Wild Meadows Books & Cafe

Wild Meadows Books and Café, a new retail business opening soon in Williston, Vermont, is looking for a dynamic leader to join our team as Bookstore Manager. We’re seeking a thoughtful leader with a passion for books and experience in bookstore operations to help bring to life our vision of a vibrant, inclusive place for discovery and community connection. This is a unique opportunity to be highly involved in starting and building an enterprise, helping to shape our offering and to build and manage a team and processes that achieve customer delight and a successful, sustainable business. 

Essential Duties

Operations

• Assist owners in the development of all aspects of bookstore operations in preparation for store launch.
• Manage daily operations, ensuring exceptional customer service, store organization, and a positive, welcoming environment. 
• Oversee daily opening and closing procedures, including cash management.
• Lead store merchandising, creating and maintaining promotional displays and optimizing store layout.
• Ensure all areas of the store are well-stocked, clean, organized and visually appealing.
• Source and liaise with outside vendors and service providers to maintain store operations, as needed.
• Maintain needed levels of store and office supplies.

Leadership and Staff Management

• Recruit, train, motivate and mentor staff to achieve sales targets and provide excellent customer service, along with other key metrics.
• Provide feedback and conduct performance reviews for employees. Provide opportunities for the professional development and growth of staff.
• Create optimized staff schedules, managing attendance and time off.
• Coordinate and cross-train with café operations to ensure service and offerings support overall goals of the business.
• Maintain a positive, collaborative, respectful and efficient work environment for the benefit of staff and customers.
• Participate in and help lead regular team meetings to plan, set goals, and align on upcoming events and promotions.

Customer Service

• Set, model and reinforce standards for outstanding and warm customer service.
• Actively engage in bookselling, directly connecting with and serving customers.
• Resolve customer complaints and concerns calmly and confidently to ensure high levels of satisfaction.
• Gather and act on customer feedback to continuously improve the shopping experience.

Sales and Marketing

• Contribute to the setting of sales targets and organize team to achieve sales and revenue goals.
• Oversee and contribute to marketing activities to optimize opportunities and ensure consistency and coordination throughout store operations and communications.
• Plan and execute promotional campaigns, discount strategies and loyalty programs.
• Develop and oversee execution of creative in-store displays and merchandising.
• Manage website and social media content.
• Pursue and manage special orders and bulk sales.
• Suggest and implement strategies in collaboration with owners to increase sales.
• Develop relationships with community members and organizations to identify and act on opportunities to strengthen Wild Meadows’ place in the community and further the store’s mission.
• Work with owners and children’s book buyer to track sales/demand of books, identify trends and inform business decisions, including frontlist and backlist book selections.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, book releases, etc. to identify opportunities and recommend changes.
• Contribute to event strategy and manage in-store events.

Financial and Inventory Management

• Oversee daily and weekly receiving and returns.
• Collaborate with owners and staff in inventory management, including managing stock levels, forecasting demand and conducting audits.
• Maintain accurate POS data and utilize POS data to optimize business functions and decisions.
• Support the store budget management process with owners, monitoring expenses and analyzing financial reports to improve profitability. 

Compliance and Safety

• Ensure the store complies with health and safety regulations and company policies.
• Implement security measures and train staff to prevent theft and fraud. 

Other Duties

• Perform cleaning functions within the store.
• Carry out café-related functions.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• 3+ years retail management experience.
• Experience in a bookstore environment.
• Experience in staff management, effective delegation, inventory, daily operations and merchandising.
• Experience with bookstore POS systems, as well as business IT and software platforms.
• A passion for books and reading.
• Understanding of business financial operations and reporting; Strong analytical skills.
• Enthusiasm for providing exceptional customer service and the ability to create a strong service environment.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
• Confidence to work independently, take initiative and collaborate as an effective team member
• Ability to adjust quickly to changing priorities and conditions and stay calm in a busy environment
• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends, events and holidays as part of a 7-day-per-week operation
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods of time. 
• Ability to lift or assist with lifting boxes of up to 40 pounds. 
• Familiarity with café operations a plus.

Salary & Benefits

• $48-56,000 to start, dependent on experience
• Healthcare benefits
• Paid time off, including vacation and sick leave
• Professional development opportunities
• Generous employee discount

Wild Meadows Books and Café, opening its doors in early 2026, is an independent bookstore and gathering place designed to feed a love of books and foster connections. Like a wild meadow, a great bookshop teems with life and beauty and stories to discover. We're building a team of individuals who are passionate about sharing their love of books and creating a welcoming space for lingering and learning.