Assistant General Manager

Build Strong Teams

Great operations start with great people.

You'll recruit, onboard, coach, and develop employees while creating a workplace where safety, accountability, and teamwork come first. You'll mentor supervisors, encourage professional growth, and foster a culture where everyone understands how their contributions support the success of the company.

Your ability to motivate others will help build engaged teams that consistently deliver exceptional results.

Deliver Outstanding Customer Experiences

Our customers depend on us every day, and you'll play an important role in earning their trust.

Working closely with sales, warehouse, and transportation teams, you'll help ensure every customer receives exceptional service. You'll address concerns quickly, monitor service performance, and look for opportunities to continually improve the customer experience while supporting business growth and customer retention.

Drive Operational Excellence

Success in food distribution requires precision.

You'll help oversee inventory management, warehouse operations, transportation, and distribution activities while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Through data analysis, operational reporting, and performance metrics, you'll help guide decisions that improve productivity without compromising quality or service.

Champion Food Safety and Compliance

Protecting our customers and employees is one of our highest priorities.

You'll help ensure compliance with FDA, USDA, OSHA, HACCP, FSMA, DOT, and all applicable food safety and workplace regulations. From safety training and audits to quality inspections and facility compliance, you'll help maintain the high standards our customers expect.

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Support the daily operation of warehouse, transportation, and distribution activities.
• Ensure accurate receiving, storage, inventory control, and product delivery.
• Monitor inventory levels and partner with purchasing to minimize shortages and excess inventory.
• Improve operational processes that increase productivity and customer satisfaction.
• Supervise warehouse, transportation, and administrative team members.
• Recruit, onboard, schedule, coach, and evaluate employees.
• Foster a positive, customer-focused, and safety-first culture.
• Serve as acting General Manager when needed.
• Build strong customer relationships and resolve service concerns.
• Partner with sales teams to exceed customer expectations.
• Monitor KPIs, budgets, expenses, and operational performance.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities while maintaining service quality.
• Maintain accurate operational records and reporting.
• Promote compliance with food safety, transportation, and workplace regulations.
• Support quality assurance initiatives and facility inspections.
• Build strong working relationships throughout the organization and within the communities we serve.
• Perform additional leadership responsibilities as assigned.

  What You'll Bring

  Education & Experience

  • High School Diploma or equivalent required.
  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
  • 3–7 years of management experience in food distribution, logistics, warehouse operations, or supply chain management.
  • 5+ years of experience with distribution center operations and DOT regulations.
  • 3–5 years of supervisory experience in a distribution center environment.
  • Experience managing warehouse operations, inventory, and transportation.
  • Working knowledge of FDA, USDA, OSHA, FSMA, HACCP, DOT, and other regulatory requirements.

  Skills for Success

  We're looking for someone who:

  • Leads with confidence and integrity.
  • Develops and motivates high-performing teams.
  • Communicates effectively with employees, customers, and leadership.
  • Uses data to make sound business decisions.
  • Thrives in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
  • Solves problems with urgency and professionalism.
  • Is proficient with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), ERP systems, and Microsoft Office.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in multi-temperature food distribution.
• HACCP certification or food safety training.
• Bilingual communication skills.
• Experience with route optimization and transportation management systems.

Where You'll Work

Your time will be split between the office and our distribution facility.

This role includes walking warehouse floors, interacting with employees, climbing stairs or ladders when necessary, and occasionally lifting up to 50 pounds. You'll work around warehouse equipment, varying temperatures, and may occasionally travel to customer locations, company facilities, or meetings.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Why Upper Lakes Foods?

Upper Lakes Foods is the largest independent wholesale food distributor in Minnesota, proudly serving customers from our facilities in Cloquet, Minnesota; Northfield, Minnesota; and Janesville, Wisconsin .

For decades, we've partnered with independent restaurants, healthcare facilities, schools, and national foodservice organizations throughout the Upper Midwest. Our mission is simple:

To build value for every customer, employee, supplier, and community we serve by bringing the best-the best products, the best people, and the best ideas.

Our Core Values

Our culture is built on values that guide every decision we make:

Strong Work Ethic
We believe hard work, perseverance, and consistency create lasting success.

Positive Attitude
We approach challenges with optimism, flexibility, and a commitment to finding solutions.

Integrity
We do the right thing through honesty, accountability, and consistency.

Teamwork
We believe our greatest achievements happen when we work together.

Professionalism
We represent ourselves and our company with pride, maintaining a professional appearance and attitude.

Respect
We foster a workplace where every employee is treated fairly, valued, and supported in a safe and positive environment.

Join Our Story

If you're a hands-on leader who enjoys building strong teams, improving operations, and making a meaningful impact every day, we'd love to have you help write the next chapter at Upper Lakes Foods.

Please see full job description located on the Upper Lakes Foods Website at Upperlakesfoods.com

Final candidates are required to successfully complete a background check, pre-employment lift evaluations (if applicable) and pre-employment drug screening prior to their employment start date.
All offers of employment are conditional and contingent upon the Company's receipt of satisfactory results from a comprehensive background investigation and a negative result on a pre-employment lift evaluation and drug screen.
Failure to successfully complete either requirement may result in withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment, to the extent permitted by applicable federal, state, and local law.