Nordstrom will hire 400 staff for its new Ottawa location, which opens in March of 2015. Staff are sought for all departments, as well as related store activities and services. Nordstrom staff receive benefits including a store discount, health benefits, and RRSP matching.

Positions will be posted to careers.nordstrom.com next Thursday, November 20th, and hiring will begin in January of 2015. Nordstrom is looking to fill sales positions in all areas of operations including women’s, men’s, and children’s apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, as well as various support positions in alterations, building services, and loss prevention. Additional positions are also available in the store’s restaurant and coffee bar.

Once sales staff have been hired, they'll participate in a local training program focused on product knowledge, selling, and customer service. Nordstrom employees receive a competitive benefits package, which includes dental, medical and vision options, an RRSP matching program and a 20% retail discount (managers receive a 33% discount).

*Nordstrom's Ottawa store manager, John Banks. Photo: Nordstrom.*

“We're looking for goal-oriented people who love fashion and want to deliver an exceptional shopping experience to every customer who visits our store – they don’t necessarily need retail experience,” said John Banks, store manager for Nordstrom Rideau Centre. “Nordstrom is a great place to build a career. With this being only our second store in Canada, it’s a great time to get in on the ground floor with our company as we begin our growth across the nation.”

Nordstrom hired 28 department managers from Canada in October, and they are currently in Seattle being trained. In the United States, Nordstrom usually picks 'proven leaders' from its stores to become department and store managers. For its Canadian stores, however, Nordstrom has taken a slightly different approach. Instead of promoting existing staff, Nordstrom is seeking out Canadian talent. For about three months, new hires are temporarily moved to Seattle to be immersed in Nordstrom's corporate culture. Housing, food and transportation are provided by Nordstrom. Once trained, department managers may begin recruiting staff for their Canadian store locations. Training for Ottawa's managers ends on December 20th.

*Rendering: Nordstrom (with modifications by Retail Insider)*

Nordstrom's 157,000 square foot Rideau Centre location opens on Friday, March 6, 2015. The 157,000 square foot store is currently under construction. Occupying the second and third levels of a former 240,000 square foot Sears store, Ottawa's Nordstrom will anchor the increasingly upscale Rideau Centre. Rideau's second anchor will be La Maison Simons, which will occupy 105,000 square feet in a northeastern mall expansion. Simons will open in August of 2016.