Employment Type: Full-Time
Department: Retail Operations
Location: Multiple Outlets, Singapore

JOB SUMMARY

We are seeking a highly experienced, commercially driven and hands-on Retail Operations Manager to take full responsibility for the operational and commercial performance of our dormitory supermarket.

This is a demanding operational role involving the management of a high-volume supermarket serving a large and diverse population of dormitory residents, including migrant workers from different nationalities and backgrounds.

The successful candidate must be capable of managing sales, inventory, manpower, suppliers, pricing, promotions, cash controls, customer service, compliance and day-to-day supermarket operations simultaneously.

This is not a conventional office-based management position. The successful candidate is expected to be highly hands-on, spend significant time on the retail floor, identify problems personally, take immediate corrective action and hold the entire retail team accountable for performance.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. FULL SUPERMARKET OPERATIONS

• Take full ownership of the daily operations and overall performance of the dormitory supermarket.
• Ensure the supermarket is fully operational, properly staffed, adequately stocked and professionally presented at all times.
• Establish and enforce strict SOPs covering opening, closing, cash handling, stock receiving, replenishment, merchandising, cleaning, customer service and incident management.
• Conduct frequent floor inspections and operational audits.
• Identify operational weaknesses and implement immediate corrective measures.
• Ensure all operational issues are resolved promptly and do not become recurring problems.
• Ensure the supermarket is adequately prepared for weekends, public holidays, payday periods, festive seasons and other high-demand periods.
• Personally intervene when operational standards fall below expectations.
• Be prepared to handle urgent operational matters outside normal working hours when required.

2. SALES & COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE

• Take direct responsibility for achieving monthly and annual supermarket sales targets.
• Monitor daily sales and identify unusual fluctuations, declining categories and underperforming periods.
• Analyse sales by product category, brand, nationality/customer segment, day and time period where data is available.
• Develop strategies to increase customer traffic, basket size and average transaction value.
• Identify high-margin and high-demand product opportunities.
• Review product assortment regularly based on actual customer purchasing behaviour.
• Develop targeted promotions for dormitory residents and different customer segments.
• Monitor competitor pricing and ensure the supermarket remains commercially competitive.
• Identify opportunities to generate additional revenue through promotions, supplier campaigns, seasonal sales and community events.
• Prepare regular sales performance reports for senior management.

3. DORMITORY CUSTOMER & MARKET MANAGEMENT

The successful candidate must understand that a dormitory supermarket operates differently from a conventional neighbourhood supermarket.

Responsibilities include:

• Understand the purchasing habits and product preferences of a large migrant-worker customer base.
• Monitor demand for products commonly purchased by different nationalities and customer groups.
• Ensure appropriate availability of culturally relevant food products, beverages, personal-care products and daily necessities.
• Monitor peak purchasing periods, particularly evenings, weekends, paydays and public holidays.
• Develop promotions and product bundles targeted at dormitory residents.
• Work with suppliers to source products that are relevant to the customer base.
• Monitor customer feedback and purchasing patterns to identify emerging demand.
• Maintain a welcoming, orderly and inclusive retail environment for customers of different nationalities.
• Manage high customer volumes during peak periods without compromising service standards.

4. INVENTORY & STOCK CONTROL

• Take full responsibility for inventory accuracy and stock availability.
• Establish strict procedures for receiving, checking, storing, transferring and replenishing merchandise.
• Monitor stock levels daily and ensure fast-moving products are replenished promptly.
• Minimise out-of-stock situations for critical and high-demand products.
• Monitor slow-moving, obsolete and near-expiry products.
• Implement effective stock rotation and expiry management.
• Conduct regular cycle counts and full stock-takes.
• Investigate all significant stock discrepancies.
• Monitor stock shrinkage, wastage, damages and unexplained losses.
• Identify the root cause of inventory variances and implement corrective controls.
• Ensure stock is properly stored and organised to maximise backroom efficiency.
• Maintain appropriate inventory levels without excessive overstocking.

