Area Manager at Goodwill Industries of South Central Wisconsin, Inc. – Madison, Wisconsin

General Summary

Manages the daily operations of multiple retail stores and an attended donation center to meet established revenue and margin objectives. Contributes to the DGR mission by generating funds that support individuals in our community to live, work, and thrive through housing, employment, and supportive services.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Partners proactively with Talent Acquisition to interview, hire, and train direct reports across assigned locations.
• Leads daily operations across multiple sites, ensuring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue, margin, and operational goals are achieved.
• Provides timely performance evaluations and ongoing coaching to drive individual and team success.
• Champions training and development initiatives to promote retention and internal career growth.
• Utilizes coaching and documentation to reinforce strong performance and address performance concerns, setting clear expectations and accountability.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

• Oversee service, product levels, and safety across multiple operations while managing within budgeted expenses to support the Goodwill mission and brand.
• Ensure proper cash controls and asset protection practices are followed, maintaining compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Leads customer service standards to deliver a best-in-class experience.
• Manage scheduling and staff productivity to achieve sales and margin goals.
• Determines production setup and material handling processes to efficiently produce quality merchandise and meet sales objectives.
• Maximizes donation value by effectively processing products for retail, online, outlet, or aftermarket sales channels.
• Develops and supports store management teams, fostering a collaborative and motivated work environment through training and coaching.
• Communicate effectively and professionally with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensures a safe work environment by auditing practices and training employees on safety and loss prevention policies, while driving compliance.
• Analyzes sales, donation, and production data to identify trends and implement strategies for continuous improvement.
• Optimizes store performance to maximize sales per square foot, increase donor value, and improve margins.
• Implements brand initiatives to ensure consistency in merchandising, product presentation, and customer/donor experience.
• Assists in preparing retail budgets and regularly analyzes expense-to-revenue ratios.
• Addresses customer and donor concerns promptly and professionally.
• Approves purchase orders, petty cash, and expense reports in accordance with company guidelines and budgets.
• Performs all duties in alignment with Goodwill’s Core Values.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required

• Strong knowledge of retail operations in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to deliver a high level of customer service.
• Ability to lead across multiple locations and manage multiple teams simultaneously while ensuring operational goals are met.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with strong interpersonal abilities to effectively interact with employees and the public.
• Demonstrated leadership and people management skills.
• Ability to make independent decisions that positively impact store performance and goals.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, with the ability to quickly learn additional software systems.
• Culture: Actively builds a respectful, fair, and empowering environment where everyone can thrive while supporting positive teamwork.
• Results: Consistently meets goals and expectations by aligning team efforts with organizational objectives, seeking solutions, and proactively addressing challenges using available resources all while maintaining a positive attitude and a passion for our mission.
• Accountability: Leads by example, takes responsibility for one’s actions, fulfills commitments, and ensures that individual contributions align with the mission, team, and organizational goals.
• Job knowledge and expertise: Demonstrates a deep understanding of job responsibilities and proactively enhances knowledge and skills through continuous learning. Applies knowledge effectively to meet and exceed work objectives.

Travel Required

• Up to 20% travel.

Education and/or Work Experience

• High school diploma required; post-secondary education or degree preferred.
• Minimum of 6 years of progressively responsible retail management experience.

Physical Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Ability to remain in a stationary position and operate a computer and other office equipment in an indoor environment.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods, with the capability to lift, push, or pull up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, and to identify, analyze, and assess detailed information.

Other duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer:

Goodwill of South Central of Wisconsin provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

For a complete position description or questions, please contact Human Resources Supervisor, TuVayra Terwilliger, at tterwilliger@goodwillscwi.org or (608) 852-8421