Assistant Store Leader

Since its launch in 1993 with a collection of six essential handbags, Kate Spade New York has always been colorful, bold, and optimistic. Today, it is a global lifestyle brand that designs extraordinary things for the everyday, delivering seasonal collections of handbags, ready-to-wear, jewelry, footwear, home décor, and more. Known for its rich heritage and unique brand DNA, Kate Spade New York offers a distinctive point of view and celebrates communities of women around the globe who live their perfectly imperfect lifestyles. 

Kate Spade New York is part of the Tapestry portfolio – a global house of brands committed to stretching what’s possible.

A member of the Tapestry family, we are part of a global house of brands that has unwavering optimism and is committed to being innovative and wholly inclusive. Visit Our People page to learn more about Tapestry's commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity.

Assistant Store Leader

General purpose of the position: partner with store leadership to produce successful financial results. provide leadership to the team in order to execute sales generation, clientele development, operational, visual, recruitment, and administrative functions. responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

essential duties and responsibilities
client & service expert:

• development of a clientele through proactive client outreach and the ability to build and maintain relationships with new clients
• partner with SM to develop business driving initiatives that build a repeat business or attract a new customer to the store, i.e. events and marketing opportunities
• ensure each associate is actively utilizing their client book in order to generate increased sales through monthly client book reviews and evaluation of their outreach
• ensure team is compliant will all clientele standards and thank you note program
• ensure all associates complete the sales training program
• model and supervise the selling environment, provide consistent coaching on sales training process in order to ensure the highest level of customer service and sales

leadership presence/steward of talent:

• assist SM with the achievement of financial success through improvement of measurable results that positively impact the store performance
• responsible for assuming the SM role in manager’s absence
• lead by example with the achievement of personal sales goals
• educate team on product, sales plans, personal goals, measurable stats; is able to coach to these stats to ensure business is maximized
• ability to network in the community to ensure open positions are filled efficiently with little impact to the business; build a bench for future promotions and openings
• manage administrative recruitment duties; i.e. scheduling interviews & communicating with candidates
• onboard new team members effectively through 30/60/90 touch bases; conduct ongoing review and assessment of employee performance through monthly meetings with direct reports
• utilize mid-year and annual review process as a tool for associate development and advancement; monitor and address performance concerns on a timely basis, partnering GM

building brand equity:

• understand and able to communicate the kate spade brand aesthetic, brand philosophy, and lifestyle to the sales team and customer
• ensure brand and operating standards are met to support brand consistency.
• ensure visual merchandising directives are implemented and store presentation standards are achieved and maintained.
• communicate merchandise sell-through, stock position, business trend information, product issues, customer feedback to SM in order to increase customer service and sales

operational excellence:

• perform and supervise store opening and closing procedures including counting register funds, completing bank deposits, opening and closing registers and securing facility
• assist SM with maintaining payroll budget by managing schedule and making necessary adjustments when the business warrants
• monitor, maintain, and follow company policies and procedures with a focus on loss prevention to protect the company’s inventory and assets
• ability to accurately manage the processing of all pos transactions to maintain the integrity of the inventory

skills and abilities required:

• professional sales development and exceptional interpersonal skills
• strong leadership qualities; the ability to communicate effectively with all levels within the organization and to our client base
• ability to analyze selling reports, identify business trends and react quickly to the needs of the business
• comfort in making decisions and mediating conflict within a team-environment
• proficient in windows-based software such as excel, word and outlook

physical requirements:

• available to work store schedule, as needed, including evenings and weekends
• standing for extended periods of time
• able to safely lift boxes up to 40 pounds
• comfortable climbing ladders

education and experience required:

• minimum 3 years management experience in a comparable retail environment
• college degree preferred
• prior luxury goods experience preferred

Our Competencies for All Employees

• Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.
• Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
• Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
• Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
• Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
• Interpersonal Savvy: Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
• Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.

Our Competencies for All People Managers

• Strategic Agility: Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
• Developing Direct Reports and Others: Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; is aware of each person's career goals; constructs compelling development plans and executes them; pushes people to accept developmental moves; will take on those who need help and further development; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.
• Building Effective Teams: Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in their team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.

Kate Spade is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and we pride ourselves on hiring and developing the best people. All employment decisions (including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, transfer, training, discipline and termination) are based on the applicant's or employee's qualifications as they relate to the requirements of the position under the consideration. These decisions are made without regard to age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic characteristics, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other legally-recognized protected basis prohibited by applicable law. Visit Kate Spade at www.katespade.com.