5. PURCHASING & SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT

• Work closely with suppliers to ensure competitive pricing, reliable supply and appropriate payment terms.
• Negotiate purchase prices, rebates, promotional support and other commercial arrangements where applicable.
• Monitor supplier performance and delivery reliability.
• Ensure purchase orders are based on actual demand and inventory requirements.
• Avoid excessive purchasing that creates unnecessary working capital and wastage.
• Develop alternative suppliers for critical product categories where necessary.
• Review supplier pricing regularly and identify opportunities for cost savings.
• Coordinate supplier roadshows, product launches, sampling activities and promotional campaigns.
• Challenge supplier price increases and assess their commercial impact before acceptance.

6. PRICING & PROMOTIONS

• Establish and maintain competitive retail pricing.
• Conduct regular price checks against nearby supermarkets, minimarts and other relevant competitors.
• Ensure pricing decisions consider both customer affordability and required gross margins.
• Plan weekly, monthly and festive promotional campaigns.
• Monitor promotional effectiveness and calculate whether promotions generate meaningful incremental sales.
• Prevent pricing errors and unauthorised discounts.
• Ensure promotional materials, shelf labels and POS prices are accurate and consistent.
• Develop special promotions around payday periods and major cultural festivals.
• Work with suppliers to secure promotional funding and product support.

7. MANPOWER & STAFF MANAGEMENT

• Take responsibility for manpower planning across the supermarket.
• Prepare staffing requirements according to customer traffic and operating hours.
• Ensure sufficient manpower during peak periods while controlling labour costs during low-demand periods.
• Prepare and review staff rosters.
• Monitor attendance, punctuality, productivity and staff discipline.
• Recruit, train, coach and evaluate supermarket employees.
• Establish clear KPIs for supervisors and frontline staff.
• Take appropriate action against repeated poor performance or misconduct.
• Ensure staff are properly trained in customer service, POS operations, stock handling, safety and company SOPs.
• Develop capable supervisors who can independently manage shifts.
• Maintain adequate manpower contingency arrangements for absenteeism and emergencies.

8. CASH, POS & FINANCIAL CONTROL

• Maintain strict controls over cash, POS transactions, refunds, void transactions and discounts.
• Ensure daily cash reconciliation is completed accurately.
• Investigate cash shortages and discrepancies immediately.
• Monitor suspicious transaction patterns and potential internal losses.
• Ensure all staff follow authorised procedures for discounts, refunds and price overrides.
• Work closely with finance to ensure accurate sales reporting and reconciliation.
• Monitor daily gross sales, gross margin and key financial indicators.
• Ensure proper segregation of duties and internal controls.

9. MERCHANDISING & STORE PRESENTATION

• Maintain high standards of supermarket presentation and merchandising.
• Ensure shelves are properly stocked, organised and clearly labelled.
• Optimise product placement to maximise sales and customer convenience.
• Monitor planogram compliance where applicable.
• Ensure fast-moving and promotional products receive appropriate visibility.
• Prevent empty shelves and poor merchandising during peak periods.
• Ensure promotional displays are implemented accurately and on time.
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness, organisation and general housekeeping.
• Ensure back-of-house storage areas remain organised and operationally efficient.

10. CUSTOMER SERVICE & COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT

• Establish high customer service standards appropriate for a busy dormitory environment.
• Monitor customer feedback, complaints and recurring service issues.
• Personally handle serious or escalated complaints.
• Ensure staff communicate respectfully with customers from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds.
• Implement effective service recovery procedures.
• Identify recurring complaints and eliminate their underlying causes.
• Monitor queue lengths and checkout efficiency during peak periods.
• Improve the overall customer shopping experience.

