Job Description:
A Produce Manager’s job is to select, purchase, price, display, and promote fresh produce while supervising the department’s staff to meet objectives for sales, margin, inventory control, labor, and customer service. A Produce Manager is also tasked with ensuring department cleanliness, price integrity, quality control, training, merchandising, and receiving.
Compensation/Salary:
DOE
Responsibilities & Duties:
Purchasing:
- Negotiate with suppliers for favorable prices, terms, quality, and delivery.
- Purchase produce following product selection guidelines and marketing plan.
- Evaluate suppliers and investigate new sources of supply.
- Purchase special deals and promotions. Ensure adequate and timely supply of promoted products.
- Ensure accurate, up-to-date prices of produce products in POS system and shelf tags.
- Receive orders, and ensure proper receiving by other staff in accordance with established procedures.
- Coordinate with suppliers for the handling of returns and obtaining credit for returned products.
Receiving:
- Check the load against the invoice for proper billing.
- Report overages and shortages to suppliers.
- Inspect all products for quality and condition. Identify products that are not acceptable, report to the supplier and request credit.
- Put load away in designated storage area, while maintaining proper rotation and cleanliness.
- Code date all product to assist in proper rotation.
Department Maintenance:
- Coordinate storage of items to be returned to suppliers. See that unsellable items are properly disposed of. Keep accurate shrinkage logs.
- Ensure that produce shelves, displays, aisles, prep and storage areas are in clean, orderly conditions, meeting all health department standards.
- Ensure trash is removed; sales floor and prep areas are swept and mopped daily.
- Perform daily cooler and sales floor temperature checks.
- Ensure freshness and quality through rotation of product throughout the department.
- Maintain a cleaning log for the sales floor and produce retail area.
- Have items marked down as needed to reduce losses.
- Perform equipment checks to ensure department equipment is in working order.
Merchandising:
- Plan attractive produce displays, using color and texture to enhance.
- Ensure displays are replenished, rotated, culled daily.
- Attend store meetings with other departments to plan promotions and store wide merchandising opportunities.
- Price produce to achieve margin and sales goals, while maintaining a competitive image.
- Ensure building and maintaining of in-store displays, according to established standards for appearance, variety and ease of shopping and stocking.
- Set preparation and stocking priorities for department staff to ensure tables/coolers are fully stocked and rotated for freshness. Stock items as needed.
- Ensure accurate, up-to-date uniform department signs.
- Visit other stores for price comparisons, product and merchandising ideas.
Customer Service:
- Assist customers produce questions in prompt friendly manner.
- Assist customers with special orders, and oversee special orders system in the department to ensure customers receive their orders.
- Pass on relevant literature to staff for department staff to read about produce products.
- Ensure department staff is aware of changes in policies and procedures affecting customers.
- Respond to produce department customer suggestions, comments and complaints in a reasonable manner.
- Always make our customers know that they are important and special, assist in any other department as needed.
- Answer and route phone calls.
Supervision:
- Hire qualified applicants following established policy.
- Ensure on the job training for all staff.
- Recommend pay increases within the department.
- Take disciplinary actions as needed following established policy.
- Schedule hours for department within budget, and review time cards.
- Provide training, supervision, and support of the department in all areas.
- Organize department meetings.
- Ensure safety training meetings and maintain records.
Other Responsibilities:
- Participate in development of operating and capital budgets for the store.
- Participate in setting sales and margin goals for the department.
- Review financial reports of the department and take corrective action as needed.
- Attend Management meetings.
- Perform other tasks assigned by management.
- Perform Manager on Duty shifts as assigned.
- Assist other customers in all departments, in prompt friendly courteous manger, referring them to other staff when necessary.
- Plan and participate in department inventories according to established policy.
- Meet and develop relationships with local farmers.
- Maintain department logs, cleaning schedules, safety materials, and inventory documents.
Qualifications:
- At least 5 years of experience in retail produce.
- Knowledge of organic and commercial growing practices.
- Knowledge of current trends in conventional and organic foods industry.
- Supervisory experience: hiring, training, evaluating, and giving directions.
- Ability to read financial statements.
- Organized, consistently follows through on commitments.
- Demonstrates the ability to handle multiple demands.
- Communications skills – clear directions, good listener.
- Experience serving the public.
- Ability to project friendly, outgoing personality.
- Ability to lift 50+ pounds.
- Ability to stand for long periods.
- Ability to work in cold, wet conditions.
- Ability to read and interpret documents such as department manuals and reports.
- Ability to prioritize work tasks, multi-task, and maintain focus.
- Willingness to work weekends.
- Regular, predictable attendance.
- Willingness and ability to learn and grow to meet the changing requirements of the job.
- Travel may be required.
- Evening/night work may be required.
