Retail Store Manager - Art Shed Brisbane

Full-time | Tuesday to Saturday | West End

Art Shed is looking for an experienced, people-focused Store Manager to lead our Brisbane store through an exciting period of growth and positive change.

We’re looking for more than someone who can write a roster, open the doors and make sure the shelves are full. We’re looking for a retail leader who can build a capable and genuinely happy team, set clear expectations and create an exceptional experience for every customer who walks through our doors.

You’ll work closely with our Managing Director and wider management team to shape the next chapter of Art Shed Brisbane, while protecting the warmth, creativity and slightly unconventional spirit that makes Art Shed, well… Art Shed.

Art Shed is an Australian art supplies retailer with stores in Brisbane and Melbourne, supported by a national online business.

For more than 20 years, we’ve built our business around a fairly simple idea:

Art shops should be exciting.

They should be welcoming, colourful and inspiring, with people who genuinely want to help. We want customers to walk in for one tube of paint and somehow emerge an hour later with six new ideas and a basket full of possibilities.

Our team includes artists, makers and creative humans who love sharing what they know. You don’t need to be an artist to lead our Brisbane store—a love of leading people well is much more important.

Reporting directly to the Managing Director, you’ll take ownership of the day-to-day performance and operation of our Brisbane store.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll be visible on the floor, talking with customers, supporting your team and noticing when something could be working better.

The store is entering a positive period of change, with new systems, clearer processes and a renewed focus on team culture and customer experience. You won’t be doing this alone. You’ll be supported by our Company Directors, HR and wider management team as you introduce improvements and bring the team along with you.

• Lead, coach and develop an engaged and capable retail team.

• Create a workplace that is fun, respectful, supportive and accountable.

• Recruit and welcome people who fit the Art Shed brand and values.

• Set clear expectations and provide regular feedback and coaching.

• Address performance, conduct and workplace concerns fairly and professionally.

• Identify future leaders and help them grow.

• Prepare effective rosters within approved wage budgets.

We’re looking for someone who can be kind without being vague, approachable without being a pushover and accountable without becoming Captain Clipboard.

• Lead the team in delivering warm, knowledgeable and memorable service.

• Make beginners, professional artists and everyone in between feel equally welcome.

• Drive sales, customer engagement and loyalty.

• Review store results and turn the numbers into practical action.

• Resolve customer concerns professionally.

• Maintain a clean, welcoming, well-stocked and inspiring store.

• Oversee visual merchandising, promotions, signage and ticketing.

• Identify opportunities for events, demonstrations and community engagement.

We don’t do snobby art-store energy. No customer should ever feel silly for asking a question.

• Oversee opening, closing, banking and store security.

• Manage timesheets, reporting and general store administration.

• Maintain effective stock control, replenishment and inventory accuracy.

• Manage stocktakes, shrinkage and stock loss.

• Keep the stockroom safe, organised and functional.

• Ensure company policies and WHS requirements are followed.

• Work closely with our Marketing, Purchasing, eCommerce and Online Fulfilment teams.

Basically, we want the magic out front without chaos out back.

You’ll bring:

• At least three years’ retail management experience.

• Experience leading, coaching and developing a retail team.

• Confidence managing performance, conduct and workplace conflict.

• Experience managing rosters, wage budgets, leave and staffing needs.

• Strong commercial awareness and a proven ability to achieve sales targets.

• Experience with stock control, merchandising and general store operations.

• The ability to understand store results and turn them into action.

• Strong communication, organisation and problem-solving skills.

• The maturity and resilience to lead a team through change.

• Confidence learning and working with different systems.

• Full availability Tuesday to Saturday.

You’ll also be comfortable working closely with our Company Directors and management team. We’re collaborative, involved and fairly direct. We’ll listen to your ideas, give you room to lead and expect you to take ownership of what we agree together.

Because this isn’t generic retail.

At Art Shed, you’ll:

• Lead a creative retail environment with a genuinely distinctive brand.

• Have a real hand in shaping the future of our Brisbane store.

• Work directly with the Company Directors and wider leadership team.

• Join an Australian business that welcomes good ideas and better ways of working.

• Lead a team of creative people with an extraordinary amount of art-supply knowledge.

• Receive a competitive salary package reflecting your experience.

• Access generous staff discounts on art supplies.

• Grow professionally as the business continues to evolve.

You also won’t be joining a business where every idea needs to travel through seventeen committees before someone is allowed to move a display. If it’s a great idea, tell us.

If you’re thinking, “Yep, this sounds like me,” we’d love to hear from you.

Please apply through SEEK with your resume and a brief introduction telling us:

• How many years of retail management experience you have.

• The size of the teams you’ve managed.

• Why you’re interested in leading Art Shed Brisbane.

We know application letters are nobody’s favourite recreational activity, so it doesn’t need to be an essay. We’d simply like to hear a little about you, how you lead and why this opportunity caught your eye.