Retail Manager

We're reimagining the way Australians live, work, and play. We own and manage some of the most recognisable and loved retail destinations across Australia.

We're evolving our portfolio into destinations that offer a broad selection of retail, residential, and office spaces. Through our diverse portfolio, data-led decision-making, and nationwide development pipeline, we do things differently.

We are Vicinity.

Role purpose

The Retail Manager is responsible for developing and executing the centre's retail engagement strategies to maximise net property income, enhance asset valuation, improve retailer satisfaction, drive turnover, and elevate the overall customer experience, while managing a dedicated portfolio of retailers. Supporting the Centre Manager, this role may also involve ad-hoc tasks as needed. As a trusted advisor, the Retail Manager provides expert guidance on the optimal retail mix to achieve annual sales targets, foster retailer growth, and drive the centre's strategic objectives. With strong financial acumen and interpersonal skills, the Retail Manager builds positive retailer relationships and fosters collaboration. The role includes leasing storage spaces and managing the centre's budget, ensuring efficient operations and financial success. By managing information, resources, and retail support initiatives, the Retail Manager plays a crucial role in supporting retailers' success and contributing to the overall performance and growth of both the retailers and the shopping centre.

Key Accountabilities

People Leadership (if applicable)

• All elements of the annual performance cycle are completed by the due date (including goal setting, mid-year reviews, EOY conversations).
• Regular 1:1's, team meetings and development conversations conducted - minimum monthly cadence.
• Performance issues are managed in an effective and timely manner.
• Quarterly development conversations conducted with all team members.
• 100% of compliance training is completed on time for team.
• All health and safety, risk and compliance requirements are delivered across the team.
• Effective management of budgets as per forecast with demonstrated focus on managing cost.
• Demonstrated commitment to building own capability as a people leader.

Retailer Management & Tenant Relationships

• Consistent and positive retailer engagement, fostering strong relationships and enhancing collaboration to maximise performance of retailers.
• Oversee tenancy administration, ensuring successful retailer onboarding and compliance with pre-trade requirements.
• Maintain regular communication with retailers through updates, newsletters, memos, and ad-hoc correspondence.
• Develop and implement retail support strategies to drive sales, traffic, and profitability.
• Understand and utilise retailer and industry insights to improve centre performance, including NPI and sales.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with tenants, addressing their needs and concerns.
• Organise and conduct regular tenant performance reviews to discuss issues and opportunities for improvement with the Asset team.

Lease Management

• Manage lease variations such as assignments, abatements, trading name changes, and usage adjustments.
• Manage storage licenses, including temporary and seasonal requests, and oversee relocations or vacate notices.
• Ensure compliance with lease agreements, including sales/PLI, trading hours, centre rules, permitted use, and store presentation.
• Maintain accurate records of tenant agreements, maintenance requests, and other relevant documentation.

Centre Operations

• Drive improvements in centre presentation standards through strategic operation and capital project recommendations.
• Contribute to the centre's visual standards assessment and ensure store presentation standards are met.
• Collaborate with the Guest Experience team (where applicable) to deliver outstanding customer service and manage feedback.
• Provide stewardship for all retailer operations related opportunities and issues.
• Deliver retailer support by collaborating with Marketing to highlight retailers who could benefit from Marketing support, such as visual merchandising, signage, social media.

Reporting & Financial Accountability

• Complete sales analysis and reports accurately and on time.
• Responsible for ATAM reports, VSA reports, and annual VSA reports.
• Manage and distribute financial information using systems such as Tableau, Salesforce, JDE and Anaplan.
• Canvas and develop retail media income opportunities.
• Oversee percentage rent, capped occupancy and storage.

Maintain centre controlled debt in line with agreed targets including:

• Adherence to Payment Plans (including payment plan approval process).
• Coordinating legal action in conjunction with external legal team.
• Managing any mediation processes and or termination processes as required.
• Bad Debt Write off Management.
• Provide recommendations for rental abatement.
• Communicating with retailers outside of formal letter process to negotiate payments as required.
• Coordinating legal action in conjunction with external legal team from end to end, legal process.

Retail Coordination & Customer Service

• Manage the onboarding and integration of new retailers.
• Coordinate with store managers to resolve operational issues and ensure compliance with centre policies.
• Facilitate communication between centre management and retailers.
• Address customer feedback promptly and support initiatives to enhance the customer experience, including events and promotions.

