The New Orleans Food Cooperative is currently seeking a professional General Manager to operate our grocery store, opening in early 2011.If you are interested; please review our job description (below and downloadable) and send your resumé, including professional references, along with a cover letter describing your desire to become part of our organization, a start-up cooperative grocery, to:employment@nolafoodcoop.orgWe are also happy to answer any questions.Thank you for your interest!

New Orleans Food Cooperative

General Manager Job Description

Posted: 4/7/2010

Introduction

The New Orleans Food Cooperative is an organization created and developed by community members.  We are working towards opening a full service grocery store that provides healthy, affordable groceries in New Orleans. Until now, we have operated completely by volunteer effort; acquiring funding, finding new members, and creating systems to successfully open and operate our grocery.  We are confident that our store will be opening in spring 2011. We are going to hire an excellent, professional general manager who will work with us to successfully open our store, and who will oversee the daily operation of the store upon opening.

Our organizational structure is vital to the mission of our organization, and the General Manager will play an important role within it.  The General Manager will report to our Board of Directors, the members of which are democratically elected by the membership.  The Board is empowered with organizational, legal, and fiduciary responsibilities, and oversees the management of our cooperatively owned grocery store by creating policies that describe desired outcomes, and empower and limit the General Manager. The General Manager is given all authority and responsibility required to successfully operate the store.

 Information about our board policies can be found on our website:

http://nolafoodcoop.org/current-board-policies/

Job Purpose
To manage our cooperative so that it achieves the ends determined by the policies established by
our board of directors on behalf of all members:
The New Orleans Food Co-op will open and operate a community-owned grocery store that:
•  provides access to healthy food at a fair price
•  is a center of community activity
•  promotes local and regional food production
•  keeps capital and jobs in our community
•  practices environmental responsibility and sustainability
•  reflects our unique and diverse community

Responsibilities
The job of the general manager is to ensure achievement of organizational outcomes as de?ned
in Ends policies and to avoid unacceptable conditions as de?ned in Executive Limitation
policies.
The general manager has the authority to use any reasonable interpretation of these policies.
The general manager is empowered to make all decisions, create all policies and procedures, and
authorize all contracts that he or she can demonstrate to be consistent with a reasonable
interpretation of board policies.
The general manager’s performance will be evaluated by the board of directors through
systematic and rigorous monitoring of limitations established in policies on:

•asset protection

•financial conditions

•business planning and financial budgeting

•staff treatment and compensation

•treatment of consumers

•membership equity and benefits

•communication with the board

•board logistical support

•emergency management succession

A full set of the board’s policies is available on our website or upon request.

Qualifications 
Required
•  grocery management experience
•  computer literacy
•  bottom line accountability experience
•  experience with operating, capital, and cash budgeting
•  supervisory experience; hiring, training, evaluating, compensating, and firing staff
•  demonstrated ability to:

 • motivate and lead others
• build an effective management team
• manage own and others’ time
• handle multiple demands
• give and receive feedback

•  respect and support for the board’s process
•  demonstrated ability to present spoken and written information clearly
•  openness to new ideas, regardless of source
•  sense of ethics
•  commitment to cooperative values and principles
•  appreciation of New Orleans culture

Highly Desired
• start-up cooperative experience
• experience in the natural foods industry
• knowledge of current natural foods trends
• competitive marketing and merchandising
• demonstrated ability to develop systems
• ability to make tough decisions
• ability to be proactive and maintain momentum
• experience working with, or serving on, a board of directors
• commitment to diversity
• great enthusiasm for working in OUR store, beyond interest in co-ops or groceries in
general

Organizational Structure 
The general manager reports to the board of directors, who are elected by the members of the
cooperative.
The board uses policy to de?ne the results the general manager is expected to achieve, using
speci?cally delegated authority within de?ned limits.
The general manager has the authority to hire, direct, structure, and evaluate all other staff.