General Manager

Company Overview:

Smith Farms North is a vertically integrated microbusiness located in the heart of Minnesota's Northwoods. We cultivate premium flower and produce handcrafted solventless products under the Trail brand family, including Trail Joints, Trail Chews, and Trail Vapors. Our co-located retail storefront, Trailhead Cannabis Company, offers a rustic, welcoming consumer experience. Together, we're building a new standard in Minnesota cannabis: rooted in craft, guided by compliance, and shaped by the natural beauty of our surroundings.

We're not a corporate machine. We're a small team doing meaningful work, blending agriculture, manufacturing, and retail into something exceptional. If you're a natural leader who thrives on the floor, takes ownership of team performance, and understands the importance of security and compliance, this might be the place for you.

Position Overview:

The General Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, compliance, and profitability of Trailhead Cannabis Company.

This role serves as the senior retail leader and is accountable for driving sales performance, developing employees, ensuring regulatory compliance, maintaining operational excellence, and delivering an exceptional customer experience. The General Manager exercises significant independent judgment in managing day-to-day operations, directing team performance, allocating resources, solving operational challenges, and executing business objectives.

The General Manager is expected to create structure, build scalable processes, establish accountability standards, and foster a culture that balances hospitality, education, compliance, and business performance.

This position plays a critical role in helping shape the future of the organization while ensuring the retail operation consistently delivers results.

Responsibilities:

Retail Operations

• Direct and oversee all day-to-day retail operations.
• Ensure exceptional execution across customer experience, inventory management, compliance, security, and operational standards.
• Serve as the primary operational leader for the retail location.
• Monitor store performance and proactively address operational challenges.
• Maintain a clean, organized, safe, and customer-focused environment.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and execution across the business.
• Ensure all opening, closing, cash handling, and operational procedures are consistently executed.

Team Leadership & Development

• Recruit, hire, onboard, develop, and retain high-performing employees.
• Establish performance expectations and hold team members accountable for results.
• Conduct coaching conversations, performance reviews, and corrective action when necessary.
• Develop future leaders and create succession plans for key positions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Lead regular team meetings, communication efforts, and development initiatives.
• Promote employee engagement while maintaining high performance standards.

Sales & Business Performance

• Own overall store performance, including sales growth, profitability, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
• Analyze key business metrics and develop action plans to improve results.
• Monitor:
• Revenue performance
• Average Order Value (AOV)
• Units Per Transaction (UPT)
• Customer traffic and conversion
• Labor efficiency
• Inventory accuracy
• Customer satisfaction metrics
• Partner with leadership to identify opportunities for operational and financial improvement.
• Develop and implement strategies to drive sustainable business growth.

Scheduling & Workforce Management

• Develop staffing plans that align labor resources with business demand.
• Create and manage employee schedules.
• Ensure appropriate staffing coverage across all operating hours.
• Manage labor costs while maintaining service and operational standards.
• Coordinate staffing adjustments, call-outs, and coverage needs.
• Monitor workforce productivity and make recommendations to improve efficiency.

Inventory Management & METRC Compliance

• Maintain overall accountability for inventory accuracy and inventory controls.
• Oversee inventory receiving, transfers, reconciliations, cycle counts, audits, and adjustments.
• Ensure accurate and compliant use of METRC and POS systems.
• Investigate inventory discrepancies and implement corrective actions.
• Maintain audit readiness and complete documentation requirements.
• Partner with internal teams to ensure inventory practices align with Minnesota cannabis regulations.
• Continuously improve inventory processes and controls.

Compliance, Security & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with all Minnesota cannabis regulations and company policies.
• Maintain operational readiness for regulatory inspections and audits.
• Reinforce standards surrounding ID verification, access control, cash handling, security, and product accountability.
• Identify and mitigate operational and compliance risks.
• Ensure all team members understand and adhere to regulatory requirements.
• Exercise sound judgment when responding to operational, compliance, and security concerns.

Customer Experience

• Create and maintain a customer-first culture focused on education, hospitality, and trust.
• Ensure customers consistently receive exceptional service and product guidance.
• Resolve escalated customer concerns professionally and effectively.
• Monitor customer feedback and implement improvements where appropriate.
• Balance customer experience objectives with compliance and operational requirements.

Operational Excellence & Process Improvement

• Develop and maintain operational tools and systems, including:
• SOPs
• Opening and closing procedures
• Checklists
• Accountability tools
• Communication logs
• Training materials
• Workflow trackers
• Establish measurable performance standards and operational KPIs.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase efficiency, consistency, and profitability.
• Implement new systems, processes, and operational enhancements as needed.

Required Skills/Abilities

• 5+ years of leadership experience in retail, hospitality, cannabis, consumer products, or a related industry.
• 2+ years of direct management experience with responsibility for business performance.
• Demonstrated success leading teams and achieving operational results.
• Strong business acumen and understanding of key retail performance metrics.
• Experience managing labor, scheduling, inventory, and operational controls.
• Ability to develop people, hold accountability, and drive performance.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and organizational skills.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• High attention to detail in compliance-driven environments.
• Experience with inventory management systems and retail technology platforms.
• METRC experience strongly preferred.

This Role Is Right For You If...

• You naturally take ownership and accountability for results.
• You enjoy building high-performing teams.
• You are equally comfortable leading people and managing operations.
• You believe culture and accountability can coexist.
• You enjoy creating structure, solving problems, and improving systems.
• You thrive in fast-paced environments where every day looks a little different.
• You understand that great customer experiences drive great business results.
• You take pride in developing people while achieving operational excellence.

Must be 21+ and able to pass the required state background check