Key Role Relationships

• Retail and Commercial Tenants
• Customers
• Centre Manager
• Retail Team
• Operations Team
• Centre Management Team
• Leasing Executives & Mall Leasing
• Development
• Regional Managers
• Brand & Marketing
• Finance
• Joint Venture Partners (where applicable)

Experience & Capabilities

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE (what you have done)

• Experienced professional with a background within the retail or property management industry.
• Demonstrated experience developing and managing retailer relationships, with exceptional skills in managing internal and external relationships, in order to drive commercial results.
• Ability to effectively collaborate with a variety of individuals and groups coupled exceptional reporting and financial management.
• A relevant tertiary qualification is desirable.

CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE (what you need to know)

• Excellent working knowledge of retail legislation, leases and retail fundamentals.
• Financial acumen and proven performance to drive value and commercial results.
• Proven capability in working with retailers to meet financial objectives and other centre objectives.
• Outstanding interpersonal and strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Customer service skills.
• Strong organisational, compliance and time management skills.
• Ability to work as a part of a team and develop and maintain strategic relationships.

CAPABILITIES (what you can do)

• Collaborate as an Asset Team - Collaborate for best outcomes for asset and team versus best outcome for individual – Intermediate.
• Planning & Prioritisation - Identify the tasks required to achieve the desired outcomes and prioritise tasks in the right order – Foundational.
• Customer Focused - Understand various customer stakeholders and always consider their needs when making decisions – Intermediate.
• Develop Strong Stakeholder Relationships - Identify, nurture and strengthen diverse stakeholder relationships – Intermediate.
• Problem Solving - Use logic and methods to solve problems with effective solutions – Intermediate.
• Health, Safety, Environment & Wellbeing - Integrate health, safety, environment and wellbeing into ways of work at asset level to ensure the safety of everyone – Intermediate.
• Regulatory Framework & Environment - Undertake business activity and decision making with prudent understanding and interpretation of relevant regulatory frameworks – Foundational.
• Demonstrate Financial Acumen - Understand how the business operates, the market dynamics and what must be done to be a successful business, both for the short term and longer term – Intermediate.
• Understands Asset Vision & Strategy - Know the 'why' behind decisions and actions, think bigger than today, and plan for the future – Foundational.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES (who you are)

You consistently demonstrate and role model the behaviours that bring the Vicinity values to life:

Respect:

• We listen to and acknowledge each other's views
• We have difficult conversations with care

Integrity:

• We back our words with the right actions
• We do the right thing, no matter the situation

Customer Focus:

• We nurture a genuine connection with our customers
• We consider customer needs when making decisions

Collaboration:

• We invite the right people to the table
• We balance consensus with decisive actions

Excellence:

• We always strive to improve
• We share our challenges and celebrate the wins

Why Vicinity?

Our benefits program focuses on creating an awesome place to work in which our people are rewarded and recognised. This includes:

• Flexible working options
• Birthday leave & purchased additional leave
• $1,000 worth of VCX securities rewarded for eligible team members
• Internal mentoring program
• Generous Parental Leave

We live and work by our values of Respect, Integrity, Customer Focus, Collaboration and Excellence. They are the foundation to everything we do and provide us a north star with which we can shape meaningful places where communities connect.

At Vicinity we embrace and celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment where we attract, retain and develop our people regardless of gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and age. Applications are encouraged from all sectors of the community and we strongly encourage applications from the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community.

Our people and our Employee Advocacy Groups (Gender Balance, Cultural Diversity, Disability & Access and Pride & Allies) actively build community and provide allyship within Vicinity. If you'd like to speak to someone to understand what it's like firsthand to work here, please reach out to our Talent Acquisition team.

We are aware of current limitations with our website accessibility and are working towards improving this. Should you experience any issues accessing information in this job advertisement or the application form, and require this in an alternate format, please contact our Talent Acquisition Team. Similarly, if you would like to discuss workplace accessibility, any reasonable adjustments we can make to better support you during the recruitment process, or your potential future role please reach out to our Talent Acquisition team:

Email:

Phone: (request to speak to our Talent Acquisition team)

Note: To be eligible to apply for this position, you must have existing, relevant Australian work rights. At the later stages of the recruitment process the shortlisted candidate/candidates will be required to undergo a Criminal History Background/Police Check as a mandatory part of the process. Additional qualification checks may also be required dependant on role and level.