Retail Lead (Charity)

Position: Retail Lead (Charity) 

Hours: Full time (35 hours per week)

Contract: Fixed term contract for a period of 2 years 

Location: Office-based from one of our national offices (London, Cardiff, Belfast, or Edinburgh) with flexibility to work remotely 

Salary: Starting from £39,717 per annum, plus excellent benefits 

Salary Band and Job Family: Band 3*, Charity 
*you will start at our entry point salary of £39,717 per annum, increasing to £42,199 after 6 months service and satisfactory performance and to £44,681 after a further 6 months.

About us

We make sure people living with MS are at the centre of everything we do. And it’s this commitment that unites us across the UK. 

Our strategy is based on what people affected by MS have told us is important to them. It gives us a clear and determined focus.

Our work is based on the hopes and aspirations of our MS community. Together we campaign at all levels, fund ground-breaking research and provide award winning support and information.

Our people are our greatest asset and the key to our success. We offer a vibrant, progressive working environment where you'll be able to make a difference. 

About this job

We are looking for a driven and passionate charity retail professional who is able to realise our exciting growth plans. The MS Society is embarking on an ambitious programme of charity shop growth and the right candidate will be instrumental in making our vision a reality. We’re very excited about what MS Society Retail is going to be doing in the next 2 years.

You’ll be an experienced charity retailer, with significant experience in managing and leading a diverse team. You’ll understand the key drivers behind charity shop success and how to optimise the MS Society’s retail portfolio to deliver that success.

You’ll be a confident speaker and presenter, bringing our business plan to life and inspiring our staff and volunteers to deliver our goals.

Importantly the right person for this role will be a committed charity retail fan, excited about the whole sector and the opportunities it offers to improve the MS Society’s income and engagement with the public and MS Community.

Please note this is a fixed term contract for 2 years.

Closing date for applications: 9:00 on Friday 27 September 2024 
Anticipated interview date: Week commencing Monday 7 October 2024

Interested?

More information can be found by downloading the attached documents in 'supporting documents' and then to apply for this role, please submit the following:

• an updated CV.
• a supporting statement indicating how you meet the essential criteria as set out in the person specification in the attached job description.

Top Tip: you will need to save your Cover Letter, CV and Optional Equal Opps form as one document and upload this to the site.

We’d be grateful if you downloaded and completed the equality and diversity monitoring form and submit it with your application. 

Equal Opportunities 

We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities and or from ethnic minority backgrounds.

We’d be grateful if you downloaded and completed the equality and diversity monitoring form and submit it with your application.

Disability Confident Employer  

We’re a Disability Confident Employer and we’re committed to promoting equality and diversity.

You can ask for reasonable adjustments as part of both our recruitment and new starter on-boarding processes.

If you need any help or adjustments to apply for this role, please contact us to discuss.

You can also ask for the application materials to be sent to you in a different format. Such as for them to be sent to you by email or in a larger word format.

Your right to work in the UK  

You must have the right to work in the UK to work in paid employment with us. You’ll need to share documents showing you’re eligible to work in the UK if we offer you employment.

You can find the UK visas and permits granting you the right to work in the UK on the UK Government website. We currently don’t have a Sponsor Licence agreement with the Home Office and aren’t able to support you with your visa applications.  

More about our recruitment and selection process:

• The HR team will anonymise your CV and supporting statement before forwarding to the shortlisting panel. This is done as part of our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• The first round of our recruitment and selection process includes an interview with competency-based questions.
• Our recruitment and selection process might also include extra tasks. For example, a written or Microsoft Excel test or making a presentation.
• We’ll let you know what the selection process will include when we invite you to interview. You can ask for any more reasonable adjustments for the interview as part of the invitation. 
• You might also be invited for a second interview. We’ll let you know about this during the selection process. 

More about our employee benefits: 

We have a wide range of employee benefits including (but not limited to):

Encouraging work life balance:

• 38 days paid annual leave (including bank holidays), pro-rata for part-time
• More annual leave entitlement, based on length of employment
• Smart working options (with the opportunity to work remotely and find a smart working pattern that suits both you and us)
• Flexible working options

Caring for you and your family:

• Generous sick pay entitlement
• More sick pay entitlement, based on length of employment
• Opportunity to buy and sell annual leave in each calendar year
• Free access to a GP virtually 24 hours a day/7 days a week allowing you unlimited advice, reassurance and where appropriate diagnosis
• Enhanced leave for new parents
• Free access to a confidential 24 hours a day/7 days a week helpline service for both you and your family with a specialist range of support and information
• Special leave options (such as up to 5 days paid leave for domestic or personal emergencies a year)
• 10 days paid disability leave a year, pro-rata for part-time
• 10 days paid carers’ leave a year, pro-rata for part-time
• Cycle to work scheme
• Death in service scheme
• New family-friendly benefits, including paid leave:
  • in the event of miscarriage or still birth
  • to support fertility treatments
  • for antenatal appointments for both parents

Thinking about your finances:

• Enhanced salary sacrifice pension scheme
• Discounted season ticket loan and interest-free emergency loans
• Give as you earn to support other charities of your choice before tax
• New employee portal including lifestyle savings vouchers and personal wellbeing 

Enriching your life at work:

• Personalised development plans with a wide range of training courses and opportunities to source additional training options with your line manager
• Yearly internal apprenticeship opportunities
• New, modern offices that embrace working together both in-person and remotely Various opportunities to influence how we internally operate (including surveys, and focus and committee groups)
• Active and supportive internal employee networking groups for collaboration and peer support
• 2 days paid leave a year for volunteering for MS Society activities during normal working hours (such as fundraising events, or campaigning in the local community)
• 2 days paid leave a year for volunteering with other charities during normal working hours

Safeguarding 

We’re committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of everyone who uses our services and we come into contact with.

This is regardless of: Gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy, gender reassignment.

We recognise our particular responsibility to make sure vulnerable adults and children are protected.

We have measures in place to protect everyone we come into contact with from abuse and maltreatment of all kinds.

No agencies please.