Fresh Sort Lead

Greater Vancouver Food Bank; Burnaby; On-site; CAD 56,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Extended healthcare

Dental coverage

RRSP matching

3 weeks vacation

Personal days

Birthday day off

Job summary

Greater Vancouver Food Bank seeks a Fresh Sort Lead to manage day-to-day fresh sorting, inventory rotation, and quality control. You will coordinate workflows, mentor staff and volunteers, and uphold safety and compliance across the facility.

The role requires hands-on leadership in a fast-paced warehouse environment in Burnaby. As part of our Warehouse Team, you will drive process improvements, maintain excellent communication, and ensure consistent product flow from receiving to distribution.

Qualifications

• 2-5+ years of experience in an operations or process-oriented role.
• 2-3 years of experience in a warehouse environment.
• Valid BC Class 5 driver’s license.
• Health and safety knowledge or certifications (FoodSafe/First Aid) are assets.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations for fresh sorting, packing, and storage rotation.
• Run daily team meetings and translate priorities into clear work plans.
• Provide day-to-day training, coaching, and guidance to staff and volunteers.
• Delegate tasks and monitor completion while escalating issues as needed.
• Ensure safety, quality, and sanitation standards are consistently applied.
• Coordinate with shipping/receiving on inbound/outbound flows and support forklift operations.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Time management

Attention to detail

Team player

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Fresh Sort Lead – We are growing our team!

• Full-Time, Permanent position
• 37.5 hours per week
• Competitive base salary of $62,100 annually

Who We Are

The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide healthy food to those in need. The GVFB provides support through direct distribution to those in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and the North Shore, as well as through 160+ agency partners both locally and provincially. Through this model, the GVFB envisions a British Columbia where everyone has access to healthy food through efficient distribution, innovation and partnerships.

To learn more visit: www.foodbank.bc.ca

The GVFB is a proud winner of BC's Top Employers 2026!

The GVFB is a certified Living Wage Employer! This recognizes the GVFB’s commitment to paying fair wages, upholding good work standards for our employees, and contributing to poverty reduction and a higher standard of living in our community.

What We Offer

We believe in providing employees with flexibility, and the resources and tools to excel in their role. Employees will work alongside people who are passionate about food insecurity and community. We provide an inclusive office environment with excellent Skytrain accessibility and free parking on-site.

This is a full-time, permanent position, with the opportunity to learn and grow. The successful candidate can expect a competitive base salary of $62,100 annually, depending on experience.

Our competitive benefit plan includes extended healthcare and dental, and a Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) where employees are matched upto 7% of their contributions. Employees also receive three weeks paid vacation annually, as well as two paid personal days, and a paid birthday day off.

Career and personal development are at the forefront of the GVFB’s culture. After three months of employment, employees have access to $1,600 towards professional development, $850 of which can be utilized towards wellness initiatives!

Come and enjoy working in an inclusive, award-winning workplace!

