Area Manager - Midwest District

J.Jill is a national lifestyle brand that provides apparel, footwear and accessories designed to help its customers move through a full life with ease. The brand represents an easy, thoughtful, and inspired style that celebrates the totality of all women and designs its products with its core brand ethos in mind: keep it simple and make it matter. J. Jill offers a high touch customer experience through over 200 stores nationwide and a robust ecommerce platform. J.Jill is headquartered outside Boston.

The Area Manager supports a District Manager by leading a designated group of stores within the district, while also managing their home store.  They lead their home store team to maximize store potential, achieving sales productivity goals and profitability as well as hiring, coaching, and developing associates as selling advisors. Their leadership influence and expertise help support their area stores to meet all the goals above. 

Sales Generation and Performance

• Ensures home store achieves sales and productivity goals.
• Supports area stores in the role of a peer coach to achieve sales and productivity goals.
• Forecasts and analyzes business and then communicates appropriate goals to associates to drive results.
• Achieves loyalty metrics.  Drives, in partnership with the District Manager, local outreach and events to acquire new customers.

Talent Development

• Identifies and continually recruits management talent to support J. Jill culture, goals, and objectives.  Also maintains bench strength to ensure all positions are filled in a timely manner.
• Coaches and develops management and associate skills through positive and inspiring feedback and challenging assignments.
• Conducts ongoing training and development of store team on selling culture and techniques, policies and procedures, and operational and visual merchandising standards.

Visual Merchandising

• Ensures that store management effectively plan, schedule, and execute floor sets and ongoing re- merchandising of stores.
• Holds team accountable for excellent visual standards and continual replenishment of the sales floor.
• Partners with Regional Visual Manager for continual self and team development.

Operational Excellence

• Coaches and directs store management to create optimal weekly work schedules to drive sales and support customer selling and service. Approves schedules weekly to ensure top talent is scheduled during peak traffic periods while meeting payroll expense goals.
• Directs and coaches store management to achieve excellence in all operational standards and functions
• Ensures compliance with company policies and procedures and federal, state, and local employment laws to ensure a safe environment and protect company assets.

• Proven track record in excellent customer service skills.  Possess a customer obsessed mindset.
• Outstanding leadership qualities. Acts with integrity, takes personal accountability, shows drive and initiative. Seeks feedback. Manages through ambiguity. Adapts to change and manages own stress.
• Strong business planning skills. Ability to plan and prioritize work and meet deadlines.
• Ability to problem solve and generate creative and innovative approaches.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to communicate effectively with business partners at all levels in the organization.
• Exceptional style, merchandising and wardrobe skills.
• Treats everyone on the team with dignity and respect. Motivates through inspiring and encouraging leadership.

Education, Experience and Physical Requirements:

• 4+ years in women’s specialty retail management. 2+ years of success in a Store Manager position.
• College degree preferred.
• Point of Sale and office software technical experience (Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and Word).
• Extensive standing, sitting, walking, reaching, bending, pushing/ pulling, and maneuvering around store, hang/fold merchandise, ladder climbing, ability to travel, traveling to multiple stores, operate POS register, occasionally operate trash compactor (where applicable), occasionally use hand truck, lift and carry up to 42lbs, etc.
• Can travel as needed

At J.Jill, we believe our associates should be seen, valued, and celebrated. We support the advancement of our associates by harnessing their unique contributions to grow and improve, and our success is guided by a culture that values keeping it simple and making it matter. J.Jill is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing an inclusive and professional workplace free from discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at J.Jill are based solely upon business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, sexual orientation, sexual and reproductive health decisions, age, marital status, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status or any other legally protected status.  J.Jill provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals, in accordance with applicable laws.  If you need to inquire about an accommodation to assist with completing the application process, please email Talent.Acquisition@jjill.com