General Manager (Greater Chicago Area)

Description

Context:

The Common Market is a nonprofit social enterprise working to build a more resilient and equitable food system. Through a network of regional chapters, we connect family farmers to the institutions that need their food most, including schools, hospitals, universities, and community organizations.

As our national network continues to grow, our ability to deliver on this mission depends on strong, reliable, and values-aligned operations. From warehouse teams and drivers to customer support and sales, our operational performance is critical to ensuring consistent, high-quality service.

To support the continued growth and performance of our Great Lakes market, The Common Market is seeking a General Manager to lead site operations, develop frontline teams, and ensure excellence across warehouse, trucking, and food safety systems. This role will play a critical part in ensuring we consistently deliver on our commitments to customers, farmers, and communities.

Role Description:

The General Manager is responsible for leading and owning the day-to-day and long-term performance of The Common Market’s Chicago distribution facility, with oversight of warehouse operations, trucking, food procurement and safety, and frontline team leadership.

This role sits at the intersection of operations, people, and performance. The General Manager ensures that systems are executed with consistency and discipline, while also building the structure, continuity, accountability, and team capability needed to support growth.

Working in close partnership with the Executive Director, Sales, Customer Support, and National Operations, this role owns execution through others while ensuring alignment across teams. The General Manager is responsible for delivering operational results while continuously improving systems, processes, and team performance.

This is a highly hands-on leadership role for someone who is energized by building strong teams, improving operations, and driving consistent execution in a fast-paced distribution environment.

The General Manager holds primary accountability for site-level performance, including food and fleet operational execution, team effectiveness, and cost management. This role is expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy in day-to-day decision-making, ensuring the facility and fleet run effectively without requiring constant executive oversight.

Candidate Profile:

This role is best suited for a hands-on operational leader who thrives in a lean, fast-paced environment. The General Manager will directly oversee and work across multiple areas of the business—including procurement, warehouse operations, trucking, food safety, and people leadership—without large layers of specialized support. Successful candidates will be comfortable shifting between strategic leadership and hands-on problem solving while maintaining strong operational standards and accountability.

The ideal candidate is an experienced operations leader who combines strong execution with the ability to build structure, proficiently navigate systems, develop people, and drive performance across a complex, multi-function operation.

They are comfortable leading frontline teams, managing competing priorities, and ensuring that daily operations run smoothly while also identifying and implementing improvements.

They are equally comfortable on the warehouse floor, working with producers and production, reviewing performance metrics, directing staff, coordinating with cross-functional partners, scheduling repairs, and making real-time decisions that impact service, cost, and safety.

Snapshot of the Ideal Candidate:

· Operational Leader & Owner: Leads full-site operations with accountability for performance, safety, and execution.

· Frontline Team Builder: Develops supervisors and hourly staff, building a culture of accountability, safety, and strong performance.

· Food Safety Leader: Maintains strong command of SQF, HACCP, FSMA programs.

· Logistics & Fleet Operator: Oversees routing, delivery performance, maintenance, and fleet coordination.

· Business-Minded Operator: Understands cost, service levels, and operational tradeoffs.

· Problem Solver & Decision Maker: Navigates shifting priorities with strong follow-through.

· Professional Foundation: 7–12+ years relevant experience; 3–5+ years team leadership.

Who This Role Is Not for:

This role may not be the right fit for candidates who:

· Prefer Strategy Over Execution.

· Avoid Direct People Management.

· Lack Food or Operational Experience.

· Prefer Predictable Environments.

· Are Seeking Remote Roles.

Position Description:

Site Leadership & Operational Ownership

Own overall performance of the Chicago facility.

· Own overall performance of the Chicago facility, including safety, service levels, productivity, and cost control, with accountability for meeting defined operational and financial targets.

· Ensure alignment between daily operations and organizational goals.

· Identify risks and implement solutions to improve performance and reliability.

· Maintain accountability for operational standards across all functions.

Warehouse Operations

Oversee all warehouse activities to ensure efficient and accurate product flow.

· Oversee receiving, picking, packing, staging, and shipping operations.

· Ensure inventory accuracy through disciplined processes and controls.

· Maintain efficient warehouse layout and material flow.

· Enforce SOP adherence and continuous process improvement.

Transportation & Fleet Oversight

Ensure reliable, safe, and efficient delivery operations.

· Oversee routing execution, delivery performance, and driver scheduling.

· Manage fleet operations (8-truck fleet), including preventative maintenance coordination and repairs.

· Ensure DOT compliance, driver safety, and route efficiency.

Food Safety & Quality (SQF Program Owner)

Maintain strong food safety systems and compliance.

· Serve as site lead for the SQF Food Safety program.

· Ensure compliance with SQF, HACCP, FSMA, and customer requirements.

· Lead audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement efforts.

· Maintain audit readiness at all times.

People Leadership & Team Development

Build strong teams and consistent performance across staff.

· Lead, coach, and develop supervisors, warehouse associates, and drivers.

· Build effective staffing plans and schedules aligned with workload.

· Drive performance management, accountability, and recognition.

· Support hiring, onboarding, and ongoing staff development.

· Lead hiring decisions, staffing structure, and performance management for all site-based roles, ensuring alignment with operational needs.

Financial & Performance Management

Ensure operational performance aligns with cost and efficiency goals.

· Manage labor and operating costs in alignment with budget targets.

· Track KPIs: productivity, accuracy, safety, service level, and labor efficiency.

· Use data to drive decisions and continuous improvement.

· Develop and manage site-level labor and operating budgets in partnership with leadership, with accountability for cost performance and efficiency improvements.

Cross-Functional Leadership

Ensure alignment across teams to support operational success.

· Partner with Sales and Customer Support.

· Collaborate with National Operations on process improvements.

· Serve as the primary operational leader for the Great Lakes market.

· Serve as the primary decision-maker for site-level operational priorities, balancing customer needs, operational capacity, and organizational goals.

Success in This Role Looks Like

· The site consistently meets or exceeds service, safety, and accuracy targets.

· Labor and operating costs are managed effectively against plan.

· The team operates with strong accountability and low turnover.

· Food safety audits are passed with minimal corrective actions.

· Operational issues are identified and resolved proactively without escalation.

Requirements:

Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.

· 7–12+ years of experience in operations, logistics, or distribution environments.

· 3–5+ years managing frontline or supervisory teams.

· Experience in food handling environments required.

· Experience leading operations in a small to mid-sized, lean organization where you held direct responsibility across multiple operational functions is strongly preferred.

· Experience managing a trucking fleet and drivers. Refrigerated trucking preferred.

· SQF, HACCP,]]> <