Position Overview

As the Fresh Sort Lead at the GVFB, you will provide hands‑on leadership for the day‑to‑day operations of fresh food sorting, inventory rotation, quality control, and fresh product movement. This role is responsible for coordinating workflows, supporting staff and volunteers, promoting a culture of safety and accountability, and ensuring the efficient flow of fresh products from receiving through distribution. As a key member of the GVFB Warehouse Team, you will lead by example, drive operational excellence, and support continuous improvement initiatives while ensuring compliance with food safety requirements, health and safety standards, and organizational procedures. Working in a fast‑paced environment, the Fresh Sort Lead will coach team members, resolve operational challenges, and help foster a positive, high‑performing, and collaborative workplace culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations for fresh food sorting, produce packing, refrigerated and frozen storage rotation, and fresh product movement.
• Run daily High-5 meetings for assigned team members and translate priorities from the Warehouse Assistant Manager into clear daily work plans.
• Maintain clear, timely, and respectful communication with assigned team members and colleagues across the organization, ensuring priorities, changes, issues, and follow‑up actions are understood and appropriately shared.
• Provide day‑to‑day training, coaching, support, and direction to Sort Coordinators, Warehouse Associates, staff, volunteers, and other assigned team members.
• Delegate sorting, packing, rotation, replenishment, staging, housekeeping, and fresh product movement tasks and monitor completion.
• Escalate workload, staffing, safety, food quality, refrigeration, conduct, performance, inventory, or service concerns to the Warehouse Assistant Manager.
• Complete and document daily safety, maintenance, housekeeping, cleanliness, and refrigerated‑area inspections and promptly report deficiencies.
• Coordinate fresh and frozen product flow from receiving and quality assessment through sorting, rotation, storage, order preparation, staging, and outbound movement.
• Ensure refrigerated and frozen products are rotated consistently using approved stock‑rotation practices and internal procedures.
• Monitor cooler and freezer organization, product placement, capacity, temperature‑related concerns, and safe access to stored product.
• Ensure fresh products are directed to the correct sorting, refrigerated, frozen, packing, staging, preservation, distribution, partner, or waste‑stream area.
• Coordinate fresh product priorities with the Sort Coordinator and ensure staff and volunteers receive clear instructions for sorting and packing work.
• Oversee fresh product replenishment, picking, pallet preparation, wrapping, weighing, staging, and movement for distribution and Community Agency Partner orders.
• Verify fresh product movements and assigned work are completed accurately and ensure defects, damage, spoilage, contamination concerns, discrepancies, or process issues are addressed or escalated.
• Ensure quality control standards are consistently applied across all food‑handling processes, with required quality checks completed and documented 100 percent of the time; immediately address or accelerate any missed checks, defects, contamination risks, or non‑compliance.
• Coordinate with shipping and receiving staff on incoming fresh loads, staging space, order readiness, returns, documentation needs, and outbound fresh product movements.
• Provide hands‑on support with forklift operation, sorting, produce packing, cooler and freezer organization, order picking, cleaning, product movement, and data entry when required.
• Ensure assigned sorting, refrigerated, frozen, and fresh‑product functional areas remain clean, tidy, organized, and free of obstacles, with safe pedestrian pathways maintained throughout the shift.
• Monitor supply and material needs for sorting, packing, refrigeration, and fresh product movement and submit requisitions to the Warehouse Assistant Manager in accordance with the annual budget.
• Identify and recommend continuous improvement opportunities for fresh product flow, rotation, recovery, quality, space utilization, sorting productivity, and waste reduction.
• Support implementation of approved process changes and confirm assigned staff and volunteers understand and follow revised procedures.
• Operate Warehouse machinery including forklifts, reach trucks, pallet jacks, power jacks, and scissor lifts.
• Coordinate with the Warehouse Lead on shared labour, space, equipment, receiving schedules, outbound requirements, and priorities that affect both functional areas.
• Complete other duties as assigned by the Warehouse Assistant Manager and Operations Manager.

Personal Attributes and Core Skills

• Lead by example with integrity, build trust within the team, and drive engagement and performance.
• Strong accuracy and attention to detail.
• Hands‑on and willing to roll up your sleeves.
• Resourceful, solution-focused, and good judgement skills.
• Communicate effectively with staff and volunteers, at all levels of the organization.
• Strong and effective leadership skills, coaching with patience, and tailoring coaching to individual learner styles.
• Effective interpersonal communication skills (written/oral), including active listening skills.
• Ability to motivate staff, volunteers, and others.
• Friendly, supportive, authentic, and collaborative team player.
• Ability to employ conflict resolution and diffusing skills as needed, whilst gaining full knowledge of the situation at hand.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to adapt, thrive, and multi‑task within a fast‑paced, rapidly changing environment.
• Ability to delegate tasks to individual team members.
• Excellent time management skills.

Qualifications and Experience

• 2-5+ years’ experience working in an operations and/or process‑oriented role.
• 2-3 years’ experience working in a warehouse environment.
• Hold a valid BC Class 5 driving license.
• Provide 3 years Insurance Claims History and 3 years clean Drivers Abstract.
• Health and safety experience within the workplace is advantageous.
• Quality control training and/or practical quality control experience in food handling, warehousing, food processing, or a related environment is an asset.
• FoodSafe certification above Level 1, or an equivalent advanced food‑safety qualification, is an asset.
• First Aid Certification is an asset.
• Experience working in a fast‑paced environment.
• Experience working in a customer service environment.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, general IT tools and systems.
• Able to be mobile and flexible around work hours and locations is required; this may include evenings and weekends, and shifts may be subject to change.

Physical Requirements

• Exposure to ambient temperatures and noisy conditions.
• Proper safety footwear required.
• Ability to work in a physically demanding environment, lifting, walking, and standing throughout the shift.
• Bending and lifting boxes up to 50 lbs. on a regular basis.
• Some local travel may be required.

A criminal record check for working with vulnerable sectors is required upon hiring.

NOTE:

Due to the high volume of applications, only those applicants under consideration will be contacted.

Please accept our utmost appreciation for your interest. The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Applications will be treated in strict confidence.