Sales Associate - PT -Alexandria, VA

Sales Associate / Brand Ambassador

Turn your love of people, flavor, and discovery into a job that actually teaches you something.

The Spice & Tea Exchange is a sensory specialty retail shop filled with spices, teas, sugars, salts, gifts, recipes, and conversations. We're looking for warm, reliable, curious team members who enjoy helping guests discover something delicious, memorable, useful, or unexpected. This is not a "stand behind the register and wait" kind of retail job. It's a hospitality, product education, and guest experience role - with plenty of teamwork, movement, learning, and flavor along the way. Some team members shine through energetic customer engagement and selling. Others shine through careful execution, organization, replenishment, labeling, and behind-the-scenes support.

Both types matter here. Our best teams need both.

What you'll do

• Welcome guests and help them feel comfortable exploring.
• Ask thoughtful questions about what they're cooking, gifting, sipping, or trying to solve.
• Recommend spices, teas, sugars, salts, blends, accessories, recipes, and gift ideas.
• Share product knowledge in a helpful, approachable way.
• Support sampling, events, promotions, and seasonal displays.
• Restock, recover, label, organize, and keep the store beautiful.
• Follow checklists, procedures, and cleanliness standards.
• Help create small "WOW" moments guests remember.

You may be a great fit if you...

• Enjoy talking with people and helping them find the right thing.
• Are curious about food, tea, cooking, gifting, wellness, or flavor.
• Can be warm and persuasive without being pushy.
• Notice what needs to be done and jump in.
• Take pride in accuracy, cleanliness, and follow-through.
• Like a fast-moving environment where every day is a little different.
• Are coachable and willing to keep learning.
• Can balance guest connection with task completion.

This role has two natural paths

Some Sales Associates are natural Brand Ambassadors - outgoing, enthusiastic, and energized by guest interaction, product storytelling, and sales. Others are natural Operators - steady, helpful, accurate, organized, and great at replenishment, labeling, stocking, event setup, and behind-the-scenes execution. We value both. Whether you love creating the guest experience or helping make the store run beautifully, there may be a place for you here.

Requirements

• Weekend and holiday availability strongly preferred.
• Reliable attendance and punctuality.
• Comfort standing, moving, reaching, restocking, and engaging with guests during shifts.
• Ability to assist with unpacking, stocking, and moving items, generally up to 15-25 lbs.
• Willingness to learn product knowledge and follow store procedures.
• Accuracy with customer orders, stocking, labeling, and cash handling.
• Age 18+ preferred due to closing responsibilities, cash handling, and specialty product selling.
• No prior spice, tea, or specialty retail experience is required - we will train the right person.
• Prior experience in retail, hospitality, food/beverage, customer service, sales, merchandising, or production work is helpful but not required.
• Candidates with prior keyholder, shift lead, or supervisory experience may be considered for additional responsibility or future growth opportunities based on role fit, availability, and business needs.

Compensation & growth

Compensation varies by experience, availability, and role fit. Strong performers may be considered for continued post-seasonal core team opportunities based on performance, availability, and business needs.

Perks & benefits

• Fun, engaging workplace - no boring days here.
• Hands-on culinary discovery - taste, learn, blend, and explore.
• Room to grow - build skills in sales, hospitality, inventory, events, and operations.
• Leadership opportunities - step up when you're ready.
• Team discounts + free monthly products - yes, please.

Who we are

The Spice & Tea Exchange is a specialty retail shop bursting with flavor, warmth, and welcoming energy. We're all about great service, product storytelling, and helping guests explore the magic of taste - whether they are cooking dinner, building a gift, restocking a favorite tea, or discovering something completely new. We believe retail can still feel human. You'll learn about hospitality, customer connection, selling without pressure, product knowledge, teamwork, and the small details that make a store feel special.

Company Culture Card:

Ready to join us?

If you are warm, reliable, curious, coachable, and ready to learn, we'd love to meet you. Apply today and help us create joy for customers and growth for ourselves - every shift, every interaction.