Company description

We are a cooperative of farmers, producers and consumers working together to create a community-based food system. The farm is located 15 miles south of Portland and grows a diverse mix of produce for our own on-farm grocery store and kitchen, as well as for CSA, restaurants and grocery stores in and around the greater Portland area. Our on-farm grocery store and commercial kitchen offer a full range of organic and mostly Oregon-sourced groceries to our community while also hosting a variety of events year-round.

Job description

Are you a grocery/food nerd looking for something new and unique? Do you go into grocery stores/farmers markets and think – “I would have displayed these items differently or carried a different mix of products”? Perhaps you’re tired of corporate bosses and feel like your creativity is being stifled. Perhaps you're interested in real food, grown on real local farms, sold by real people. Perhaps you’d really like to have an authentic connection to your community of customers – one based on a genuine relationship and not on faceless transactions.

We have a job for you! Our Table Cooperative is looking for a full-time store manager for our “farm stop” grocery store in Sherwood, Oregon. Just 15 miles south of Portland, our 60-acre farm grows a large variety of organic vegetables and fruit. As a farm cooperative, we source the things we don't grow on our own farm from other Oregon farmers and food artisans who share our ethics and commitment to quality. Your job will be to lead a small team of staff working closely with growers, distributors, and customers to execute a complete strategy for the cooperative’s retail operations.

A Farm Stop is the love child of a farmers market and a food co-op! Instead of buying food to resell like traditional retail stores, a farm stop sells food directly on behalf of farmers, creating a closer connection between local farms and you! Farmers set their own prices and receive 70% of the sales making this model more values-aligned and sustainable for local agriculture. The Farm Stop at Our Table is a store that almost exclusively carries products from local farms and regional producers. Locally grown fruits and veggies, meats, grains, dairy, and more plus the tastiest and healthiest packaged foods made by local producers.

At an everyday level, your job will involve sourcing a curated range of grocery items, managing a team of storekeepers, coordinating with our farm and kitchen crew, interacting with customers, and building community through food. You’ll find yourself swapping cooking tips with customers, setting aside those special pints of the first strawberries for the neighbor kid who can’t enough of them, and forming strong bonds with the community. We host plenty of informal and ticketed events including monthly summer pizza nights, u-pick and more which allow ample opportunity to have large groups of people visit the farm and store. All of this in a worker-owned cooperative situated on a beautiful and vibrant farm…

The job involves a wide range of tasks in a dynamic and ever-changing environment; high-level strategy and business development plus a healthy dose of hands-on work on all aspects of operating and staffing a grocery store. You will be responsible for hiring, training and developing staff for growth and succession planning. The ideal candidate is both self-directed and collaborative, brings deep management and leadership experience preferably from the food retail industry, has a successful track record meeting and exceeding financial goals, and can create a culture of trust, teamwork and fun!

If you are hankering for something more meaningful, come join us as we collectively create a whole new food culture -- one that is based on authentic relationships and treats people, animals, and soil with the respect they deserve. One that puts food on our table.

REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent and wide-ranging retail and customer service skills.
• Demonstrated leadership in retail settings.
• Deep experience in operations, product knowledge, merchandising, inventory control/receiving and staff training.
• Excellent analytical and business management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and motivational skills and willingness to work with a diverse group of people.
• Creativity and entrepreneurial spirit -- a willingness to do whatever it takes and work in a highly collaborative environment.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team-based leadership environment a major plus.
• Experience with POS systems and accounting procedures.
• Values community, sustainability, passion for food and fun.
• Experience with farming or food production a plus.
• A deep knowledge of produce is a big plus.
• Commitment to cooperative principles.
• Experience with start-up business “outside the box” thinking and innovation a plus.
• Willingness to participate in a start-up environment where it will be necessary to wear many “hats” at different times.
• Familiarity and involvement with the Portland area food scene a plus.
• Strong love of food, nutrition and healthy local economies is necessary.
• Current Food Handlers Card and OLCC servers permit.
• Ability to commute to Sherwood, Oregon.
• Ability and willingness to work some evenings and weekends on a regular basis.

Please see the complete and detailed job description and application procedures on our website here.

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $20/hr +

Application instructions

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Deadline

no deadline

Attachment

click here to download the attached document.