Sondye Blakley-Powell
Ohope,Ohope
Summary
Customer-oriented Store Manager offering over 17 years of experience in retail operations, sales and service team leadership and profitability strategies. Organized and skilled at prioritizing daily tasks and following through to achieve performance and productivity goals. Recruits, trains, develops and manages team of store associates and assistant managers. Results-driven professional in retail management with a knack for boosting productivity and streamlining tasks. Possess strong capabilities in team leadership, inventory management, and customer service enhancement. Excel at communication, problem-solving, and adaptability, ensuring effective team coordination and exceptional shopping experiences for customers.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Bakery Manager
PaknSave
Whakatane, Whakatane
09.2023 - Current
- Monitored staff performance, providing feedback and guidance to ensure quality standards were met.
- Ensured compliance with food safety regulations and health codes in the kitchen area.
- Created cost-effective strategies to reduce waste while increasing productivity levels.
- Managed budgeting activities such as forecasting costs, setting prices and controlling expenses.
- Trained, supervised and evaluated bakery staff on proper baking techniques and safety procedures.
- Performed administrative tasks such as scheduling employee shifts, preparing payrolls and managing customer complaints.
- Maintained inventory of supplies, ingredients and equipment used in the production process.
- Ordered necessary ingredients for daily operations, ensuring availability of items needed for recipes.
Grading Team Leader
Eastpack
, Opotiki
04.2023 - 06.2023
- Offered training and support to keep team members motivated and working toward objectives.
- Delegated daily tasks to team members to optimize group productivity.
- Kept work areas clean, neat and free of safety hazards to maximize efficiency.
- Reviewed completed work to verify consistency, quality and conformance.
- Completed daily quality assurance duties to provide feedback for improvements.
- Conferred with other supervisors to coordinate operations and activities within or between departments.
Sales Manager
Seaview Nurseries
Brookby, AUK
03.2022 - 03.2023
- Handled customer relations issues, enabling quick resolution and client satisfaction.
- Maintained relationships with customers and found new ones by identifying needs and offering appropriate services.
- Weekly review of crops to determine what is presentable for trade list.
- Regular review of upcoming crops for presentation to buyers for future sales
- Work with propagation and production manager for determining ready dates.
- Previous position of dispatch supervisor required managing team of 8 in picking plants for customer orders, preparing them for retail and then packing them for shipment.
- Dispatch is very fast paced environment that required ability to change course quickly.
- Managed order cycle to enhance business development and maintain sustainability and customer satisfaction.
- Produced contracts, reports, letters, and proposals for clients.
- Evaluated performance against goals and implemented appropriate development plans.
- Established and cultivated solid business relationships with new or existing customers.
- Targeted and prospected for new business through telemarketing, individual creativity and innovation
- Evaluated performance against goals and implemented appropriate development plans
Specialty Manager
EB Games
Sylvia Park, AUK
01.2016 - 03.2022
- Talented specialty manager bringing passion for guest experience and team development
- Successful leader that utilizes goal setting, coaching and data to drive superior guest experience and create profitable business
- Thrives in fast paced environment while maintaining ability to quickly adapt to changes in business
- Exceptional guest experience
- Team development
- Staff training
- Goal setting
- Decision making
- Time management
- Detail oriented
- People sourcing
- Project management
- Recruited high potential candidates to fill vacancies and built recruitment strategies to reach key candidates.
- Maximized employee performance with effective training, daily goal setting, weekly performance reviews and in moment coaching
- This put entire team in top 25% of NZ/AUS business
- Analyzed profit and loss statements to create action plan based on identifying opportunities and greatest areas for margin growth
- Organized daily workloads by effective scheduling, delegating tasks and planning for increase in guest needs.
- Anticipated guest demands by tracking market changes and adapting strategies to match as well as ensuring team is educated regarding upcoming releases which put stores in top 3 of NZ for pre sells
- Delivered exceptional guest experience by welcoming visitors warmly and offering immediate assistance
- Fostering more than transaction based relationship with guests by learning more of their interests to better build guest's experience
- Developed solid relationships with staff, customers, and vendors.
- Created customer loyalty by going above-and-beyond to offer exceptional support for all needs.
- Organized annual fundraiser for Make a Wish which entailed scheduling volunteers, costumes, guest entertainment and focusing team on fundraising as priority
- Coordinated large launch events for new releases to give guests experience with large scale decorations, multiplayer games setup and maintaining control of large crowds.
- Accomplished multiple tasks within established timeframes.
- Onboarded new employees with training and new hire documentation.
- Cross-trained existing employees to maximize team agility and performance.
- Maximized performance by monitoring daily activities and mentoring team members.
- Accomplished multiple tasks within established timeframes.
Specialty Manager
Gamestop
Oak Harbor, Washington
12.2007 - 09.2015
- Talented specialty manager bringing passion for guest experience and team development
- Successful leader that utilizes goal setting, coaching and data to drive superior guest experience and create profitable business
- Thrives in fast paced environment while maintaining ability to quickly adapt to changes in business.
- Coached team to top 10% of US stores in KPIs
- Project management
- Recruited high potential candidates to fill vacancies and built recruitment strategies to reach key candidates.
- Maximized employee performance with effective training, daily goal setting, weekly performance reviews and in moment coaching.
- Analyzed profit and loss statements to create action plan based on identifying opportunities and greatest areas for margin growth.
- Organized daily workloads by effective scheduling, delegating tasks and planning for increase in guest needs.
- Anticipated guest demands by tracking market changes and adapting strategies to match as well as ensuring team is educated regarding upcoming releases.
- Delivered exceptional guest experience by welcoming visitors warmly and offering immediate assistance.
- Fostering more than transaction based relationship with guests by learning more of their interests to better build guest's experience
- Developed solid relationships with staff, customers, and vendors.
- Created customer loyalty by going above-and-beyond to offer exceptional support for all needs.
- Coordinated large launch events for new releases to give guests experience with large scale decorations, multiplayer games setup and maintaining control of large crowds.
- Accomplished multiple tasks within established timeframes.
- Onboarded new employees with training and new hire documentation.
- Cross-trained existing employees to maximize team agility and performance.
- Maximized performance by monitoring daily activities and mentoring team members.
- Recruited and hired top performers to add talent and value to department.
- Resolved staff member conflicts, actively listening to concerns and finding appropriate middle ground.
- Performed statistical analyses to gather data for operational and forecast team needs.
- Onboarded new employees with training and new hire documentation.
Education
Certificate I - Broadcasting
Bailie School of Broadcast
Seattle, WA USA08.1987
No Degree - Horticulture
Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
Lower Hutt, NZSkills
- Coaching and Mentoring
- Persuasive Negotiations
- Product Knowledge
- Sales Expertise
- Profit and Revenue-Generating Strategies
- Time Management
- Communication and Engagement Techniques
- Leadership Development
- Inventory Management
- Operations
- Staff Management
- Staff Training and Development
- Performance Reviews
- Budgeting and Cost Control
- Team Building and Leadership
- Problem-Solving
- Special Events
- Promotional Planning
- Outstanding Communication Skills
- Payroll Management
- Operational Budgeting
Education and Training
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Timeline
Bakery Manager
PaknSave
09.2023 - Current
Grading Team Leader
Eastpack
04.2023 - 06.2023
Sales Manager
Seaview Nurseries
03.2022 - 03.2023
Specialty Manager
EB Games
01.2016 - 03.2022
Specialty Manager
Gamestop
12.2007 - 09.2015
Certificate I - Broadcasting
Bailie School of Broadcast
No Degree - Horticulture
Open Polytechnic of New Zealand