Retail Supervisor (fixed term)

Closing date: 10:00 on Monday 30 March 2026Interview date: Thursday 09 April 2026Start date: Monday 11 May 2026End date: Friday 04 September 2026Location: Office based, central Edinburgh

The idea at the heart of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is simple: anyone with a desire to perform and a venue willing to host them is welcome. No individual or committee determines who can or cannot perform at the Fringe.

It all began in 1947 with eight companies – six of them from Scotland – taking a risk, turning up uninvited and performing on the ‘fringe’ of the inaugural Edinburgh International Festival. Over 75 years later, the Fringe has grown to become one of the greatest platforms for creative freedom in the world.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society was founded by artists to nurture and uphold the Fringe's values of inclusivity, experimentation and imagination. We exist to support, advise and encourage everyone who wants to participate in the Fringe, provide information and assistance to audiences, and celebrate the Fringe and what it stands for all over the world.   

We are seeking to appoint an experienced individual to the position of Retail Supervisor, reporting to the Retail and E-Commerce Manager.

The Retail Supervisor will assist the Retail and E-Commerce Manager in supervising a small team of Retail Assistants. Working from the busy Fringe Shop on the Royal Mile, you will assist in managing the smooth running of the shop floor and any other sales location. In addition, you will be required to carry out duties that include assisting with the sale and display of Fringe merchandise, operating the cash and card terminals, monitoring the online shop, cashing up the tills and carrying out stocktakes when required. You will also be part of the team that will be the first point of contact for the general public, participants and suppliers dealing with the Fringe Society.

Role and responsibilities

You will perform a wide range of duties, including but not limited to:

• leading by example, successfully assisting customers to purchase merchandise and ensuring first class levels of customer service
• ensuring the shop is tidy and well maintained and that all products are displayed to maximise sales
• assisting with training and supervising a team of retail and information staff and providing support to team members when required
• being the initial face-to-face contact in the Fringe Shop for the general public, performers and suppliers dealing with the Fringe Society, and providing them with accurate and helpful information
• assisting with processing stock deliveries and organisation of stock and stock room to ease shop replenishment
• processing and dispatching online shop orders
• handling direct customer complaints, ensuring they are dealt with appropriately in liaison with other departments
• acting as a brand ambassador for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at all times
• acting in an efficient and helpful manner to colleagues and the general public.

Person specification

Essential

• Previous experience of, and a genuine desire to, work in a fast-paced, customer-facing retail environment.
• Experience of working within a small team.
• Experience of supervising or supporting a team.
• Ability to work independently, particularly with a focus on stock and merchandising.
• Excellent customer service and verbal communication skills.
• Exceptional organisational skills with great attention to detail.
• Proven ability to work with numbers and payment processing.

Desirable

• Experience of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe or working within a similar festival.
• Local knowledge of Edinburgh and the festival season.
• Experience with e-commerce or online order management.

Rate of pay and hours of work

The rate of pay for this post is £14.15 per hour.

Normal hours of work are 35 hours worked between 10:00 to 18:00 (including a one-hour unpaid break), Monday to Friday. From 01 August, hours increase to 37.5 hours worked on a shift basis (five days per week, covering Monday to Sunday). Your working hours will be organised according to a rota system which the Society will notify you of in advance of the Fringe.

We are a flexible working employer and therefore are happy to discuss flexible working at any stage of the application process. We are unable to offer remote working for this position.

We use positive action under section 159 of the Equality Act in relation to disability or race. This means that if we have two candidates of equal merit in our process, we will seek to take forward the D/deaf, disabled, Black, Asian or ethnically diverse candidate in order to diversify our staff team. 

The Fringe are active members of the Festivals Edinburgh Sustainability Working group and include climate action as one of the headline targets in the Fringe development goals. As part of the commitments of this work, all Fringe staff members are expected to assist with the Fringe Society’s environmental goals and consider these in all elements of your work.

We are also committed to maintaining the open-access policy of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all sectors of the community. We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and aim to successfully employ and retain disabled people and those with health conditions. We expect employees to support these commitments and to assist in their realisation.