Prepared Foods and Coffee Program Manager

Job Description

Job Description

PURPOSE : The In-House Program Manager provides leadership and oversight for the co-op’s in-house production programs, including Prepared Foods and Coffee Roasting. The purpose of this role is to ensure these programs consistently produce high-quality products that meet customer needs, reflect the co-op’s values, and contribute positively to the co-op’s financial health and long-term sustainability.

REPORTS TO: General Manager

DIRECT REPORTS: Deli Assistant, Coffee Specialist

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES :

Brand

• Build a recognizable and consistent identity for the co-op’s coffee and prepared foods  
• Ensure in-house products consistently reflect the co-op’s standards for quality, freshness, value, and care
• Develop products in response to customer feedback, community needs, food trends, seasonality, and opportunities within the local food system 
• Ensure products are attractively presented, packaged, labeled, and merchandised in ways that reinforce quality 
• Work collaboratively with Marketing to develop promotions, storytelling, signage, sampling, and educational opportunities around house made products 
• Identify opportunities for in-house products to support co-op events, community partnerships, member engagement, and other organizational initiatives 
• Model the co-op’s expectations for welcoming, respectful and knowledgeable customer service 

Financial

• Develop, manage, and work within sales, margin, labor, expense, and profitability goals 
• Regularly review financial and operational performance and take appropriate action when results are above or below established goals 
• Maintain accurate recipe and product costing, including ingredients, packaging, yields, and other direct production costs 
• Maintain appropriate retail pricing based on product costs, target margins, customer value, and market considerations 
• Establish appropriate production levels and pars to maintain product availability while minimizing overproduction and waste
• Monitor shrink, spoilage, waste, samples, and production loss and implement strategies to keep them within established goals
• Manage inventory levels and purchasing to maintain appropriate inventory turns and minimize excess inventory
• Ensure accurate inventory counts and investigates significant inventory or cost variances
• Work with vendors to maintain appropriate costs, purchasing terms, product quality, and supply reliability
• Understand how decisions within the deli and coffee programs affect the overall financial health of the co-op and make decisions accordingly

Operations

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of all in-house programs, ensuring work is organized, efficient, and completed to standards
• Develop and maintain effective production schedules, pars, routines, workflows, and standard operating procedures
• Maintain appropriate systems for equipment maintenance, cleaning schedules, temperature logs, production records, and other operational documentation
• Ensure compliance with all applicable food safety, sanitation, health department, workplace safety, labeling, and regulatory requirements
• Establish procedures that minimize food-safety risks, cross-contamination, allergens, injuries, and other operational hazards
• Maintain appropriate contingency plans for equipment failures, staffing shortages, product shortages, and other disruptions 

Supervision

• Provide direct supervision, leadership, and support to staff 
• Ensure staff understand not only what is expected of them, but the standards and outcomes they are responsible for achieving
• Provide consistent direction, coaching, feedback, and recognition to support strong employee performance
• Develop and maintain effective training and onboarding systems for new and existing staff
• Ensure employees are appropriately trained in food safety, sanitation, equipment use, recipes, production standards, customer service, and other responsibilities of their positions
• Hold staff accountable for completing assigned responsibilities and follow up when expectations are not met
• Communicate important information, priorities, changes, and decisions to staff in a timely, clear, and respectful manner
• Create an environment where employees can raise questions, concerns, mistakes, and ideas constructively 

Leadership & Cooperation

• Serve as an active and engaged member of the co-op’s leadership team, contributing to the success of the entire organization 
• Demonstrate ownership of the role, independently identifying needs, making appropriate decisions, solving problems, and following through without waiting for direction 
• Understand and support the co-op’s mission, vision, values, strategic priorities, policies, and organizational goals 
• Model the accountability, respect, and adaptability expected of co-op leaders
• Build positive, collaborative working relationships with other managers, leads, specialists, and staff
• Approach cross-departmental challenges with a cooperative and solution-oriented mindset, considering what is best for the co-op as a whole 

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience in food service, prepared foods, grocery, retail food production, coffee production, hospitality, or a related operational environment.
• Ability and willingness to perform hands-on production and operational work while maintaining responsibility for the broader management of the programs.
• Ability to work a schedule that meets the operational needs of the programs, including some early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, or special events as needed.
• Working knowledge of food safety, sanitation, safe food handling, and commercial food-production practices, or the ability to quickly develop this knowledge and obtain required certifications.
• Ability to lead, supervise, coach, and hold staff accountable in a respectful and constructive manner.
• Ability to take ownership of an area of responsibility, independently identify needs, establish priorities, solve problems, and follow through.
• Ability to develop and maintain effective systems, procedures, production routines, and operational standards.
• Commitment to excellent customer service and creating a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience
• Ability to lift 50 pounds and team lift 50+.
• Ability to stand for long periods. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Two or more years of experience in a supervisory, management, or team-leadership role, preferably within grocery, food service, hospitality, retail, or food production.
• Experience supervising and developing multiple functional areas.
• Experience with coffee roasting, including roast profiling, production roasting, green coffee handling, quality control, and/or roasting equipment.
• Experience with recipe development, recipe costing, menu planning, and production planning.
• Experience managing departmental budgets, sales goals, gross margins, labor costs, inventory, shrink, or other key performance indicators.
• Current ServSafe Manager certification or equivalent food-safety certification 
• Familiarity with the cooperative business model and cooperative principles, particularly experience working within a food co-op or other community-owned business.
• Demonstrated interest in food, cooking, product development, coffee, and creating distinctive customer experiences

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