Kmart Whakatane NZ - Store Inventory Manager

Kmart Aotearoa is hiring a Store Inventory Manager for Whakatāne, NZ. This is a full-time, on-site leadership role in a brand with a long history of brightening everyday living for Kmart customers. The company operates more than 450 stores and employs about 55,000 people, with a presence across Australia and New Zealand. If you enjoy guiding teams, shaping stock flow, and keeping shelves ready for shoppers, this could be a good fit.

The position puts you at the heart of stock movement, ensuring goods are received, replenished, controlled and available when customers want them. You’ll lead from the front, working closely with both back-of-house operations and the sales floor to make sure processes are done safely, accurately and consistently. It’s a hands-on leadership role that rewards coaching, process improvement, and strong store performance, especially around inventory and compliance.

Ready to take the next step? Apply via the Kmart Careers page and learn more about opportunities with Kmart Aotearoa. If you need workplace adjustments, you can reach out at [email protected].

Stock in motion

Day to day, you’ll guide your team to keep stock flowing smoothly from receiving to the floor, making sure stock levels stay aligned with planograms and customer demand. You’ll balance supervision with doing, helping teammates across both the back room and the shop floor to follow safe, precise procedures and to hit performance targets. Your leadership will shape how well inventory accuracy, safety, and efficiency come together to support strong store results.

What you’ll need to lead inventory

• Strong leadership with a practical, hands-on approach, able to coach and motivate while rolling up your sleeves
• Strategic thinking to find better ways to run store operations and refine inventory methods, using data to test ideas and measure impact
• Solid relationship-building skills that keep stakeholders informed and foster collaboration across teams
• Operational excellence, with a knack for spotting issues through metrics and refining workflows to reduce waste and improve outcomes
• Resilience and adaptability, taking accountability for outcomes and maintaining high standards
• Growth mindset, ready to learn quickly from new initiatives and expand team capability

Nice-to-haves to set you apart

• Experience thriving in fast-paced retail environments

Pay, benefits and practical details

The role comes with a competitive salary plus bonus potential, reflecting the leadership responsibilities and the impact you’ll have on stock accuracy and store performance.

You’ll also enjoy team member discounts across Kmart and Bunnings, plus clear career pathways across the Kmart Group and Wesfarmers. Ongoing leadership development and support are part of the package, helping you grow in your role and take on broader responsibilities over time.

Location and arrangement are on-site in Whakatāne, NZ, with the usual expectations that apply to a full-time retail leadership position. If you need accessibility support, you can reach out to the contact above for adjustments.

Tips to help you stand out for this inventory leadership role

Lead with a stock-control win at the top of your resume. Start with a concise line that shows how you improved inventory accuracy or reduced variance in a tangible store setting, including the measurable outcome.

When you describe your must-have skills, back them with concrete examples. Show how you led a team to implement a new stock process, what metrics you tracked, and the resulting improvements in efficiency or compliance.

For interviews, be ready to walk through a real project where you tested an inventory optimization idea, explaining how you planned the test, what data you used, and the impact on customer experience or store operations.

Ask a practical question about success measurement in the role, such as which inventory KPIs matter most to the store leadership and how this position will contribute to improving those metrics in the near term.