Assistant Manager
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Overview
Assistant ManagerHere at Cuppacoff we are a diverse organisation and operate a broad range of hospitality franchises across the UK. We aspire to be the best of the best and reflect this in our teams across the country.One of our franchises is Costa Coffee, we want to join them in their mission to inspire the world to love great coffee. Were all about embracing passion, energy and teamwork as we serve memorable moments for every one of our customers. In this role, youll be the perfect partner in setting up the store for success.A bit about the roleWorking closely with the Store Manager, youll help make sure that everything about the store is efficient and effective. That means getting involved in operations, store and company culture, customer relationships, and of course, the coffee. This is going to be so much fun.
What's involved?
- Becoming a brand ambassador and helping us shine
- Leading the team to deliver an unbeatable coffee experience for every customer
- Overseeing all aspects of operations, from cash and stock management to Costa standards, policies & procedures to in-store marketing and more
- Monitoring the store KPI report and translating it into daily and weekly actions
- Managing, growing, coaching, supporting and delegating to the team all that lovely people stuff.
A bit about you
A passion for coffee and people is just start of what were looking for. What else makes a great Assistant Store Manager?
- A love of the brand and excitement to be a part of it
- Top notch customer service skills
- Supervisory/management experience and a background in hospitality or retail
- Barista Maestro accredited
- Equal love of teaching and learning there are so many ways to help each other grow
- Ability to engage your team be inspiring, empowering, honest, open and always there
- Reliability to step into the Store Managers very cool shoes in their absence.
What we can offer
Were really proud of the work our team members deliver, and we want you to feel valued and rewarded with great perks and benefits:
- Up to £29,000 Dependant on Experience - 40 hr week contract
- Bonus
- 28 days Holiday (including bank Holidays)
- Great Opportunities to develop yourself and progress your career
- Whilst on Shift 50% discount on handmade drinks plus 50% on food and bottled drinks
- Costa Employee Discount Card 25% off food & drinks in any Costa store when youre not working
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Health & Wellbeing Programme
- Refer a Friend Scheme
- Company Pension Scheme
- Opportunity to impact your local community by getting involved
A bit about us
At the heart of Costa Coffee are our values. We believe in Passion, Warmth, Trust and Courage. Were the No. 1 coffee brand in the UK for the 14th year in a row. Here, youll be part of a genuine, passionate and warm team that shares a love for coffee and a desire to deliver great experiences to our customers, communities and people.At Costa Coffee, we celebrate inclusion and equality and believe everyone should bring their true self to work. We advocate collaboration and transparency. And embrace differences in all that we do.For any reasonable adjustments and general queries please contact
*This role is for a store owned by one of our franchise partners, their hiring process, salary and benefits may vary from those within a wholly owned Costa store advert.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your Barista Maestro accreditation prominently near the top of your CV — the advert lists it as a specific requirement under 'A bit about you'.
📊 Quantify your team leadership: e.g. 'Coached and supervised a team of 12 baristas, reducing staff turnover by 20% over 6 months' to demonstrate the people management scope Costa values.
🎯 Tailor your Personal Statement to reference Costa's four values — Passion, Warmth, Trust and Courage — using language that mirrors the advert's tone to pass ATS and impress hiring managers.
📋 Include a dedicated 'Operations' bullet in each relevant role covering cash handling, stock management and KPI tracking, as the advert explicitly lists these as core responsibilities.
🤝 Reference any experience deputising for a Store or General Manager, as the advert specifically calls out 'reliability to step into the Store Manager's shoes in their absence' as a key requirement.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Deputised for Store Manager across a 15-person team, maintaining 97% mystery shopper compliance scores over two consecutive quarters.
- •Implemented a revised stock-take process that reduced weekly shrinkage by 18% and cut end-of-day cash discrepancies to under £10 per shift.
- •Coached 4 baristas through internal progression programmes, with 2 achieving supervisory roles within 9 months, cutting external recruitment costs by £3,200.
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
Your cover letter is ready
We've drafted a cover letter for Costa Coffee. Preview the opening, then unlock the full personalised version.
Letter preview — tailored to Costa Coffee
Dear Hiring Manager,
Costa Coffee's position as the UK's No. 1 coffee brand for 14 consecutive years is a standard I want to help uphold — which is why the Assistant Manager vacancy at Cuppacoff's Middlesbrough store caught my attention immediately. With hands-on experience in hospitality operations, KPI-driven store management, and team coaching, I am confident I can be the reliable partner your Store Manager needs.
My background in retail and hospitality management has equipped me with a thorough grounding in cash and stock control, compliance with brand standards, and translating weekly KPI reports into concrete daily actions for a customer-facing team. I hold my Barista Maestro accreditation and have consistently used a coaching-first approach to develop colleagues, reduce turnover, and maintain high customer satisfaction scores across busy trading periods.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How do you interpret a store KPI report and translate the data into actionable daily priorities for your team?
- ›Walk us through your approach to cash management and stock control in a high-volume hospitality environment.
- ›What processes have you put in place to ensure compliance with brand standards, policies and procedures?
- ›How do you manage in-store marketing activity to drive footfall and upselling at the point of sale?
- ›Describe your experience with scheduling and labour management to hit both service targets and cost budgets.
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you coached an underperforming team member and the outcome it produced.
- ›Describe a situation where you had to step up and lead the store in the absence of your manager — what challenges did you face?
- ›Give an example of when you turned a poor customer experience into a positive one and what you learnt from it.
- ›Tell me about a time you used data or a KPI report to identify a problem and implement a solution in store.
- ›Describe a moment when you had to motivate a team during a particularly busy or stressful shift — what approach did you take?
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you coached an underperforming team member and the outcome it produced.
Describe a situation where you had to step up and lead the store in the absence of your manager — what challenges did you face?