Lagardère - Flairway Travel Retail Ltd – Kigali / Rwanda
We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Country Manager to oversee Lagardère-Flairway Travel Retail Ltd- at Kigali. In this key leadership role, you will be responsible for managing all shops within the operation, ensuring alignment with both the short and long-term interests of the company, its employees, and its customers. A critical aspect of your role will be to ensure that the highest levels of customer service are consistently delivered.
Working closelywith and reportingto the COO of Lagardère Travel Retail, you will be instrumental in formulating fiscal revenue, expense, and profit goals for the operation. Additionally, you will oversee the managementof inventory levels,ensuring that the shops are well stocked and positioned to meet the needsof our customers.
This Country Manager position is for you, if you enjoy:
- Managing the commercialactivities ofthe business and localrelationships whilemaximizing profit sales
- Promoting a brand image of excellence througha strong work ethic, leadership by example, and consistent delivery of excellent customer service
- Working in a fast paced, changing environment with following categories: Beauty Products, High End Liquor, Tobacco, Cigars, Confectionary, Watches, Jewellery and Accessories and Luxury Goods.
Your Team is countingon you as a Country Manager to:
- Provide flexibility to work long/ irregular hours any day of the week, weekends,and holidays
- Oversee over 45 employees
- Provide a working environment that ensures the customers journeyand engagement includingbut not limited to, service excellence, reserve and collect, loyalty programs, Level Up, gate delivery as examples.
Country Manager Key Accountabilities:
- Responsible for managing the shops within an operation, consistent with the short- and long-term interests of the company, its employees and its customers and ensuring the highest level of customer service possible
- Formulate the fiscalrevenue, expense and profit goals,as well as the inventory levels for the shops
- Analyze the KPI’s if any issue in the shop might be affecting the daily sales, and take corrective actions if needed
- Organize and lead the Weekly and Monthly Meetings with Operation’s responsible, including all the relevant events of the week (sales, promotions, categories, brands, HR, etc.)
- Prepare a weekly and monthly action plan as a result of the Weekly and Monthly Meeting
- Analyze promotion results, prepare reports with proposed actions plan to be submitted to the County Commercial Team as needed.
- Review Sales targets by shop, category and brand, compared to the previous week, month, year and budget
- Lead the Terminal/Store Manager’s team
- Control the cost and take actions if needed
- Cultivate an excellent relationship with the Airport authorities
- Coordinate the SIP in terms of implementation and execution
- Ensure that there is a positive and good work ethos in all shops. Identify and implement necessary trainings within the shops
- Responsible for matching of staffing to the customer flow (Shift Planning) and review staff performance and track FTE by department
- Maintain staff levels that allow for the best possible custom service
- Execute performance evaluations and goal assessments
- Accountable for the P&L in the operation
- Analyze monthly KPI’s, income statement and balance sheet, and control exchange rates
- Participate in the determination of the investment and development plan
- Need to work with Supply Chain, Commercial and Marketing Team to ensure the right store level, assortment and marketing support to maximize sales / profit
- Work closely with supply chain and logistics team to ensure appropriate inventory level. Manage stock levels and OOS, negative stock, destruction and Cycle counts.
- Promote as a brand Lagardère-Flairway Travel Retail Ltd inside shops and ensure that a high standard of customer service is implemented
- Cultivate an excellent relationship with the Airport authorities and other external partners including customs, vendors, ACDBE partners etc.
Required Country Manager Qualifications:
- Multi-unit retail management experience
- 5+ years’ as an Operations Manager or Country Manager experience in Retail environments or equivalent work experience
- Previous experience working with brands, for example beauty or luxury retail is an advantage for this role
- Knowledge of the international retail or consumer goods industry trends
- Strong leadership skills and talent development
- Demonstrated ability to build effective teams and motivate employees
- Strong problem-solving and project management skills
- Strong analytical and financial skills to understand/build and control airport Profit and Loss statements.
- Working in a Customer Experience environment ensuring a world class customer journey in your shops. To make travelers happier.
- Experience in managing multi-unit/multi-category retail
Candidate Specification:
- Business thinking
- Strategic thinking and effective implementation of strategies in relation to role
- Change Management
- Project Management
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
- Commitment to upholding company values and fostering a positive company culture.
- Flexibility to travel as needed and adapt to a changing retail environment
- Candidate deeply rooted in Rwandan traditions who, ideally, speaks the local languages: Kinyarwanda and Swahili
Required work Experience:
- At least 5 years’ experience in retail operations
- Strong leadership skills and a proven track record of building relationships with various stakeholders
- Management and development of large team experience
- Previous experience in Travel Retail is an advantage.
Contact Person: Dye SOW (CHRO Africa), Email: [email protected]