Department Manager

GENERAL ROLE

The Department Manager, in partnership with the Store Manager, successfully manages all boutique activities, leading and supporting the development of their team, focusing on business and customer experience with highest integrity, actively embodying Hermès culture and values.

MAIN RESPONSABILITIES 

 People management and development

• Plan daily activities, setting objectives and assigning tasks to the team;

• Observe the team on the floor and provide ongoing feedback and coaching, supporting their personal development;

• Participate in recruitment activities in partnership with the leading team and in line with the HR strategy;

• Provide induction for new arrivals and ensure their full integration within the team;

• Define personal development objectives for team members, set expectations and targets, coaching them on improvement areas;

• Conduct Annual Performance Appraisal with team members to support their development and discuss career ambition; 

• Propose people development plans to store management and HR;

• Identify training needs and share them with the store management and the training manager.

Sales and Customer experience

• Drive the achievement of sales goal through their team members, with a specific responsibility on their departments;   

• Develop business strategy and action plan to enhance the growth of their departments;   

• Foster client culture within the team, supporting them on client discovery, increasing loyalty of existing ones and sharing best practice on clienteling activities;

• Support the store team in difficult and complex sales and in managing complaints;

• Plan morning briefings, ensuring involvement of all team members and support them in their preparation;

• Coach team members to improve data accuracy and client reachability, monitoring data quality in line with privacy and company guidelines.

• Contribute to the business development through proposal of commercial actions leveraging experience on product knowledge, market trends, customer feedback and best practice and monitor business performance indicators;

• Develop an action plan to meet targets based on performance indicators analysis;

• Be responsible of buying for their departments, proposing to their manager a strategy based on analysis of past performance, observation, feedback from clients, market trends, etc;  

Operations

• Support store management in organizing, ensuring proper floor coverage and supervision;

• Collaborate with operations team and store management to improve end to end processes in store;

• Encourage continuous collaboration between their managers and visual merchandising, suggesting ideas to enhance in-store experience.

PROFILE

• Bachelor's degree preferably with a hospitality or fashion management focus;

• Fluency in Italian and English. A third language will be considered an advantage;

• Professional background: strong career in management, preferably with international and luxury fashion retail experience;

• A strong understanding of the women's universe and product categories is considered a plus;

• Proficient with Excel / IT tools;

• Exemplarity (application of procedures, presence on the ground, attitude, presentation, etc.);

• Driving and charismatic presence on the sales floor and with various interfaces;

• Analytical skills and a particular appetite for defining strategies;

• Excellent leadership attitude and ability to lead and motivate a team;

• Professionalism, enthusiasm, dynamism, ease of integration and teamwork complete the profile.

Hermès engages positive and passionate people who own the following requirements:

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a customer service orientation;

• Team player mentality to build meaningful relationships and ability to work autonomously;

• Availability, flexibility and dynamism to function in a high-pace environment;

• Determined to be part of a people centric retail project, for which is required vocation for human values, passion and a strong aesthetic sense.

In Hermès diversity of experience and  perspectives create a better work environment, we value, ensure and believe in gender equality, welcoming individuals of all backgrounds. Join the human adventure of Hermès

A creator, artisan and seller of high-quality objects since 1837, Hermès is an independent, family-owned French house that employs nearly 25,185 people worldwide. Driven by its permanent entrepreneurial spirit and consistently high standards, Hermès cultivates the freedom and autonomy of each individual through responsible management. The company perpetuates the transmission of exceptional know-how through strong territorial anchoring that respects people and resources. Sixteen artisanal métiers feed the creativity of the house, whose collections are presented in over 300 stores around the world.

Hermès was born in Paris in 1837 as a laboratory of harnesses and saddles for horses: since then, six generations of artisans have explored new crafts, animated by a creative impulse, combined with beautiful and processed with care material.

Today Hermès is an international group committed to innovation in a subtle harmony between past, present and future. It is a company founded on high standard values of dedication to excellence and authenticity of its objects. An independent family house that pursues its French artisan tradition: Hermès creates, sells and manufactures beautiful, useful and durable objects.

The company brings together more than employees in 50 countries; the Italian branch is located in Milan and provides the local support and management to the 10 Stores present in the country.

Hermes Italie was born in 1987 with the first store in Milan, 21 via Sant'Andrea. Since then the branch was opened and the continuous growth lead to the current retail presence in the country: 10 stores, including 2 seasonal openings and 2 flagship stores, located in Milan and Rome.

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