Retail assistant job description template
A shop where the same person opens the till, serves the floor, receives the delivery and cashes off at close. Written for a small store with late night trade one day a week.
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| Position | Retail assistant |
| Reports to | Store manager |
| Employment type | Part time, 24 ordinary hours a week over agreed days, with extra hours offered at sale times |
| Where the work happens | The shop floor, the fitting rooms, the counter and the stockroom |
| Hours and roster | Across the trading week including Saturday, with the late night on Thursday. Agreed days and hours are in the letter of engagement, and changes to them are agreed rather than rostered over. |
| What the job involves | Open or close the store, including the till float and the alarm. Serve customers on the floor and at the counter, and handle returns and exchanges to the store’s policy. Keep the floor tidy, sized and faced. Receive deliveries, check them against the invoice and put stock away. Merchandise to the plan, and change displays when the season does. Count stock at stocktake. Cash off, bank and lock up. |
| A typical shift | Open at 8:45: alarm, lights, till float counted, floor walked and faced before the doors at 9:00. Steady trade to lunch, delivery checked in at 11:00 and put away. Busy from 12:00 to 14:00. Displays changed in the quiet stretch. Close at 17:30: cash off, bank bag, floor faced for tomorrow, alarm on by 18:00. |
| Skills and experience | Has worked on a shop floor. Comfortable on a point of sale and with a card terminal. Approaches customers without hovering, and keeps the floor in order without being asked. |
| Tickets and certificates | None required for the role itself. Any training the business asks for, such as its own point of sale or returns process. |
| Physical demands | On your feet for the shift, lifting and carrying stock, and using steps for high shelves. |
| Pay and award | Paid at the rate in your letter of engagement. Shop work is usually covered by the General Retail Industry Award, and the award’s coverage clause decides whether it applies to this business. The classification in that award decides the rate, and late night, Saturday and Sunday work is paid as the award sets out. |
| How the job is reviewed | A check in at three months on service, stock work and opening and closing, then yearly. |
| Review date of this description | Reviewed each March, and whenever the trading week or the late night changes. |
What is in the file
- Template, blank, with each section down the side and room for the answer.
- Example, the same sheet filled in for Bridge Street Home.
- How to use, with the steps and the mistakes below.
How to fill it in
- Set the trading hours, the late night and the agreed days to your own store.
- Say what the part time hours are, because agreed hours for a part time employee are not the same as a casual’s offered shifts.
- Check the duties against the classification definitions in the award before setting a rate.
- Keep it with the letter of engagement so the two say the same thing.
Common mistakes
- Writing “flexible hours required” instead of the agreed hours a part time employee has
- Leaving out opening, cashing off and stocktake, which are the shifts nobody volunteers for
- A description that never mentions the stockroom, where half the week is spent
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
Roster Flow keeps each person’s agreed days and availability beside the roster, so a part time assistant’s hours stay what was agreed rather than what the week happened to need.
Questions
What is on the retail assistant job description template?
13 sections down the side, running from position to review date of this description. The example beside them is filled in for Bridge Street Home: the shop floor, the till and the stockroom, for a small retail business.
Does the retail assistant job description template work anything out for you?
No. It is a document with 13 sections to answer in your own words, not a calculator. Nothing on it is a formula.
Can I use the retail assistant job description template in Google Sheets?
Yes. Open retail-assistant-job-description.xlsx from Google Drive, or use File, then Import, then Upload with retail-assistant-job-description.csv. The document and its example come across either way.
Is the wording in the retail assistant job description template ready to use as it is?
The retail assistant job description template is a starting point for Bridge Street Home or any business like it, to adapt rather than sign. The wording was checked against the official sources on 22 September 2026, it is not legal advice, and it has not been through a workplace relations professional.