What are the responsibilities and job description for the Shift Lead position at Māla Market?
About Māla Market
Māla Market is a Hawaiʻi-born healthy sandwich and salad shop on a simple mission: to contribute to the health and happiness of our communities through delicious healthy food and immaculate vibes. We're known for fresh, fast, made-with-aloha food (our Turkey Avocado is famous), and we run on four things — Friendliness, Cleanliness, Quality, and Speed. That's our recipe to succeed. We're part of Hoʻokipa Hospitality Group, and hoʻokipa means hospitality — to welcome.
The Role
As Shift Lead, you're the manager on duty. You set the tone for the shift, lead from the line (not the sidelines), and make sure every guest leaves happy and every closing is buttoned up. Your work lives in four buckets: Lead the Team, Serve Customers, Protect the Business, and Maintain Standards. This is a great fit if you love fast-paced food service, take pride in a clean and well-run shop, and enjoy bringing out the best in a team.
What You'll Do
Run the shift: open and/or close the store — facility, kitchen, and staffing checks; start soups and prep; verify par levels; secure the building at close.
Lead the team: assign positions across Register, Sandwich Maker, and Expeditor; run a quick pre-shift huddle; manage breaks around the lunch rush; jump on the line whenever it gets busy.
Deliver standout service: greet every guest within 10 seconds, repeat orders back, keep turn times under two minutes, and resolve any issue calmly.
Handle cash accurately: manage the register float, run the daily sales report in Square, reconcile and prepare the deposit, and report any overage or shortage.
Protect food safety and cleanliness: log fridge temps, follow FIFO and labeling, keep sanitizer buckets fresh, and complete the closing cleaning checklist.
Keep product flowing: check par levels at open and close, write prep lists, and receive and inspect deliveries.
What We're Looking For
Experience in food service, café, retail, or hospitality — ideally in a lead, keyholder, or shift-supervisor role. We'll train the right person who brings the right attitude.
A natural leader who stays calm under pressure and leads by example.
Comfortable on a POS (we use Square) with solid cash-handling and math.
A friendly, hospitality-first communicator who likes taking care of people.
Dependable and punctual — you set the standard the team follows.
Able to stand for a full shift, move quickly during rushes, and lift up to about 30 lbs.
Open availability is a big plus — weekdays and weekends, opening and/or closing shifts.
Hawaiʻi food handler card required upon hire (or willing to obtain one).
Pay & Growth
$17/hour starting, plus tips — our team averages $20–$24/hour including tips.
Room to grow — strong Shift Leads can move into Assistant Manager and Manager roles.
Join a local, ʻohana-style team that takes care of each other and our community.
Māla Market is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate a friendly, respectful, harassment-free workplace and welcome applicants of all backgrounds.
Pay: $17.00 - $24.00 per hour
Education:
- High school or equivalent (Required)
Work Location: In person
Salary : $17 - $24