Company description

The Local Butcher Shop is a retail craft butchery located in North Berkeley, specializing in whole animal butchery from farms and ranches within 150 miles of our shop. By purchasing whole animals we’re able to deal directly with local producers, offering our customers a gateway to high-quality meats that would otherwise be unavailable to them, while also supporting local farms and ranches. We also make a variety of value-added products such as sausages, hams, pates, rendered fats, stocks, and frozen soups and stews. We are a service-first business dedicated to high-quality craftsmanship and taking the time to educate and engage our customers. Most of our staff are former chefs, and that culinary background and attitude carries over into the butchery work that we do. We are as interested in how one should cook a roast as we are in how one should cut it.

Since 2021 The Local Butcher Shop is also a worker-owned co-operative. This means that the business is owned and operated by members of the staff. Membership in the co-op is not necessary for employment, but it is encouraged. Worker-owners elect a board of directors, which makes important high-level decisions in the same way a traditional business would. The difference is that the board members are also employees of the shop.

Job description

The Head Butcher position is responsible for leading and managing our retail and wholesale Butchery operations, as well as overseeing all customer interactions, in a manner that upholds The Local Butcher Shop’s standards and values, while maximizing operational efficiency. A qualified applicant must have excellent whole animal butchery skills along with the people skills necessary to manage a staff and to appropriately communicate with customers, vendors, and other third parties.

Role and Responsibilities:

• Manages the distribution of meat between retail butchery, wholesale butchery, butcher basket program, sandwich program, and value-added program.
• Communicates with meat purveyors to place regular and irregular orders while informing staff of delivery schedule.
• Assists with discovering and vetting prospective new farms/ranches to ensure compliance with TLBS’ values and branding.
• Oversees all customer-facing interactions.
• Manages our daily display case to ensure it is presentable at all times.
• Conducts cut tests and other analyses to inform costs and profitability.
• Trains butchers to ensure consistent quality of work.
• Manages butchers, including PTO requests, disciplinary actions, employee reviews, employee relations, and team building.
• Creates and modifies employee schedule as needed.
• Manages customer orders to ensure availability and maintain quality. Pursues solutions to any conflicts (such as being unable to fill an order taken, or a customer dissatisfied with the work or product).
• Serves as a Butchery Instructor for classes as needed.
• Represents the Local Butcher Shop at various events and occasions.
• Act as the CDFA on-site licensed inspector in the absence of the Kitchen Manager.
• Hires employees to meet operational needs.
• Provides input for all subjects that are discussed as a group.
• Promotes a learning environment where staff are encouraged to seek out opportunities to learn and improve their skills.

An ideal applicant will have the following skills and experiences:

• Excellent whole animal butchery skills and knowledge.
• Strong organizational and administrative skills.
• Strong people skills, both for managing staff, and for communicating with customers and outside organizations.
• Is process driven
• A desire to work in a consensus-based business where high-level decisions are made communally.
• A desire for continual improvement as we all work to hone our craft.
• Familiarity with the culinary world, especially restaurants, as we have a chef-focused operation.
• Knowledge of home cookery, especially that which involves meat.
• Excellent attention to detail to adequately uphold standards.
• Knowledge of food safety practices and regulatory requirements operating under local and state inspection.

This is a salary-exempt position. Starting salary is $66,560 annually. 13 days vacation time in each of the first two years, then 15.5 days per year after two years. Employee discounts on store purchases. After one year, workers may petition to join the co-operative, giving them access to our annual patronage payouts that are allocated by the group based on the previous year’s profits.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $50,000 - $75,000

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline