National Operations Manager

Highgrove Bathrooms has grown for more than twenty years supplying renovators, builders, designers and trades through a national network of showrooms. Most of those showrooms are run by owner operators with real skin in the game. That model is our greatest strength, and it shapes this role completely. Store performance here is delivered through people you do not directly control, which makes standards, evidence and relationships the tools of the job rather than authority.

We know what this role is accountable for. What we are looking for is someone with a clear view on how to get there, and the freedom to build it their way. You will set the national standard, the review rhythm that measures it, and the working relationships that make it hold.

What you will own

Performance

• Revenue and gross profit across the network, with a clear view at any point of which stores are ahead, which are behind, and why.
• The Regional Manager team, working to agreed targets, a set review cycle and real corrective action when performance slips.
• Turning store and financial data into decisions rather than reports.

The standard

• The national standard for store presentation and visual merchandising, and the verification that it is actually being met.
• Product knowledge across the network, kept current as our range and supplier's change.
• A consistent customer service standard measured and acted on.

The relationships

• Primary Head Office contact for Store Owners on store performance.
• Working relationships that survive a hard conversation, holding the standard while keeping the relationship intact.
• Resolving differences at the lowest practical level and escalating to the Director when a store cannot or will not come with you.

The safeguards

• The national store review and audit program covering operational compliance and risk.
• Safety and security standards for people, stock, cash and property, and Work Health and Safety accountability across all stores.
• Store maintenance, fit outs and refits, delivered on time and on budget.

What you will need to show us

We are less interested in where you have worked than in what you changed. Every point below is something we will ask you to walk us through in detail, with the specifics.

• Lifting capability. A team, or a network of teams, measurably better at their jobs after you led them. What the gap was, what you built to close it, and how you knew it had worked.
• Driving consistency across sites. You have taken presentation and service standards that varied site to site and made them the same everywhere. Tell us the standard you set, how you measured it, and what you did about the sites that would not move.
• Improving a process. Something you found broken and rebuilt. We will ask how you diagnosed the real problem rather than the symptom, who you brought with you, what resistance you hit, and what it delivered.
• Financial literacy. You can read a store profit and loss unaided and talk credibly about gross margin, sales per head, conversion and average sale. Be ready to describe a number you moved and the specific levers you pulled to move it.
• Results through influence. Outcomes delivered through people who did not report to you. Owner operator, franchise, dealer or joint venture experience is a real advantage, because that is the job here.
• Multi-site leadership. Experience leading other leaders across a geographically dispersed footprint, and sound knowledge of retail compliance, Work Health and Safety and risk.

Useful but not essential: a tertiary qualification in business or a related field, and a background in bathrooms, renovation, building or interiors.

What the role asks of you

Based at our Gold Coast Head Office. The ability to travel nationally on a regular basis, including overnight stays, is essential. How often you are on the road, and where, is yours to plan around what the network needs. Store visits involve time on your feet in showroom and warehouse environments.

What we offer

• Genuine scope. The mandate, the team and the latitude to change how the network performs.
• A direct line to the Director, so decisions get made quickly.
• An Australian owned business that has grown steadily for more than twenty years.
• Staff discounts on premium products, and retail discounts through our HR platform.
• 24/7 wellbeing support through our Employee Assistance Program.

How to apply

Apply with your CV and a short cover note. Rather than restating your CV, tell us about one process or standard you rebuilt in a business where you did not have direct authority over the people delivering it. What was actually wrong, what you changed, and how you know it worked.

We review applications as they arrive, so please do not wait.

Applicants progressing to the final stage may be asked to complete a criminal history check, relevant to the inherent requirements of a role accountable for cash, stock and store security.

Highgrove Bathrooms is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. If you need an adjustment at any point in the process, let us know and we will work it out with you.