Assistant Store Manager

Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company founded in 1973. At a time when all life on earth is under threat of extinction, we aim to use the resources we have—our business, our investments, our voice and our imagination—to influence changes needed to protect our planet. A registered B Corporation and founding member of 1% for the Planet, Patagonia is recognized internationally for its commitment to product quality and environmental activism, contributing over $145 million in grants and in-kind donations to thousands of grassroots environmental groups around the world.

Your role:

We're in business to save our home planet. The Assistant Store Manager supports the Store Manager in overseeing daily operations and leading the retail team, with a strong focus on delivering exceptional customer service, team coordination, and upholding Patagonia's values. This role helps drive an engaged team, contributes to commercial performance, ensures operational compliance, and maintains a positive, purpose-driven store environment. As a key leader on the floor, the Assistant Store Manager holds daily decision-making authority and provides full leadership coverage in the Store Manager's absence, playing a critical role in achieving store goals aligned with both brand purpose and business objectives.

Main tasks: 

• Customer experience delivery: Provides exemplary customer service on the shop floor and leads by example in handling inquiries, resolving escalations, and representing Patagonia's values. Encourages a consistent service mindset across the team and acts as a go-to person for product information and storytelling.

• Sales and visual execution: Activate daily sales plans, manage visual standards, and drive replenishment or floor-based actions to meet short-term sales targets.

• Operational routines and continuity: Execute store tasks such as opening/closing, scheduling adjustments, and floor planning, while escalating operational challenges to the Store Manager where needed. Ensures compliance with retail policies and acts as the responsible person in the absence of the Store Manager.

• Team supervision: Assists in team supervision, facilitates daily communication, shift handovers, and task allocation. Oversee shop floor activities by assigning roles, monitoring workflows, and ensuring store procedures are followed to enable effective daily operations. Supports the Store Manager in evaluating team performance, fostering collaboration, and maintaining a positive team culture. Acts as the main point of contact when the Store Manager is away.

• Environmental engagement and activism: Engages the team and customers in store-based environmental and community actions. Supports the planning and delivery of local events and contributes to the environmental storytelling on the shop floor. Promotes daily operational sustainability efforts.

What we're looking for:

• An inclusive mindset.

• Minimum 2-3 years of experience in retail or related customer service, ideally with at least one year of experience as a Team Lead or similar capacity.

• Fluent in English and Italian; other European languages are a plus.

• Good understanding of communication by communicating clearly and empathetically with a wide range of customers and team members.

• Full understanding of the store's POS system and confidence in managing transactions, returns, and cash handling processes.

• Good understanding of task delegation by coordinating day-to-day operations, allocating responsibilities, and adjusting workflows based on customer flow and store needs.

• Full understanding of problem-solving to independently handle more complex service interactions and role-model brand-aligned communication.

• Full understanding of eye to detail to manage in-store presentation, product placement, and floor readiness in line with seasonal guidance.

• A love of the outdoors. 

• A passion for saving our home planet and making a positive impact through your work.
  

It's a plus if you also have the following:

• Stock management experience.

• Patagonia product experience/knowledge.

• Personal or professional experience with outdoor sports.
  

Other important details:

• This is a full-time position based in Milan, ideally starting from February/March 2026.

• We strive to make unbiased decisions and to offer a great experience to every person who applies for a role at Patagonia. Our interviews include standardized questions that focus on the aspects that are important for success in the role

• To find out more about what we offer our employees click here:

Why join our store?

Our stores are designed to be hubs for our communities, where we inspire, educate and engage with environmental and social defenders and those who love wild places and outdoor sports. For example, we support local groups with grants, donations, volunteers, advocacy, and events. You will join a passionate team working to protect the wild places around us and changing the retail industry for the better, whilst having fun together.

At Patagonia, we commit to becoming an anti-racist company that leads by example. This means doing the work to be inclusive and equitable, across all aspects of our business.

Every person who applies to join Patagonia receives equal employment opportunities, and we value a welcoming environment where each member of our EMEA team feels included, respected and empowered, regardless of their race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, civil status, national origin, disability or age.

At Patagonia, we strive to have inclusive representation within our organization and embrace a diverse mix of talent to contribute to our culture. We actively seek applications from Black and People of Color (BPOC) and other underrepresented groups.

As we are in business to save our home planet, we can only do this together.

Please make sure that your CV and cover letter are in English.

Disclaimer for recruitment agencies: Thanks for your interest in supporting us for this role, but we don't accept unsolicited CVs from recruitment agencies.