Charity Shop Manager Job Description
Lead a local charity shop to generate essential income for your cause. You’ll run daily operations, manage volunteers and paid staff, and make sure donated goods are processed, merchandised and sold to maximise fundraising.
What does a Charity Shop Manager professional do?
Responsible for day-to-day shop management: sales and donations, stock intake and pricing, volunteer and staff supervision, financial controls, merchandising and local community engagement.
Charity Shop Manager job description template
Use this employer-ready example as a starting point, then replace the placeholders and adjust the content so it accurately reflects your vacancy.
Charity Shop Manager
About the role
We are looking for a Charity Shop Manager to run our [Location] shop on a [Full‑time/Part‑time] basis. You will manage staff and volunteers, oversee donations and stock, maintain financial records and deliver excellent customer service to meet sales and fundraising targets. This role requires flexible hours (including weekends) and an ability to work to targets while supporting our charity’s mission. Salary: [Salary or pay range].
Key responsibilities
- Manage daily shop operations including opening/closing procedures, cashing up and till reconciliation
- Recruit, train, schedule and support volunteers and any paid staff; build an engaged local team
- Receive, sort, price and display donated goods in line with merchandising standards and safety rules
- Drive sales and donation targets through effective merchandising, pricing and local promotions
- Maintain accurate financial and stock records and report results to the line manager or charity finance team
- Ensure compliance with health & safety, safeguarding and data-protection policies
- Coordinate local community engagement and donor relationships to encourage regular donations
- Organise regular stock rotation, clearance activities and work with third-party outlets where appropriate
Essential skills and experience
- Proven retail or shop management experience, including cash handling and till use
- Experience supervising staff or volunteers, with good people-management skills
- Strong customer-service focus and ability to represent the charity positively
- Basic numeracy and record-keeping skills to manage daily takings and simple reports
- Comfortable with physical tasks such as moving donated items and regular merchandising
- Flexible availability including weekends and occasional evenings
- Right to work in the UK and willingness to undergo any required background checks (for example DBS where applicable)
Desirable
- Previous experience working in the charity sector or a charity shop
- Experience of volunteer recruitment, retention and training
- Familiarity with visual merchandising and basic pricing strategies
- Experience using retail tills, EPOS systems and simple spreadsheets
- Understanding of fundraising principles and local community outreach
- Full UK driving licence or ability to travel between sites where role requires collections or transfers
What we offer
- [Pension scheme or employer pension contribution]
- [Staff discount on shop stock]
- [Paid annual leave]
- [On-the-job training and professional development opportunities]
- [Flexible working pattern to suit shop opening hours]
- [Supportive workplace with a clear charity mission]
How to apply
Apply with your CV and any additional information requested. Make the interview process, closing date and any assessment stages clear where known.
Use this as a starting point rather than a final advert. The strongest version will reflect the real role, salary, location, systems, responsibilities, benefits and working arrangements.
What is a Charity Shop Manager role?
A Charity Shop Manager runs a retail outlet that raises income for a charitable cause. The role combines retail management—such as sales, stock processing, pricing and merchandising—with people management of volunteers and paid staff. Managers also handle cash and basic financial reporting, ensure compliance with safety and safeguarding policies, and work with the local community to maintain steady donation and sales streams.
Team
Typically a small team of paid staff supplemented by volunteers; manager leads day-to-day staffing and rotas.
Hours
Shop hours commonly include weekends; roles are available full‑time or part‑time depending on site needs.
Line management
Reports to a regional or area manager within the charity and may support other local shops.
Purpose
Generate income through retail sales and donations to support the charity’s services and programmes.
Typical Charity Shop Manager responsibilities
Responsibilities should reflect the real scope of the vacancy rather than every task someone in this profession might ever complete.
Manage daily shop operations including
Manage daily shop operations including opening/closing procedures, cashing up and till reconciliation
Recruit
Recruit, train, schedule and support volunteers and any paid staff; build an engaged local team
Receive
Receive, sort, price and display donated goods in line with merchandising standards and safety rules
Drive sales
Drive sales and donation targets through effective merchandising, pricing and local promotions
Maintain accurate financial
Maintain accurate financial and stock records and report results to the line manager or charity finance team
Ensure compliance with health & safety
Ensure compliance with health & safety, safeguarding and data-protection policies
Coordinate local community engagement
Coordinate local community engagement and donor relationships to encourage regular donations
Organise regular stock rotation
Organise regular stock rotation, clearance activities and work with third-party outlets where appropriate
Charity Shop Manager skills and experience to look for
Keep the essential list focused on what the person really needs to perform the role. Move useful-but-trainable experience into desirable criteria.