11. COMPLIANCE, SAFETY & RISK MANAGEMENT

• Ensure the supermarket complies with all applicable Singapore laws, regulatory requirements, licences and company policies.
• Maintain appropriate standards for workplace safety, fire safety, hygiene and retail operations.
• Ensure relevant licences and approvals are properly maintained.
• Conduct regular safety and operational inspections.
• Investigate accidents, incidents, customer complaints and operational breaches.
• Implement corrective and preventive measures following incidents.
• Ensure staff are properly trained in safety and emergency procedures.
• Identify operational risks before they result in financial loss, injury, regulatory action or reputational damage.

12. EVENTS, FESTIVE CAMPAIGNS & DORMITORY ACTIVITIES

• Develop and execute supermarket promotions around major cultural and festive periods.
• Coordinate special promotions for Hari Raya, Deepavali, Chinese New Year, Christmas and other relevant occasions.
• Develop campaigns targeted at different customer communities within the dormitory.
• Coordinate with suppliers for roadshows, product sampling and promotional activities.
• Support dormitory-wide events and community activities where commercially appropriate.
• Ensure additional stock, manpower and operational preparations are made for major events.
• Analyse post-event sales performance and determine whether campaigns generated satisfactory returns.

13. DATA, REPORTING & BUSINESS ANALYSIS

The successful candidate must be comfortable working with numbers and data.

You will be expected to:

• Analyse daily, weekly and monthly sales.
• Track gross margin by category.
• Monitor inventory turnover.
• Analyse stock variances and shrinkage.
• Monitor out-of-stock rates.
• Analyse manpower costs and productivity.
• Monitor promotional performance.
• Identify unusual sales or inventory movements.
• Prepare management dashboards and reports.
• Present clear conclusions and recommendations to senior management.
• Use data to make decisions rather than relying solely on intuition.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Performance will be measured against, among others:

• Monthly and annual sales targets
• Gross margin
• Net operating profitability
• Average transaction value
• Customer traffic
• Inventory accuracy
• Stock shrinkage
• Stock wastage
• Out-of-stock rate
• Inventory turnover
• Labour cost as a percentage of sales
• Staff productivity
• Customer complaints
• Customer satisfaction
• Supplier performance
• Promotional ROI
• Cash discrepancies
• Audit and compliance scores
• Store presentation standards

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Essential

• Diploma or Degree in Retail Management, Business, Operations Management or related discipline.
• Minimum 3-5 years of retail or supermarket operations experience.
• Proven experience managing a supermarket, minimart, convenience store or high-volume retail operation.
• Experience managing a sizeable frontline workforce.
• Strong knowledge of inventory management and stock control.
• Strong commercial and financial understanding.
• Strong Excel and data-analysis skills.
• Experience with POS and inventory management systems.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage suppliers and commercial relationships.
• Strong leadership and people-management capabilities.
• Ability to work independently and make decisions under pressure.

Preferred

• Experience managing supermarket operations within a worker dormitory, large residential community or high-volume accommodation environment.
• Experience serving a multicultural customer base.
• Experience managing FMCG products.
• Experience with high-volume retail transactions.
• Experience managing festive and cultural promotions.
• Experience in P&L management.
• Experience in opening or taking over a new supermarket.
• Experience turning around an underperforming retail outlet.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

The ideal candidate must be:

• Highly hands-on and operationally driven
• Commercially aggressive but disciplined
• Highly analytical and numbers-oriented
• Extremely organised
• Decisive and confident
• Comfortable managing difficult employees
• Comfortable confronting poor performance
• Able to work under significant pressure
• Strong in negotiation
• Highly attentive to detail
• Customer-focused
• Results-oriented
• Accountable for outcomes
• Capable of working independently with minimal supervision

WORKING CONDITIONS

The successful candidate must be prepared to:

• Work weekends and public holidays when required.
• Work during peak evening periods.
• Conduct early morning or late-night operational inspections when necessary.
• Respond to urgent operational situations.
• Work extended hours during major promotions, festive periods and events.
• Travel between operational locations where required.
• Manage high customer volumes and operational pressure.
• Handle multiple competing priorities simultaneously.
• Be physically present on the supermarket floor when operational conditions require it.