Retail Graduate Manager - Southampton

At ASDA we're always striving for bigger and better ways to grow our reach and help our customers live better lives. New and innovative ideas are what drive us. We have big ambitions to grow our store portfolio over the next two years across a range of different store formats. The chance to have responsibility for your own store and become a retail leader of the future is better than ever before.

Our 2025 Retail Graduate Programme has been developed in partnership with the store managers of today, many of whom were on similar graduate programmes, ready for the retail leaders of tomorrow.

Everything about Asda
We are a values-led organisation. As such we encourage everyone to be open and honest. We work creatively and collaboratively, valuing everyone's input.

Our collaborative culture, the size of our business and our belief in the empowerment of the individual means opportunities at Asda are abundant.

We conduct £300m worth of transactions every week. Our website handles over 2 million transactions a month. We have more than 145,000 dedicated Asda colleagues ensuring that our customers are at the heart of everything we do.

Everything you'll love

• Hybrid and flexible working – everyone is looking for that work/life balance and Asda have it on point. Flexible working meaning you work where it works to meet both your needs and the business needs.
• 25 days annual leave per year plus 8 bank holidays – Making sure you take time for yourself and switch off.
• 4 weekly pay – which means you get an extra payday a year.
• Digital GP and Wellbeing sessions – Asda genuinely cares so we create a culture where our people can perform at their best, the physical health and mental wellbeing of all our people is very important to us.
• Career development and apprenticeship and graduate schemes - we want our colleagues to excel and grow with our business.
• Free city centre parking – you can also use it outside working hours.

Plus much more!

Amanda Green, former Retail Graduate and Store Manager captures the experience perfectly.
“I can't think of another high-profile scheme where you are given such an opportunity to build both yourself and your own business side by side.”

That's more like it.
This is a fast-paced, two-year learning programme where you'll discover everything store management has to offer. At Asda, no two days are the same. You’ll complete a series of placements within your region, progressing at pace and taking on more accountability every 6 months. At times, you will need to deal with management issues such as disciplinary and grievances, as well as manage rota planning and holidays. The hard work and effort you put in is repaid knowing that you've made a difference to your colleagues, customers, and the communities we serve.

If you have the ambition to be a store manager of the future, the 2-year Retail Graduate Programme will guide you, prepare you and support you every step of the way. After two years, you’ll be on track to become either an operations manager within a large store or manager of your very own express store. That's what's possible at Asda.

Find your role…Find your everything at Asda - bringing brighter living within everyone's reach.

Take time to complete your online application, it really is the best way to make a good first impression. Once we received your application, we use a range of techniques to narrow down the field and help us find our ideal candidates.

If you are successful at each stage, you will progress to the next. This will include:

• A short, blended personality and numerical assessment.
• A half-day assessment centre, where you will meet the team and find out more about the programme.

If you are successful, we will ask you to come and join ASDA in September 2025.

Applications may close before the deadline so please register your interest as soon as possible.

We are passionate about creating a diverse and inclusive workforce, representative of the communities we serve, and are creating ways to inspire diverse talent to join Asda.

All candidates must have the continuous right to work in the UK and any offer of employment is conditional upon this requirement. Asda do not provide sponsorship for our graduate and apprenticeship programmes.

Work Where it Works
Our hybrid way of working gives you the choice to work where it works. This enables you to choose where you’ll be the most effective. It offers a mix of working from home and in an office environment that works best for you and your team.

You will also get an excellent benefits package including:

• Discretionary company bonus.
• Company pension up to 7% matched.
• 10% colleague discount, free parking and many additional rewards.

We want all colleagues to be able to bring their best and true selves to work, every day. Simply put, we want our colleagues to be Proud to be Asda and proud to be themselves.

What we are looking for

Store managers are tenacious, hardworking, and determined. But they're also empathetic, caring and customer focused. The pedestrian 9-5 doesn't interest them. As part of the store management team, you'll work a rolling rota which will include weekends, evenings and sometimes, late nights.

To succeed, you'll want to get stuck in, being adaptable to change and able to work at pace. You’ll be highly organised and motivated by problem solving. You’ll be a natural leader, passionate about delighting customers and keeping colleagues motivated and engaged to be the best they can be and deliver great results.

We aren't looking for a specific degree, or only those who are graduating in 2025. We're looking for recent graduates who are right for the role. You might already have some experience in the working world, or in retail. You might have no work experience at all. We're looking for graduates who have the right attitude and are looking for a bigger, better career.

Additional job details

Location: Southampton

How to apply

Click Apply to start your application now. This job will be available on Prospects until 29 December 2024.

Don't forget to mention Prospects to employers when you contact them.

When it comes to career possibilities, we’ve got everything (and then some) covered here at Asda. And that makes it an incredible place to get started in your career journey.

We’re one of the big players in the supermarket world, and that means we’ve got a wide range of programmes for you to choose from – whether you’ve just finished university, school, college, or if you’re just looking for something new.

Every one of our programmes is designed to help you reach your potential, regardless of how well you did in school or where you’ve come from. From our shops to our distribution centres, our opticians and pharmacies, through to our George and Asda Head Offices, we offer school leaver and degree apprenticeships through to graduate programmes and optical pre-reg programmes.