Job Title: Produce Manager

Department: Produce

Reports to: Produce Supervisor

Exempt Status: Non-Exempt

Safety Sensitive:

JOB FUNCTION: To manage the Produce Department to achieve maximum sales and profit while minimizing labor costs.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To develop sales and labor budgets for the produce department and to achieve targeted sales for the department.
• To excel in customer service by developing a customer service program for all department employees to follow. To greet customers, respond to customer questions/requests/ complaints and explain store policies in a courteous manner.
• To initiate and/or make recommendation regarding the hiring, firing, discipline, promotion, and evaluation of all Produce Department personnel.
• To conduct department meetings to review merchandising, sales planning, and operational problems, keeping employees informed about matters that concern them on the job.
• To orient and train all new Produce Department employees and retrain employees when necessary.
• To develop a weekly labor schedule for all Produce Department employees for the approval of the store manager.
• To develop a weekly display plan for display/rack merchandising and AD promotion.
• To supervise the display of product so that: 1) displays are full, 2) color contrast is emphasized, 3) product is rotated, 4) commodities are grouped, 5) tables are set to the season, and 6) adequate space has been allocated for high impulse/demand items.
• To allocate shelf space according to movement, capacity, and profitability.
• To supervise/order, all produce products and supplies from authorized vendors to minimize out-of-stocks while maintaining the desired says of supply for the produce department.
• To be observant of security problems and develop methods of prevention (vendor receiving, employee theft, shoplifting).
• To supervise: 1) preparation of the back room for receipt of merchandise; 2) unloading of trucks; 3) checking the load for quality/shortage/overage and code dating the case; 4) sorting cases by quality and degree of ripeness; 5) storage of back stock; 6) verification of the merchandise against the invoice.
• To supervise: 1) cleaning of department floors, mirrors, bins, tables, cooler, shelves, department production equipment, scales, cases, and racks; 2) safe use of cleaning equipment and chemicals.
• To supervise: 1) loading of stocking carts/pallets; 2) transportation of cases to the sales floor/product production area either on stocking carts or pallets; 3) evaluation of product quality; 4) preparation & trimming of product for display; 5) placement of merchandise in the designated storage/shelf/display position/area; 6) checking of the product code/freshness date; 7) the "face/front" program for the front/top of each display; 8) the immediate pick up/removal of all packing materials/ boxes from the sales floor or customers pathway; 8) the removal of trash from the department, the operation of the baler and garbage disposal, and putting the compacted bale on a pallet.
• To assure the safety of self, customers, and co-workers by understanding and practicing store safety rules and notifying a store manager of any potential hazard immediately.
• To supervise the safety procedures used in the operation of the baler, case cutter, pallet jack, forklift, knife, garbage disposal, juicer, pineapple corer, scales, and wrapper (must be 18 years or older to operate the pallet jack, forklift and baler).
• To supervise the counting and recording of individual items of merchandise for inventory.
• To compute the retail price from cost, complete price changes, PLU file and scale system maintenance, supervise the manual price marking/labeling of merchandise without an UPC code.
• To supervise the movement of damaged/unsalable and "returnable" products from shelves to the backroom, sorting of the materials, the return of damage to the warehouse for credit and the re-processing of product for sale or marking the product down in price.
• To supervise the use of proper case opening and product stacking techniques to prevent damage to product.
• To supervise the removal of trash from the department, operating the baler and garbage disposal, putting the compacted bale on a pallet.
• To supervise the changing of signs, light bulbs, tags, and price markers in the department.
• To communicate with the store manager on problems, recommendations for change effectiveness of plans and merchandising decisions.
• To complete competition price checks on produce commodities/items weekly.
• To supervise the checking of case and cooler temperatures 4 times daily.
• To supervise the preparation, display, and packaging of all products in the produce department.
• To perform miscellaneous tasks assigned by the store manager, substituting for absent workers and performing any additional tasks necessary to provide products and services to customers during peak periods of business.

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

REQUIRED:

• Basic mathematical ability (add, subtract, multiply, divide) and ability to count.
• Able to give/receive complex verbal instructions/descriptions to/from supervisors/co-workers/employees concerning store/department policy/procedures and use of equipment.
• Able to pass basic physical examination and drug screen.
• A stable work and educational history.
• The ability to read and write English. Demonstrate basic communication ability; able to comprehend instructions, merchandise labels, order codes, numbers, reports, printed paper invoices and order forms.
• Make judgments concerning: the placement of merchandise on the shelf/display, pricing, employee scheduling, order of product/supplies, hiring/supervision of employees, merchandising plans, departments operational policies and procedures and the sales/promotion of merchandise.
• Good interpersonal communications.

PREFERRED:

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Prior Produce Department experience.
• Prior supervisory experience.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE: N/A

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: N/A

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:

• Basic mathematical ability (count, add, subtract, multiply, divide).

LANGUAGE SKILLS: N/A

REASONING ABILITY:

• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of variables in circumstances where only limited standardization may exist.

• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in diagram, oral, schedule, or written forms.

OTHER SKILLS OR REQUIREMENTS:

• The Produce Manager will perform the same Tasks of the Job as the Produce Clerk while substituting as part of the work crew or as part of the training program for new employees. (See Produce Clerk Job Description.)
• See cases, case cutter edge, case strips, shelf location, product size/description/quality, customers, shelf tags, labels on products, stocking carts, knives, scale, wrapper, department production equipment, cooler layout, packaging materials, debris on floor, aisle markers, and signs.
• Perceive color difference on product and product labels.
• Perceive cleaning/maintenance equipment, pallet jacks, forklifts and baler controls.
• Comprehend forms used in the operation of the Produce Department.
• Respond to customer questions and responses.
• Respond to intercom/phone.
• Respond to co-workers’ questions and comments.
• Respond to vendor/driver questions/comments.
• Respond to the sound of baler/pallet jack/forklift/cleaning equipment operation.
• Respond to the sound of box cutter operation.
• Communicate with customers.
• Communicate with vendors/drivers.
• Use the intercom/phone system.
• Communicate with co-workers and managers.
• Communicate with prospective employees.
• Comprehend case labels/case strips, signs, tags, shelf signs, numbers and aisle markers, department forms and employment forms.
• Comprehend equipment and chemical warning labels.
• Comprehend operational forms and reports.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

The physical demands described below are representative of those that are required by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Mobility:

• Move while conducting training and orientation of Produce Department personnel, a maximum of 25 yards
• Move to supervise: the receiving of product, movement of product to the floor or storage area, opening/cutting of cases, inspect product quality, sorting of cases/merchandise, building of displays in the aisle and on the case/rack, the allocation of space in produce categories, order merchandise and supplies, cleaning and maintenance, removal of trash/debris from the department, price marking and signage throughout the store, a maximum of 25 yards.
• Work on tile or concrete for a maximum of 8 hours in duration.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Inside and outside work with extreme variations in temperature, dust, and humidity from entrance/back door/compressors/cooler/freezer.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER NOTICE

The job duties, elements, responsibilities, skills, functions, experience, educational factors, and the requirements and conditions listed in this job description are representative only and not exhaustive of the tasks that an employee may be required to perform. The Employer reserves the right to revise this job description at any time and to require employees to perform other tasks as circumstances or conditions of its business, competitive considerations, or the work environment change.