What you'll be doing:
* Taking responsibility for the management of all our non – food products ensuring they are presented fantastically to delight our customers.
* Ensure your area runs smoothly every day from the shop floor to the warehouse.
* People management is a big part of the role, managing performance and capability, conducting disciplinaries and ensuring scheduling and pay are accurate.
* At times you may assume overall responsibility for running the store, making sure that all colleagues are given direction and support to deliver for the customer.
What makes a great general merchandise manager:
* Previous line management responsibilities in a fast-paced, operational environment.
* Someone who is truly obsessed with customers and service, and coaches a team to do the same.
* Delivers KPI's or other performance indicators.
* Can manage disciplinaries, performance issues or other similar employee relations issues.
* Leads operations and comfortable doing this alone in the absence of more senior management.
Essential Criteria:
* A track record of delivering exceptional customer experiences, with evidence of coaching others to consistently raise the bar.
* Experience leading teams in a dynamic, customer-facing environment — you've inspired others, driven high performance, and created a culture where colleagues thrive.
* Leadership experience in a high-volume, fast-paced operational setting — whether in retail, food service, or hospitality — where you've overseen daily operations, solved business problems, and kept teams focused on what matters most: delivering for customers.
* Proven success in delivering against a wide range of KPIs — from sales and stock availability to customer satisfaction and colleague engagement, you've made a measurable difference.
* Experience managing complex people matters, including performance, absence, and formal employee relations cases, with confidence and fairness.
Sainsbury's company vision
Our vision is to be the most trusted retailer, where people love to work and shop. That means harnessing the talent, creativity and diversity of our colleagues to ensure that customers receive great service every time they shop with us.
If you would like to hear more about our vision and values, be sure to visit our corporate page.
We invest in training, development and multiple initiatives to ensure our teams feel enabled to offer the best shopping experience to our customers and that Sainsbury's is truly a 'Great Place to Work'.
We're in the business of looking after our biggest asset. Our people.
That means making it our business to properly take care of the potential and wellbeing of our truly outstanding teams. Join us in HR, and we'll make it yours too.
They bring the spark, the funny, the graft, the grit. And they're literally the most important asset we have. So it's in our interests to give the people at Sainsbury's everything they need to feel valued, engaged and motivated, and truly able to shine.
That's where our HR colleagues have a pivotal role to play. From our 'centre of excellence' teams in Reward and Recruitment, through to our core teams in Change and Talent, they're creating environments that allow our colleagues to thrive and we're proud of their incredible ability to understand Sainsbury's inside out.