlon, first and foremost, we are recruiting personality and character.

A note on reasonable adjustments

Decathlon is committed to inclusion and non-discrimination, and thus acts on a daily basis in favor of disability, a multi-generational workforce, social diversity, and equality between women and men. If, due to a disability, you require any special accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know. At Decathlon, first and foremost, we are recruiting personality and character.

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