About the role
At Heads Up For Tails (HUFT) , our stores are much more than places where pet parents shop. They’re spaces where pet parents discover, learn, connect and build a deeper relationship with the brand.
As a Senior Area Manager , you’ll play a key role in bringing this experience to life across a cluster of stores. You’ll own the commercial performance, operational excellence and people agenda for your region, while partnering closely with Store Managers to build high-performing teams and consistently deliver an exceptional experience to every pet parent who walks through our doors.
This is a role for someone who enjoys being close to the business — understanding what’s happening on the ground, spotting opportunities, solving problems quickly and turning insights into action.
What you’ll own
Drive the business
- Own sales, revenue, profitability and key business metrics across your assigned stores.
- Set clear targets for the region and work with Store Managers to build plans that deliver against them.
- Analyse store performance, identify gaps and opportunities, and drive corrective actions.
- Build regional sales plans and ensure consistent execution against business priorities.
- Track budgets and spends, understand variances and take timely action to improve profitability.
Build high-performing stores
- Partner closely with Store Managers on day-to-day operations and help them navigate challenges effectively.
- Ensure stores consistently meet HUFT’s standards across customer experience, visual merchandising, VM hygiene, inventory, processes and overall presentation.
- Monitor merchandise availability and work with relevant teams to address gaps and improve sell-through.
- Ensure all stores follow the required safety, security, compliance and operational standards.
- Identify opportunities to improve store processes and make the overall retail experience more efficient.
Create exceptional pet parent experiences
- Keep a close pulse on customer feedback, behaviour and evolving needs across your region.
- Work with Store Managers and cross-functional teams to improve customer experience and service standards.
- Identify opportunities for local activations, promotions and initiatives that can drive footfall, engagement and repeat visits.
- Partner with Marketing, VM, Brand and other teams to bring regional initiatives to life at the store level.
Lead and develop people
- Build a strong pipeline of Store Managers and retail talent within the region.
- Coach and mentor Store Managers to improve their commercial and leadership capabilities.
- Review individual and store-level performance regularly and create clear action plans for improvement.
- Support hiring, onboarding and training of new team members.
- Create a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration and customer obsession across the region.
Use data to make better decisions
- Regularly review sales, conversion, ATV, UPT, footfall, inventory and other relevant retail metrics.
- Translate numbers into clear insights and actionable plans for Store Managers and leadership.
- Prepare concise business updates and reports highlighting performance, key challenges, opportunities and actions.
- Use customer and store-level insights to recommend changes to business, merchandising and marketing strategies.
What we’re looking for
- 7–10 years of experience in retail, preferably with experience managing multiple stores or a sizeable cluster.
- Experience in premium retail, D2C, lifestyle, fashion, beauty, consumer or other customer-experience-led businesses would be a strong plus.
- Strong commercial understanding with experience owning sales, profitability and store performance .
- Someone who is comfortable working with numbers and using data to drive decisions — not just report them.
- Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to coach, challenge and develop Store Managers.
- Excellent understanding of retail operations, customer experience and store standards.
- Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to work with teams across levels and functions.
- A hands-on, problem-solving approach and the ability to operate in a fast-moving environment.
- High ownership and accountability — someone who sees a problem and takes it upon themselves to solve it.
- A strategic thinker who can zoom out to see the bigger picture while staying close to what’s happening on the ground.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification.
Why HUFT?
At HUFT, we’re building a brand that believes pets deserve better — and that belief extends to every interaction a pet parent has with us.
Our stores are at the heart of that experience. As part of the Retail team, you’ll have the opportunity to shape how our stores grow, how our teams perform and how thousands of pet parents experience HUFT every day.
If you enjoy building businesses, developing people and creating experiences that customers genuinely remember, we’d love to hear from you.