Usually worth prioritising
- Proven retail or shop management experience, including cash handling and till use
- Experience supervising staff or volunteers, with good people-management skills
- Strong customer-service focus and ability to represent the charity positively
- Basic numeracy and record-keeping skills to manage daily takings and simple reports
- Comfortable with physical tasks such as moving donated items and regular merchandising
- Flexible availability including weekends and occasional evenings
- Right to work in the UK and willingness to undergo any required background checks (for example DBS where applicable)
Useful where relevant
- Previous experience working in the charity sector or a charity shop
- Experience of volunteer recruitment, retention and training
- Familiarity with visual merchandising and basic pricing strategies
- Experience using retail tills, EPOS systems and simple spreadsheets
- Understanding of fundraising principles and local community outreach
- Full UK driving licence or ability to travel between sites where role requires collections or transfers
See our guide to what to include in a job advert before publishing.
How to write a Charity Shop Manager job advert
Small role-specific details can make the advert much easier for suitable candidates to assess.
Lead with the charity’s mission
Briefly explain what the charity does and how shop income supports that work — this helps attract values‑aligned candidates.
Be clear about hours and flexibility
State typical weekly hours, weekend requirements and whether the role is full‑time, part‑time or job‑share to set expectations.
Set realistic essential criteria
Make only truly necessary skills essential (retail experience, cash handling, people management) and put other skills in ‘desirable’ to widen the applicant pool.
Describe day-to-day tasks and targets
Include regular responsibilities such as cashing up, merchandising, volunteer management and sales/ donation targets so candidates know what success looks like.
Mention checks and training
Note any checks (for example DBS where relevant) and training you’ll provide, such as manual handling or safeguarding.
Charity Shop Manager salary considerations
Pay for Charity Shop Managers varies widely. Employers should consider local labour market, shop turnover and whether the role is full‑ or part‑time when setting pay. Other influences include the charity’s size and budget, the manager’s experience and whether the post includes supervisory responsibility for several shops.
depending on experience
- Use a genuine range
- Separate variable pay
- Avoid “competitive” alone
- Match salary to seniority
What Charity Shop Manager candidates will want to know
Practical details can influence whether a suitable candidate applies, even when the title and salary are attractive.
What are the typical working hours and weekend commitments?
Tell candidates the expected weekly hours, whether shifts include evenings or weekends and whether overtime or flexible shifts are common.
What is the mix of volunteers and paid staff?
Candidates will want to know how many volunteers they’ll manage, whether there’s existing staff and what support the charity provides for volunteer recruitment.
How are targets measured and reported?
Explain sales or donation targets, frequency of reporting and what support (training, marketing) is available to meet them.
Will the role require travel or collections?
Clarify whether the manager is expected to collect donations, attend regional meetings or travel between sites and whether expenses or a vehicle are provided.
Are background checks required?
State if an enhanced DBS or other checks are mandatory, and whether the charity will arrange or reimburse them.
Where to post a Charity Shop Manager job
Recruit for this role through a mix of local community channels and sector‑specific outlets. Use national job boards and retail recruitment sites for experienced retail managers, charity‑sector boards and volunteer platforms to reach candidates who value mission‑driven work, and local social media groups, parish newsletters or noticeboards to attract community‑minded applicants and volunteers.
Related charity / retail job descriptions
Recruiting for a slightly different role? These templates may be a closer fit.
Charity Shop Manager job description FAQs
How long should the recruitment process take?
Allow at least two to four weeks from advert to shortlist, longer if you require DBS checks or multiple interview stages.
Do I need to advertise differently for volunteer‑heavy shops?
Yes. Promote the role on volunteer platforms and local community channels and highlight volunteer management experience and flexibility in the advert.
What checks should I carry out on shortlisted candidates?
Carry out right-to-work checks, obtain references that cover recent employment or volunteering, and arrange DBS checks where the charity’s safeguarding policy requires them.
Should I include sales targets in the advert?
Include a high-level statement about responsibility for sales or donation targets, but keep specific figures for the interview stage unless standard across sites.
Ready to hire your next Charity Shop Manager?
Use this template to create a clear advert that sets expectations on hours, responsibilities and the skills you need. Advertise across local and charity‑sector channels to reach candidates with both retail experience and a commitment to your cause.
