Melanie Benna
Newark,Nottinghamshire
Summary
Experienced charity shop manager with over ten years in retail management, skilled in performance management, team development and visual merchandising.
Proven ability to analyse sales data for informed decision making to raise standards and enhance shop performance.
Committed to fostering a positive and welcoming workplace culture and maximising income opportunities.
Overview
43
43
years of professional experience
Work history
Retail Charity Shop Manager
The Children's Society
Newark, Notts
06.2016 - Current
- Recruited, trained, and managed volunteer teams, an assistant manager and sessional sales assistant, supporting them in their personal development to reach their full potential.
- Collaborated with the area manager in analysing job applications and interviewing recruitment candidates to improve the selection process.
- Composed and delivered motivational speeches at shop meetings.
- Developed and distributed a digital newsletter during the 2020 lockdown to keep the shop team engaged and inspired, ready for their eventual return.
- Organised area van distribution runs to assist other shops when requesting more stock.
- Visited other shops in the region to perform health and safety audits to ensure compliance.
- Instrumental in researching and locating new shop premises for the shop, resulting in a successful shop re-location.
- Oversaw the initial growth, development and turnaround of the shop in a low footfall area, to raise standards, improve team morale and achieve increased sales to meet budget requirements.
- Experienced in analysing and interpreting weekly, monthly and annual income and expenditure figures to assist the area manager in suggesting a budget for the shop.
- Able to handle issues and challenging situations with both professionalism and compassion to achieve positive outcomes.
- Excellent working knowledge, of all aspects of Health and Safety, GDPR, Safeguarding, Equality and Diversity and Conflict Management.
- Fully conversant in all Microsoft Office programmes.
- In charge of earning extra revenue for the shop through the shop's eBay account, World of Books, and market stall events.
- Promoted charitable work amongst local communities via social media channels, increasing the knowledge of the charity's aims..
- Fostered excellent relationships with local businesses, increasing donations and support from them.
- Graduate of the Compass Programme, Navigating Leadership.
Retail Charity Shop Assistant Manager
Cancer Research UK
Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire
11.2015 - 06.2016
- Solid experience covering for absent shop managers in different stores across Buckinghamshire, including regular and discount stores.
- Overall responsibility for the merchandising of the premium store.
- Recruiting and training of a large volunteer team in all aspects of Gift Aid, customer service, cashier duties, sorting items and making them presentable for the shop floor, culling, teamwork and health and safety.
- Responsible for the shop's social media account.
- Weekly paperwork and analysis of figures.
- Standing in for the shop manager on a regular basis.
- Organising sales, events and special promotions to increase store revenue.
Retail Charity Shop Sales Assistant
Cancer Research UK
Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
09.2015 - 11.2015
- Cashier duties.
- Providing an excellent customer service resulting in repeat customers.
- Sorting, steaming, tagging of clothes and sorting through donations for saleable items.
- Promoted to assistant manager of the new premium store in Gerrards Cross after two months to run the shop in the absence of a manager and take charge of all the visual merchandising.
Director
The Tunisian House Limited
Nabeul, Tunisia
08.2005 - 01.2015
- Set up a British company selling and renting properties in Tunisia.
- Gained considerable experience of remote working.
- Constructed two websites from scratch, one promoting life in Tunisia, another offering properties for sale across Tunisia.
- In charge of all administration, emails and marketing.
- In charge of meeting and greeting all customers, viewings and assisting with the buying process and contracts.
- Promoting available properties in French on local advertising websites.
- Upselling of made to measure furniture for properties, contacting the factories across Tunisia and promoting and selling these through email marketing.
- Organised regular cleaning and maintenance of sold properties for customers.
- Set up a regular property email newsletter for existing and new customers.
Full Time Homemaker
Self Employed
Ramsgate, Kent
09.1996 - 08.2005
- Successfully brought up a family of six children, managing all day to day operations of a household.
- Skilled in budgeting and finances.
- Volunteered at local hospitals for La Leche League helping mothers with breastfeeding issues.
- Organised and ran local meet up groups for mothers and their children.
- Part time night position caring for the elderly.
Various secretarial/administration positions
Various
Nottingham, Notts
09.1982 - 09.1996
- Administration, reception and secretarial duties for various companies, gained in a police station, a solicitor's, a hotel and for a secretarial temping agency.
- Working remotely for a temping agency meant the need for quickly learning and applying new skills to daily tasks and getting acquainted with different needs and priorities in a relatively short space of time.
- Flexible working with the temping agency, being available at short notice and to cover different days, times and bank holidays.
- Able to fit into a team instantly and work alongside new and different people on a regular basis.
- Acquired the ability to work in a discrete, confidential and professional manner from the many different positions.
Education
QLS Level 4 - Understanding Antiques
Regent Academy
Brandis Corner, Devon 01.2024 -
GCSEs - Maths
Amersham School
Amersham, Buckinghamshire 09.2015 - 06.2016
GCSEs - French
Technical College
Towcester, Northamptonshire 09.1994 - 06.1995
GCSEs - English Language
Newark Technical College
Newark, Nottinghamshire 09.1981 - 06.1982
Graduate - Navigating Leadership in the Retail Environment
Compass Programme
Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire 07.2023 - 09.2024
GCSEs - Art
The Minster School
Southwell, Nottinghamshire 09.1980 - 06.1981
Skills
- Ten year's charity shop management experience
- Performance management, recruitment, training and development of large teams
- Visual merchandising
- Remote working
- Conflict management and handling difficult conversations
- Problem solving and decision making in a retail environment
- Data analysis of sales figures and making informed decisions to achieve budget
- Strong IT and admin skills
- Maximising extra income opportunities, such as social media, eBay, events, and flash sales
- Creating own business, marketing, promoting and sales
Affiliations
- Visual merchandising, travel and antiques.
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
QLS Level 4 - Understanding Antiques
Regent Academy
01.2024 -
Graduate - Navigating Leadership in the Retail Environment
Compass Programme
07.2023 - 09.2024
Retail Charity Shop Manager
The Children's Society
06.2016 - Current
Retail Charity Shop Assistant Manager
Cancer Research UK
11.2015 - 06.2016
Retail Charity Shop Sales Assistant
Cancer Research UK
09.2015 - 11.2015
GCSEs - Maths
Amersham School
09.2015 - 06.2016
Director
The Tunisian House Limited
08.2005 - 01.2015
Full Time Homemaker
Self Employed
09.1996 - 08.2005
GCSEs - French
Technical College
09.1994 - 06.1995
Various secretarial/administration positions
Various
09.1982 - 09.1996
GCSEs - English Language
Newark Technical College
09.1981 - 06.1982
GCSEs - Art
The Minster School
09.1980 - 06.1981