Thrift Store Manager

Thrift Store Manager

The mission of Hope the Mission is to prevent, reduce and eliminate poverty, hunger, and homelessness by offering immediate assistance and long-term solutions.

Each Hope the Mission thrift store is a revenue-generating operation that funds the mission and a community-facing space that shapes how people experience the organization. Whether a store meets its sales goals, retains its customers, maintains its standards, and develops its team comes down primarily to one person. The Thrift Store Manager is that person.

Reporting to the Director of Retail, the Thrift Store Manager has full operational accountability for their location. This includes overseeing merchandising, scheduling, staffing, inventory control, marketing, and training. The Thrift Store Manager manages daily cash handling, credit card transactions, and night drop deposits, controls costs and expenditures within budget, and actively engages customers on the floor to drive donations and merchandise sales toward monthly revenue goals. This role accepts donations and coordinates pickups, ensures staff, volunteers, and community service workers are properly trained, maintains the physical cleanliness, safety, and visual presentation of the store, builds customer relationships that generate repeat business, and communicates regularly with the Retail Director on store performance and issues.

This is a general management role in a mission-driven retail environment. The Thrift Store Manager sets the standard for every person who works in the store and for every customer who walks through the door. When the store runs well, the mission benefits directly. The Thrift Store Manager owns that outcome.

Responsibilities

• Store Operations and Inventory
• Oversee all aspects of store operations including merchandising, scheduling, staffing, inventory control, marketing, and training
• Assist with sorting, pricing, and inventory control
• Control costs and expenditures to keep the store within budget
• Maintain an effective schedule for employees, volunteers, and community service workers within payroll guidelines and store expense budgets
• Communicate regularly with the Retail Director about store performance and operational issues
• May drive company vehicles to perform store business
• Cash Handling and Financial Accountability
• Manage daily cash handling, credit card transactions, and bookkeeping
• Complete night drop deposits accurately and on time
• Customer Service and Sales
• Greet and assist customers and donors on the sales floor
• Actively engage customers to drive donations and merchandise sales toward monthly revenue goals
• Respond to customer inquiries and complaints promptly and professionally
• Build customer relationships that support repeat business and community goodwill
• Donations and Logistics
• Accept donations and process in-kind donation forms
• Schedule and coordinate donation pickups
• Training and Team Leadership
• Ensure staff, volunteers, and community service workers are trained in store operations and procedures
• Set and maintain performance and conduct standards for all store personnel
• Facility and Safety
• Maintain the physical cleanliness, organization, and visual appeal of the store and displays
• Enforce health, safety, and security policies and procedures at all times
• Additional Duties
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of Retail

Required Skills & Core Competencies

• Lead and develop a store team including staff, volunteers, and community service workers
• Manage cash handling, bookkeeping, and financial transactions accurately
• Oversee merchandising, inventory, and store visual presentation to a consistent standard
• Engage customers and donors on the sales floor with warmth and professionalism
• Communicate clearly and professionally in writing and verbally with staff, donors, customers, and leadership
• Organize and prioritize a high-volume workload across multiple concurrent responsibilities
• Apply strong attention to detail in store operations, financial records, and documentation
• Demonstrate sound judgment and independent decision-making with minimal supervision
• Work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and communities
• Maintain confidentiality regarding participants, customers, staff, and the organization
• Act with integrity, consistency, and professionalism in all interactions

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required
• Minimum 3 years of retail store experience including cash handling
• Minimum 2 years of experience managing a store or department
• Experience supervising staff, volunteers, or community service workers preferred
• Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred

Mandatory Requirements:

• Background Screening – Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.
• Drug and Alcohol Testing – Candidates must pass pre-employment and, if applicable, ongoing drug and alcohol screenings in accordance with company policy.
• Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Check – For roles requiring driving, employment is contingent upon an acceptable driving record.
• Legal Eligibility to Work – Candidates must provide proof of legal authorization to work in the United States.
• Compliance with Company Policies – All employees must comply with company policies, including safety, confidentiality, and conduct standards.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions. The employee is required to: walk and climb stairs; stand, bend, squat, climb, kneel, and twist on an intermittent or sometimes continuous basis; grasp, push, pull objects such as files, file cabinet drawers, and reach overhead; handle, finger, grasp and feel objects and equipment; reach with hands and arms; be mobile by moving oneself from place to place quickly and easily; repeat various motions with the wrists, hands, and fingers; be able to perform visual activities for (including, but not limited to) administrative and clerical tasks; ability to lift up to 25 lbs.; communicate, receive and exchange ideas, information by means of the spoken and written word; drive vehicles in and around Los Angeles County; be able to enter various buildings that may require climbing stairs; be periodically subjected to outside environmental conditions. The employee may work in proximity to service animals and emotional support animals; use a desktop and/or laptop computer; copy, postage, and fax machines. Complete all required forms in personal writing.

The employee may be in contact with individuals and families in crisis who may be ill, using alcohol and drugs, and who may not be attentive to basic personal hygiene, health and safety practices. The employee may experience a number of unpleasant sensory demands associated with the participants' use of alcohol and drugs, and lack of personal hygiene. The employee must be ready to respond quickly and effectively to many types of situations, including crisis situations and potentially hostile situations. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate in an office setting. Sometimes work may become stressful when working under pressure.

EEO: HTM (Hope the Mission) provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, HTM complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, placement, promotion, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

HTM will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act. You do not need to disclose your criminal history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if HTM is concerned about a conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report. Find out more about the Fair Chance Act by visiting the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing's Fair Chance Act webpage.

Mon-Fri, 9am-5:30pm.