The Role at a Glance 

The Sales & Experience Lead helps bring the magic of the FAO Schwarz flagship to life each day, leading a team of associates in creating joyful, memorable, and one-of-a-kind moments for every guest who walks through the doors. This role is all about energy, presence, and people — coaching the team in real time, celebrating great service, and making sure the wonder and excitement of the brand can be felt across the entire floor. 

In a store where no two days are ever the same, this role thrives in the unexpected, leads from the heart of the action, and helps turn everyday visits into unforgettable experiences. 

Creating the Magic 

Lead the Floor 

• Set and protect the guest experience standard across every touchpoint on the floor, ensuring every interaction is warm, energetic, theatrical, and consistently on-brand. 
• Be an active, visible presence on the floor, conducting regular observations and providing direct, specific feedback that raises the bar for guest engagement, product knowledge, and service. 
• Manage guest flow and partner with the MOD to revise zoning in real time, adjusting floor coverage to keep things moving smoothly throughout the day. 
• Lead floor-level execution of special events, brand activations, and experience refreshes, ensuring your area is prepared, the team is briefed, and every moment lands. 
• Escalate guest feedback and experience issues to store leadership constructively and promptly, always arriving with context and a proposed solution.

Lead the Team 

• Bring self-awareness to your leadership by actively seeking feedback, investing in your own growth, and adapting your approach to get the best from a diverse team. 
• Coach and develop a team of associates, tailoring your approach to bring out the best in each person and build capability across the full range of floor responsibilities. 
• Get new team members up to speed quickly during onboarding, ensuring they feel confident and supported in their roles from day one. 
• Recognize strong performance and hold the team accountable when expectations are not met, escalating people concerns when needed. 
• Embed product knowledge and sales skills on the floor, reinforcing the connection between great storytelling, guest engagement, and commercial results through practical, everyday coaching.

Run the Operation 

• Own the daily zone chart, deploying the team across the sales floor to ensure coverage is always clear, balanced, and responsive to business needs.
• Lead opening and closing routines, ensuring the floor is operationally ready before guests arrive and is properly set each day. 
• Maintain the readiness standard across your area of responsibility, ensuring props, costumes, product availability, and equipment are always guest-ready and that gaps are resolved before they reach the guest. 
• Oversee daily cash-handling operations, ensuring the team consistently meets standards so every transaction is accurate, compliant, and trusted. 
• Step in to support the Manager on Duty as needed, taking ownership of the floor, supporting the team across all areas, and ensuring the guest experience never drops, regardless of who is leading the shift.  

Drive Business Performance 

• Build a team where confident, natural selling is the everyday standard, and every associate understands their role in driving store performance. 
• Coach the team to read the room across experiences, demonstrations, and the sales floor, using product knowledge and selling skills to convert guest curiosity into purchases at every opportunity. 
• Use performance data, floor observations, and product knowledge to develop a clear point of view on how your area is performing and where the opportunities lie. 
• Share commercial context with the team regularly to ensure they understand how their engagement connects to results and where to focus their energy.

Partner Across the Store 

• Collaborate with Visual, Operations, and Store Leadership teams to keep your area on-brand, well-presented, and aligned with daily priorities. 
• Partner with fellow Leads so the store operates as one cohesive team, sharing knowledge, aligned on standards, and covering for each other where needed. 
• Be the eyes and ears on the floor, surfacing guest insights, team feedback, and operational trends to store leadership so the right decisions are made. 
• Keep the team informed and aligned on events, business goals, and expectations so nothing comes as a surprise and everyone shows up prepared. 

What Success looks like 

You're doing well in this role when: 

• Guests leave the store feeling better than they did when they walked in, already thinking about their next visit. 
• Your area of responsibility is consistently running to standard, and the wider floor never drops when you take the lead. 
• The team knows what's expected, feels supported, and is growing in confidence, product knowledge, and hospitality instinct. 
• Sales targets are being met, and associates understand how their engagement drives results. 
• Shifts run smoothly: the floor is covered, the team is aligned, and guest concerns are resolved before they escalate. 
• When areas of responsibility rotate, the handoff is seamless – standards are upheld, the team adapts, and the guest experience never skips a beat. 
• You are the calm, trusted presence that leaders rely on and associates turn to, and your growth in the role is visible to everyone around you.

This role aligns with Level M3 in our Career Framework and reflects first-line leadership responsibility, subject-matter expertise across the sales floor and experience areas, and growing ownership of team performance and delivery. It provides a strong foundation for progression into Assistant Manager roles (Level M4). 

What you’ll bring 

You don't need to be perfect, but you do need to believe that no moment is too small to be extraordinary. 

• 2+ years of leadership experience in retail, hospitality, theatre, performance, or experiential environments. 
• Experience coaching and developing a team through feedback and daily floor leadership, with the ability to flex your approach across different skill sets and responsibilities. 
• Strong presence on the floor and confidence making real-time decisions in a busy guest environment. 
• The ability to balance theatrical guest engagement with operational discipline and commercial awareness. 
• A genuine interest in toys, play, and what the brand stands for. 
• Ability to stand for extended periods and lift up to 25 pounds. 
• Flexibility to work days, evenings, weekends, and peak retail periods.

Experience in experiential, flagship, or performance-based environments is a strong plus. A love of play is non-negotiable. 

This job description should not be construed to contain every function/responsibility that may be required to be performed by this role. Employees are required to perform other related functions as assigned.  

The Perks of Play

Because Magic should be rewarding. 

• Competitive hourly pay 
• Generous bonus structure 
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Plans  
• Paid time off 
• Paid & Unpaid Sick Time 
• Team member discount  
• Commuter benefits  
• 401k match 
• Opportunities for growth 
• Training that builds confidence, skills, and product knowledge 
• A workplace that celebrates creativity, individuality, and joy

Our Commitment  

FAO Schwarz is proud to be an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome to bring their full selves to work. We believe diverse perspectives make the magic stronger, and we are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive.