Retail Supervisor

About The Kennedy Center

“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.” – President John F. Kennedy

The Kennedy Center is the nation’s cultural center and living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. Located on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the Center presents performances across all genres, and is also home to artistic affiliates Washington National Opera and National Symphony Orchestra. 

At the Kennedy Center, we strive to foster belonging and empowerment at work. We are able to advance our mission because of our committed and passionate employees. We are fortunate to be able to leverage their diverse perspectives, life experiences and skills to inform how our workplace can be a safe, transparent, and replenishing community. The Kennedy Center is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law. 

Mission Statement: As the nation's performing arts center, and a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, we are a leader for the arts across America and around the world, reaching and connecting with artists, inspiring and educating communities. We welcome all to create, experience, learn about, and engage with the arts. 

Why Join Us

We offer a comprehensive range of benefits to all full-time employees including: 

• Staff offers for discount tickets
• Retirement plan with organization matching (after 1 year of employment)
• Qualifying employer for the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
• Commuter programs including pre-tax options for discounted parking and SmartBenefits (WMATA)
• Annual Leave, Sick Leave, and Personal Days available immediately upon hire
• 11 paid holidays per year 
• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits with FSA and HSA options, and paid FMLA
• Flexible work arrangements
• We like to have fun! Check out the Kennedy Center National Dance Day 2022 staff video!

Job Description

Retail Operations generates revenue to support the mission and programs of the Kennedy Center (KC); educates the guest about the performing arts; builds brand equity for the KC; offers exclusive member discounts; and engages with volunteers who are ambassadors in the community.

The Retail Supervisor provides leadership, training, direction and coaching to staff, and is actively involved in all functions related to daily retail operations and sales for Kennedy Center retail shops and pop-ups.

The primary responsibilities of the Retail Supervisor are to maximize sales and retail profitability by training and mentoring staff, controlling expenses, protecting retail assets, and by ensuring that retail standards and processes for customer service, merchandising, operations, staffing, and fund management are consistent and well executed, in accordance with the KC mission, policies and procedures.

Key Responsibilities

Supervision

• Leads and Supervises sales associates, volunteers, assistant supervisor, sales lead and openers/closers, providing overall direction, coordination and coaching of retail staff in accordance with KC policies and procedures and applicable laws.
• Responsibilities include daily scheduling, directing work and training of staff and volunteers. Coach, mentor and assist with staff and volunteer performance management. Address complaints and resolve problems. Assist with hiring, weekly schedules, and time keeping.

Customer Service

• Acts as a role model, sells to customers and sets standards and provides training to staff to ensure excellence in customer service in the stores, monitoring customer feedback and responding to and addressing all customer concerns promptly.

Operations

• Ensures all store policies and procedures are followed.
• Creates and manages daily schedules to support the needs of the business in coordination with performances and payroll budget.
• Performs and supervises opening and closing procedures, including reconciling sales and discrepancies, and managing cash, deposits, and keys.
• Ensures cleanliness and good working order of fixtures, lighting, and AV equipment, coordinating with Facilities as needed.
• Ensures POS equipment and software are working properly with regular software updates, working with IT and submitting Service Requests as needed.
• Maintain inventory of supplies and share needs with Warehouse Staff and Fiscal Analyst as needed.

Inventory Management and Visual Merchandising

• Ensures the visual merchandising standards for the store are met; fill and restock displays following plan-o-grams developed by the visual merchandiser, submitting merchandise requests as needed to the Warehouse.
• Attend weekly floor walk-throughs with the Retail Operations Manager, Buyer, Visual Merchandiser and Warehouse Team to provide merchandise feedback and needs, and share customer and staff requests/feedback.
• Communicates inventory needs and issues (labeling, folding, storing, etc.) to the Warehouse Team.
• Reviews and processes inventory damages to ensure accuracy of inventory. Share information on sales promotions with staff.
• Assist with preparing shops and stockrooms for and actively participates in annual physical inventory and reconciliation process.
• Stay familiar with current trends and issues, industry standards, etc., in the museum and specialty retail selling environments.

Other duties as assigned.

Key Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field and/or 3 to 5 years’ experience in related museum or related specialty retail operation with at least 3 of those years at a managerial level.
• Experience supervising and motivating individuals from a wide array of constituencies in a diverse community
• Proven experience developing and implementing procedures and solving problems
• Strong organization and communication skills
• Experience working collaboratively with Directors, Managers, Buyers, Merchandisers, and varied Staff from other KC Departments
• Must have strong skills and experience using technology (POS, Apple iOS, Microsoft Office Applications including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Electronic Scheduling Software, etc.), plus ability to quickly learn new technology.

Additional Information

• The noise level in the work environment is high.
• Teamwork is paramount to the retail operations culture.
• The KC schedule is fast-paced and hectic with multiple events often occurring simultaneously.
• All work for this position is on-site. This position is not eligible for remote work.