Area Manager

Job overview
Area managers are responsible for a particular group of stores within a company and for maintaining and improving the profitability of that group.

What do people do in this job?
Area managers are an important link between the company?'?s head office and the store managers.

They are involved in the preparation of each store?'?s budget, its targets and its marketing strategy.

They look into any instances where a store is not performing as planned.

It is their duty to ensure that each store?'?s stock is at optimum level and displayed advantageously.

If necessary they arrange for transfer of stock from one branch to another and ensure that costing is understood by the branch managers and contained within agreed limits.

They control stock taking and security.

Area managers have important staff recruitment, training and appraisal responsibilities, with a duty to ensure that every member of staff in the branches has fair terms of service.

They authorise the payment of expenses where necessary.

What kinds of people are suitable for this career?
Area managers must be good at dealing with people at all levels?; ?able both to encourage and get co-operation but also to criticise and, where necessary, to reprimand.

This calls for decisive leadership skills, energy, assertiveness and the ability to bear up under pressure.

What qualifications are needed?
Many area managers will have worked their way up by force of personality and efficiency from lowly positions, but a formal commercial or management qualification, usually gained by part-time studies, will be an advantage, particularly in the bigger groups.