Job Description

At Uptown, we're redefining city retail by creating a vibrant destination where people can shop, dine, connect and experience the energy of Brisbane's CBD. With a focus on convenience, accessibility and customer experience, we're shaping a destination that reflects the rhythm of city life.

Join a team that's helping write its next chapter.

Role purpose

The Assistant Retail Manager plays a vital role in supporting the Retail Manager in executing the centre’s retail engagement strategies. This role assists in managing a dedicated portfolio of retailers and supporting the Centre Manager with day-to-day operations and ad-hoc tasks as required.

The Assistant Retail Manager contributes to achieving annual sales targets, fostering retailer growth, and helping to shape the optimal retail mix that aligns with the centre's strategic objectives. This position requires strong interpersonal skills to maintain positive retailer relationships and foster collaboration.

Additionally, the Assistant Retail Manager supports leasing storage spaces, assists in the management of the centre’s budget, and ensures smooth and efficient operations. By coordinating resources, managing information, and supporting retail initiatives, the Assistant Retail Manager helps drive retailer success and contributes to the overall performance and growth of the shopping centre.

Key Accountabilities

Retailer Support

• Consistent and positive retailer engagement, fostering strong relationships and enhancing collaboration to maximise performance of retailers.
• Support and manage tenancy administration, ensuring seamless retailer onboarding and compliance with pre-trade requirements.
• Maintain regular communication with retailers through updates, newsletters, memos, and ad-hoc correspondence.
• Support in executing retail support strategies to drive sales, traffic, and profitability.
• Assist in the Retailer Excellence program, recognising retailer successes.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with tenants, addressing their needs and concerns.
• Assist with regular tenant performance reviews to discuss issues and opportunities for improvement.
• Assist with 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.

Lease Administration

• Support lease variations such as assignments, abatements, trading name changes, and usage adjustments.
• Support in the management of storage licenses, including temporary and seasonal requests, and assist in relocations or vacate notices.
• Serve as the relationship liaison for assigned tenants, with the potential for progression to the Retail Manager role.
• 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 to deliver outstanding customer service and manage feedback.
• Deliver retailer support by collaborating with Marketing to highlight retailers who could benefit from Marketing support, such as visual merchandising, signage, social media.

Financial Accountability

• Assist in preparing sales analysis and reports to support the Retail Manager.
• Manage and distribute financial information using systems such as Tableau, Salesforce, JDE and Anaplan.
• Assist in maintaining the centre-controlled debt, payment plans, coordinating legal action as required, rental abatement, and communication with retailers.
• Assist with budgeting and financial reporting for retail operations.

Experience & Capabilities

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE (what you have done)

• Experienced administrator with a background in administration ideally within the retail or customer service industry.
• Extensive experience using the Microsoft Office suite, including Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel and Word, with experience in accounting systems such as JD Edwards would be advantageous but not essential.

CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE (what you need to know)

• Basic understanding of retail legislation, leases and retail fundamentals.
• Basic financial acumen and understanding driving value and commercial results.
• Known for actively contributing to a positive environment within the team, thriving in a fast-paced environment and a customer service ethic that is second to none.
• Outstanding interpersonal and strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Professional customer service skills.
• Known for an ability to collaborate effectively across multiple functions within the organisation.
• Strong ability to multi-task coupled with excellent attention to detail.
• Strong organisational, compliance and time management skills.
• Ability to work as a part of a team and develop and maintain strategic relationships.
• Adaptable and responsive to the needs of the stakeholders and leaders.

CAPABILITIES (what you can do)

• Collaborate as an Asset Team - Collaborate for best outcomes for asset and team versus best outcome for individual – Foundational.
• 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 – Foundational.
• Develop Strong Stakeholder Relationships - Identify, nurture and strengthen diverse stakeholder relationships – Foundational.
• Problem Solving - Use logic and methods to solve problems with effective solutions – Foundational.
• Health, Safety, Environment & Wellbeing - Integrate health, safety, environment and wellbeing into ways of work at asset level to ensure the safety of everyone – 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 – Foundational.
• Understands Asset Vision & Strategy - Know the ‘why’ behind decisions and actions, think bigger than today, and plan for the future – Foundational.

Why Vicinity?

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

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.

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: talent.acquisition@vicinity.com.au

Phone: +61 3 7001 4000 (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.