Christmas & Outdoor Leisure Department Manager
Hours: 42.5 hours per week (alternate weekends)
Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience
We are recruiting a Christmas & Outdoor Leisure Department Manager for a high-performing garden centre located in the North West, within easy reach of major towns and transport links. This is an urgent hire for a busy site with strong footfall and significant commercial opportunity.
The centre forms part of a successful and fast-growing Garden Centre Group, recognised for its high retail standards, customer service, and commitment to developing its management teams.
About the Role
This is a highly seasonal and commercially focused management role. For approximately 7 months of the year, you will lead the Outdoor Leisure department, covering furniture, BBQs, patio heating, and associated categories. The remaining 5 months will be dedicated to the Christmas department, where visual merchandising, space planning, and peak-season trading are critical.
You will have full ownership of department performance, balancing creative visual impact with strong commercial and P&L accountability, ensuring sales, margin, and stock are maximised during key trading periods.
Key Responsibilities
Full management of the Outdoor Leisure and Christmas departments
Driving sales, margin, and profit through effective commercial decision-making
Ownership of departmental P&L, budgets, and performance reporting
Forecasting sales, managing stock intake, and controlling inventory levels
Delivering high-impact visual merchandising that drives customer engagement
Leading, training, and motivating the team to maintain excellent retail standards
Ensuring exceptional customer service during both peak and non-peak seasons
Maintaining strong retail discipline, stock control, and operational efficiency
The Ideal Candidate
Proven experience in a fast-paced retail environment, ideally with strong seasonal trading
Garden centre experience is desirable but not essential
Demonstrable experience managing departments with seasonality and peak trading cycles
Strong commercial acumen, with experience managing sales, margin, and P&L
Passionate about visual merchandising, space planning, and high retail standards
Confident, hands-on leader with the ability to develop and motivate teams
Comfortable using retail systems, data, and KPIs to drive performance
Perks & Benefits
Competitive salary (dependent on experience)
Staff discount
Paid holidays
Pension scheme
Career development opportunities within a growing group
Free on-site parking
Interested?
Send your CV today, or for more information, contact Leo at or call 01780 480530 .
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