GM, Vermont Flagship

King Arthur Baking Company; Norwich (VT); On-site; USD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Company paid short- and long-termDisab

Life insurance

Parental leave

Paid time off

401(k) with company match

40 volunteer hours/year

Profit sharing

ESOP

Job summary

King Arthur Baking Company in Norwich, VT seeks a General Manager for its flagship destination—the Bakery, Cafe, Retail Store, and Baking School. The role combines strong business acumen with people leadership to drive sales, profitability, and exceptional guest experiences with full P&L responsibility.

The GM will build a high‑performing leadership team, champion a culture of baking excellence, and partner with cross‑functional teams to execute strategies that grow traffic and revenue while

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, hospitality, food service management, or related field preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in a high‑volume bakery, cafe, restaurant, hotel, or multi‑department retail environment.
• Proven P&L ownership and financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, labor planning, margin management, and performance analysis.
• Experience leading large teams and flagship operations with a track record of building trust and delivering results.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, judgment, and problem‑solving skills.
• Passion for artisanal baking and King Arthur’s mission is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Bakery, Cafe, Retail Store, and Baking School as one integrated flagship destination.
• Deliver a distinctive guest experience through hospitality, service, merchandising, and programming.
• Build, develop, and lead a high‑performing leadership team with clear pathways for growth.
• Own the flagship P&L and deliver revenue, margin, labor, profitability, and operating goals.
• Lead safe, efficient, high‑quality food service and retail operations, including production, inventory, and sanitation.

Skills

Leadership

Hospitality

Craft & Quality

Financial acumen

Continuous improvement

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, hospitality, food service management, or related field

Job description

Meet Us:

King Arthur Baking Company has been sharing the joy of baking since 1790. Headquartered in Norwich, Vermont, we’re the ultimate baking resource – providing education, inspiration, and the highest quality products, all while fostering connections and community through baking. Our superior flours and mixes are available in supermarkets nationwide, and our direct-to-consumer business – website and retail stores – offers an even wider selection of specialty baking ingredients, mixes, gluten-free products, baking tools, and more. We bring baking education to millions of bakers through our cookbooks, podcast, recipe app, website, and baking school. We’re proud to be 100% employee-owned, which means everyone who works here has a real voice and a shared stake in what we do. This creates a strong sense of community built on trust, teamwork, and love of baking. As a benefit corporation, we’re committed to the best interests of all our stakeholders - employees, our local communities, our broader community of bakers, and our planet. Join us and help spread the joy of baking. King Arthur – where, as an employee-owner, your passion and ideas can truly make a difference.

The Position:

The General Manager, Vermont Flagship leads King Arthur Baking Company’s flagship destination in Norwich, Vermont, encompassing the Bakery & Cafe, Retail Store, and Baking School. This leader combines strong business acumen with operational and people leadership to drive sales, profitability, and an exceptional customer experience aligned with King Arthur’s values across a complex, high-volume food service, retail, and hospitality environment. With full P&L responsibility, the General Manager builds a strong leadership team, and creates the clarity, support, and accountability teams need to deliver outcomes they are proud of. The role partners closely with the VP of Direct to Consumer and cross-functional leaders to set priorities, strengthen operations, and continuously improve the flagship experience.

The Benefits:

Yes, we have the standard "stuff" - medical, dental, vision, company paid short- and long-term disability, life insurance, paid parental leave, paid time off to rest, paid holidays to have fun, a 401(k) with a company match. But here's what makes us different: 40 paid volunteer hours a year, profit sharing*, participation in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)* and knowing that those working with you are dedicated and engaged co-employee owners that believe in you and your extraordinary abilities to move us all forward.

The Location:

Norwich, VT; onsite daily.

