Head of Customer Proposition

Job description

Role purpose

The Head of Customer Proposition is a pivotal new leadership role within the Retail and Communities senior team. It is responsible for building a team with ultimate accountability for putting the customer at the heart of everything we do in Retail.

The role will ensure Scope’s new customer proposition is pioneering and courageous. That we deliver a highly engaging and differentiated customer experience. And that we are always where our customers need us most.

Main responsibilities

The role has three distinct initial accountabilities:

1. E-commerce: driving and developing Scope’s fledgling online customer offer to hit our ambitious commercial growth figures and deliver a great customer shopping experience.
2. New goods and Scope own-label: developing a cutting-edge and commercially profitable strategy for buying and merchandising new goods (currently 6-8% of sales) and own-label products that are in line with our customers’ needs and wants.
3. Estate proposition: leading on all strategic aspects of our estate proposition. Working in close partnership with the Head of Retail.

• Developing a pioneering charity store of the future
• Developing our new proposition, including format and brand. Ensuring alignment with customer behaviour, needs and wants
• Optimising our current estate
• The role will eventually take on accountability for generating stock from corporate partners. This will involve developing a strategy to build new partnerships with corporate donors to drive quality stock donation to increase sales.

The role is also responsible for;

• Working in partnership with Scope’s Head of Marketing to bring our brand to life through the store experience.
• Keeping an eye on the latest customer trends and competitor activities to spot opportunities to differentiate our brand. And deliver a brilliant shopping trip across all channels.
• Customer service experience across online channels
• Developing their team to be trusted partners. Empowering them to make decisions and inspiring them to deliver exceptional work
• Coaching their team to apply lean thinking to increase efficiencies and maximise value to the customer.
• Working collaboratively with the Retail Senior Leadership Team. Sharing collective responsibility for Retail performance and the delivery of key objectives.

Internal contacts

• Retail senior leadership team (SLT)
• Retail field team, including Divisional Managers, Area Managers, shop management staff and volunteers
• Scope’s Leadership Group
• Other key functions across the organisation. Such as Marketing, Fundraising, HR, Finance, Property, Technology
• Scope’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT)
• Scope’s Board of Trustees

External contacts

• Third sector networks, e.g. Charity Retail Association (CRA)
• Senior retail managers from the commercial sector
• Corporate partners
• Suppliers related to Scope’s retail operation. Such as property contractors, design agencies, legal representatives, local council representatives.
• Scope’s retail customers and donors

Person Specification

Knowledge and experience

Essential

• Extensive experience of running a profitable and efficient e-commerce operation
• Substantial knowledge and experience of retail buying and merchandising
• Previous experience in format development
• Experience of developing, presenting, and implementing successful strategies and business cases
• Ability to show how they live Scope’s ‘pioneering’ value
• Great people management skills. Demonstrable experience of successfully developing people into bigger, brighter roles
• Experience of working with and influencing very senior stakeholders, up to C-suite level
• Knowledge and experience of using Lean thinking to improve efficiencies. And maximise value for the customer

Desirable

• Knowledge and/ or experience of using Agile principles to deliver wor
• Knowledge and/ or experience of charity retailing
• Disabled or has lived experience of disability
• Understanding of the social model of disability

Skills

Essential

• The ability to truly lead; to motivate, engage, and improve performance through great leadership skills
• Ability to work collaboratively across the organisation, build trusted relationships and bring together cross-functional teams to deliver
• Ability to demonstrate free thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Great communication skills
• Resilience and ability to manage ambiguity
• Stamina and highly motivated
• Ability to use initiative
• Ability to analyse data and turn this into actionable insight
• An inquiring mind and excellent problem-solving skills
  Ability to be flexible and respond positively to change.
• Work effectively under pressure and deal with conflicting priorities.

Desirable

• Skilled in using Agile principles to deliver work