We’re not just an amazing, award-winning visitor attraction that’s home to over 30,000 incredible animals within 128 acres of stunning gardens. We’re not just the UK’s most popular zoo. We’re an international wildlife charity that’s committed to the recovery of endangered species.

OUR REQUIREMENTS

• Management experience, ideally gained in a retail environment (or equivalent, such as a visitor attraction).
• Experienced people manager who is able to lead and inspire a team in a range of disciplines and manage performance.
• Exceptional customer service skills
• Have a creative eye and commercial flair to make decisions on layout and visual merchandising
• Good practical knowledge of budgets, forecasting and setting targets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with the ability to liaise to people at all levels, working with colleagues whose priorities may differ from yours
• Computer literate with working knowledge of Excel and other Microsoft products
• Good working knowledge of Health & Safety processes

• Lead and inspire a large team, setting clear objectives and ensuring sales targets are achieved.
• Proactively manage labour, stock, and operational expenses to maximise efficiency while maintaining exceptional service standards.
• Recruit, supervise, develop, and motivate team members to deliver outstanding customer experiences.
• Oversee and enhance visual merchandising standards, ensuring displays are engaging, innovative, and consistently of world-class quality.
• Utilise retail systems and data to plan, organise, and review performance, driving revenue and achieving commercial KPIs.
• Support the Retail Operations Managers in delivering and enhancing retail standards across all outlets, working closely together as one team.
• Uphold safe working practices and compliance with all health and safety requirements, including rota duties as Bronze Commander for the wider Zoo.
• Build strong internal and external networks to understand and respond to market trends, ensuring Chester Zoo remains an industry leader.
• Commit to personal development and support succession planning, fostering a learner-led culture across the team.