Assistant General Manager

Salary: $44,000 - $50,000

PURPOSE: The Assistant General Manager of WE Market Co-op supports the General Manager in ensuring the smooth, efficient, and financially sustainable operation of the co-op. This role provides leadership and oversight across multiple operational areas, supervises staff, and serves as a key point of accountability for promotions, inventory management, facility upkeep, and day-to-day operations. 

REPORTS TO: General Manager

DIRECT REPORTS: Replenishment Buyers, Specialists, Customer Service Staff

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Brand

• Model efficient and friendly customer service throughout co-op. 
• Assist customers in all departments, in prompt, friendly, courteous manner, referring them to other staff when necessary. 
• Pass-on relevant literature for co-op staff to read about products. 
• Offer tastes, samples, suggestions for purchase and ways to prepare products. 
• Serve as NCG Promotions Liaison
• Purchase for special deals and promotions. Ensure adequate and timely supply of promoted products. 
• Ensure building and maintaining of in-store displays, according to established standards for appearance, variety and ease of shopping and stocking. 
• Visit other stores for price comparisons, product and merchandising ideas. 
• Attend trainings and co-op conferences as assigned. 
• Improve price perception by running and effectively promoting routine specials on featured products. 
• Determine product mix to achieve sales and margin goals and satisfy customer demand.
• Work with General Manager to ensure products purchased are meeting established criteria
• Ensure that all assigned department’s shelves, displays, aisles, prep & storage areas are in clean, orderly condition, meeting health department & ADA standards. 

Operations

• Work with Rebuyers to evaluate, plan and execute product buying, receiving and stocking 
• Ensure all store products are ordered in quantities adequate to maintain fully stocked sets, while keeping inventory low enough to ensure optimal freshness, and to keep backstock to a minimum.
• Run movement reports and work with rebuyers to adjust inventory based on the results
• Set preparation & stocking priorities to ensure product is fully stocked and rotated for freshness.
• Assist customers with special orders and oversee special order system to ensure that customers receive their orders. 
• Coordinate inventory counts for all assigned Departments. 
• With appropriate input, propose to the General Manager and other team members, recommendations to improve WE Market Co-op’s operational practices 
• Maintain effective working relations with suppliers, while negotiating with them for ideal price and product selection, quality, delivery, volume discounts, terms, and services.

Financial

• Set sales and margin goals, tracking progress and making corrective actions as necessary
• Review financial reports and take corrective action as needed. 
• Achieve financial goals by seeking solutions that use resources effectively to improve the cooperative experience for others.
• Ensure accurate, up-to-date prices for all assigned Departments in POS system and shelf tags
• Oversee product receiving to ensure that accurate invoicing, pricing, credits and returns, coding, and invoice routing is executed.
• Support administrative and financial reporting tasks as assigned by General Manager

Supervision

• Recruit, hire and train qualified staff following established policy. 
• Complete timely and thoughtful evaluations of staff. 
• Ensure a fair and safe workplace for all staff consistent with the goal of being a progressive workplace.
• Uphold all co-op policies and procedures.
• Hold direct reports accountable to store objectives and operational best practices
• Communicate storewide information, such as policy changes and all-staff meeting schedules
• Develop a succession plan.

Facilities

• Ensure storewide safety standards are met
• Ensure the store and properties are maintained in clean, working order.
• Ensure recall procedure is timely and consistently used.
• Act as first responder to emergency equipment failures and coordinate with General Manager
• Use equipment safely. 
• Ensure maintenance of all assigned departments’ equipment and prep areas both during and after regular store operating hours
• Monitor cooler temperature and function. 

Leadership

• Work with the General Manager and other team members to assess, develop and execute co-op’s strategic plans to realize the long term vision and Ends
• Strive for a balance between transparency, security and maintaining confidentiality with regards to personnel issues and the co-op’s strategic plans and priorities.
• Model supportive and participative leadership; build teamwork and motivate staff to accomplish cooperative goals. Be inclusive when making decisions, sharing openly opinions and respecting other points of view. 
• Fulfill responsibilities of the General Manager in the event of emergency succession.
• Act as the lead employee of the co-op in the event the GM is absent.
• Attend at least one board meeting per year; at least one being a B1
• Understand GM board functionalities
• Perform other tasks as assigned by General Manager

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience in purchasing and inventory control.
• Experience in sales managing and merchandising.
• Experience working with budgets, sales figures, and margins.
• Excellent sense of organization and follow-through on commitments.
• Ability to develop and maintain mutually respectful relations with customers, staff, and vendors.
• Ability to work independently and motivate self and others.
• Ability to handle stressful situations in a calm, effective manner.
• Excellent and consistent customer service skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to lift 50 pounds and team lift 50+.
• Ability to stand for long periods. 
• Ability to work in cold, wet conditions. 
• Willingness to work weekends as needed. 
• Willingness and ability to learn and grow to meet the changing requirements of the job.