Inventory Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Inventory Manager – Open Cupboard

We are seeking an Inventory & Logistics Coordinator who is comfortable working on the warehouse floor and excited to grow into a broader coordination role over time. This position begins with hands-on warehouse work — receiving, moving, and organizing food inventory alongside volunteer teams — and will expand into cross-site inventory management, inter-location transfers, and logistics coordination for our outbound partner distribution. 

Over time, the role will also take on demand planning responsibilities across our multi-channel distribution network, helping anticipate food volume needs across Today's Harvest markets, partner agency distributions, and other programs to reduce waste and improve food availability where it's needed most. This is a full-time Monday–Friday position (approximately 8am–4pm, with some flexibility). Open Cupboard is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Core Warehouse Operations (daily):

• Receive and quality-check all inbound deliveries — including food bank shipments, community donations, food rescued by our food rescue vehicles, farmer’s market distributors, and large-scale donated items arriving by semi truck — inspecting for quality and ensuring they meet order specifications.
• Operate electric pallet jacks and walk-behind stackers to unload trucks, relocate items, and stage pallets for program staff and volunteers.
• Organize and label inventory, keeping pathways clear and consolidating pallets to maximize space efficiency.
• Ensure that items are labeled with relevant expiration dates and stored in the proper location for easy access, evaluating product priority based on expiration date, quality, and condition to determine what should be used first.
• Assemble and stage outbound orders and distributions, verifying accuracy and ensuring timely preparation for pickup or outbound loading.
• Monitor stock levels and communicate proactively with managers about inventory needs across both sites.
• Maintain warehouse organization, ensuring a clean, safe, and efficient environment. Actively promote safe practices among volunteers and staff, following all relevant safety regulations.
• Work in a multi-temperature distribution environment, including coolers and freezers, ensuring compliance with temperature control requirements.
• Use appropriate lifting techniques and equipment to handle heavy or bulky items safely.
• Handle food products with care to preserve quality and prevent contamination.
• Complete food safety training within the first six months of employment and maintain food safety certification.
• In partnership with shift leads, direct and delegate tasks to warehouse support volunteer teams, providing clear instruction so that volunteers can share in the physical work alongside this role. Effective delegation is essential to keeping the workload distributed. Maintain a welcoming, patient, and service-oriented approach with all volunteers and guests in the warehouse.
• Dispose of trash, compost, and recycling while maintaining cleanliness in the warehouse and parking lot.
• Other duties as assigned.

Growing Responsibilities (expanding over time):

• Manage inventory levels across both the Oakdale and Maplewood sites, identifying imbalances and coordinating transfers to equalize stock between locations.
• Coordinate and fulfill inter-site inventory transfer requests, ensuring accurate documentation and efficient movement of product.
• Contribute to building and maintaining shared systems for real-time food availability tracking, order coordination, and transfer documentation.
• Scale outbound operations as programs and partnerships grow, developing efficient pick, pack, and staging workflows to support an increasing number of internal programs and external community partners, including outbound partner distributions.
• Own inventory allocation decisions across all Open Cupboard programs, making informed choices about distribution priorities in coordination with program staff as the role matures.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Warehouse experience required, including operating electric pallet jacks and walk-behind stackers; forklift experience preferred.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds and perform regular physical labor in a warehouse environment.
• Experience in a perishable goods, food distribution, or food service environment preferred.
• Understanding of inventory principles, including accuracy, rotation, and stock management.
• Ability to perform basic counts, weight calculations, and inventory math accurately.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with an eye toward improving systems and processes over time.
• Basic computer proficiency required, including comfort with data entry, record-keeping, and digital communication tools; willingness to learn inventory management and coordination software.
• Strong communication skills and a commitment to maintaining a safe and clean working environment.
• Ability to adapt to varied and changing work requirements; comfort with the day-to-day unpredictability of a food rescue environment.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively lead, delegate to, and instruct volunteers, with a customer-service mindset that makes volunteers feel valued and supported.
• A self-starter who is comfortable on the warehouse floor today and motivated to grow into a broader logistics and coordination role.

This full-time position offers employee benefits, including PTO, medical and dental insurance, a 3% company match for 401k contributions, and long-term disability insurance.

Compensation: $58,000-64,000 annually, depending on experience