The Pay:

$125,000 to $150,000 annual salary; commensurate with experience.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Lead the Bakery, Cafe, Retail Store, and Baking School as one integrated flagship destination.
• Deliver a distinctive guest experience through exceptional hospitality, quality, service, merchandising, and programming.
• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing leadership team by listening deeply, understanding operational realities, and removing barriers that enable teams to perform at their best.
• Champion a culture of excellence and respect for the craft of baking, ensuring product quality and the baking experience remain central to how the flagship operates and serves customers.
• Recruit, engage, develop, and retain a talented workforce with clear pathways for growth.
• Own the flagship P&L and deliver revenue, margin, labor, profitability, and operating goals
• Lead safe, efficient, high-quality food service and retail operations, including production, labor, inventory, food safety, and sanitation.
• Use KPIs, guest feedback, and team insights to strengthen operations and drive continuous improvement.
• Partner with marketing, merchandising, and creative teams to execute sales, marketing, merchandising, and event strategies that drive traffic, engagement, and financial performance.
• Engage with the local community to promote the store, building strong relationships.
• Communicate priorities, performance, risks, and resource needs clearly across the flagship and with key partners.
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Marketing, Finance, Merchandising, Editorial, and Creative teams to deliver priorities and business goals.

Education And Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, hospitality, food service management, or a related field preferred. We value candidates who can demonstrate capability and explain how their experience prepares them for this role.
• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in a complex, high-volume bakery, cafe, restaurant, hotel, hospitality, flagship, or multi-department retail environment.
• Significant experience leading food service and bakery operations is strongly preferred, including responsibility for labor, margin, food safety, quality, service standards, inventory, and operational performance. Candidates with exceptional large-scale flagship retail experience and demonstrated hospitality leadership will also be considered.
• Proven success leading leaders and large, diverse teams, with a strong record of building trust, developing talent, improving engagement, and delivering results through others.
• Demonstrated P&L ownership and financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, labor planning, margin management, and performance analysis.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, judgment, and problem-solving skills.
• Passion for artisanal baking, food, hospitality, and King Arthur’s mission is strongly preferred.

Competencies

• Leadership & Talent Development: Builds trust by listening, asking thoughtful questions, and understanding the experiences of employees and leaders. Creates the clarity, support, coaching, and accountability people need to grow, perform at their best, and deliver results. Builds a strong leadership bench and creates opportunities for growth, mobility, and succession.
• Hospitality and Guest Experience Leadership: Creates a welcoming, memorable, and consistent flagship experience across food service, retail, education, and events.
• Craft & Quality Stewardship: Demonstrates deep respect for the craft of baking, and champions exceptional product quality, fostering curiosity and appreciation for the ingredients, techniques, standards, and expertise behind our products and baking experiences.
• Financial and Commercial Acumen: Uses financial, operational, and guest data to manage resources and improve revenue, margin, and profitability.
• Continuous Improvement and Change Leadership: Learns from employees and guests, identifies root causes, and leads practical improvements.
• Collaboration and Cross-Functional Leadership: Builds strong partnerships, communicates transparently, and brings the right people together to execute effectively.

Physical Requirements/work Environment

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical requirements

• Ability to handle, stock, and organize packaged dry food products, including lifting and carrying items of varying weights (typically up to 40 pounds), with or without assistance or adaptive equipment.
• Ability to reach, bend, stoop, and squat as needed to stock shelves and maintain product displays.
• Ability to use hands and arms to handle merchandise, operate a point-of-sale system, and use standard retail tools and equipment.
• Ability to visually identify products, labels, and pricing information, with or without corrective devices.
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers and team members.
• Ability to regularly work in an environment where food allergens may be present
• Ability to regularly touch and taste food products which may contain allergens

Work environment

• Work is performed in a retail store environment with frequent interaction with customers and coworkers.
• The environment may involve varying temperatures, background noise, and periods of high customer activity.
• The role may require working near stocked shelving, storage areas, and back-of-house spaces.
• Schedule may include weekends, evenings, and holidays based on business needs.

Safety

• Understands that safety is the responsibility of everyone at the organization
• Is responsible for providing a safe and ergonomically sound work environment, identifying unsafe conditions and correcting these conditions immediately
• Engages in safety and compliance training programs and encourage 100% team participation in same

Supervisory Responsibility

• Manages a retail team, bakery & café team, and a baking school team

Travel

• 5% Occasional travel may be required for conferences, meetings, market research.

Uniform

• Business casual.

Environment

• Adheres to company-wide green norms, looks for ways to reduce, reuse, recycle
• Educates oneself on KAB environmental campaigns
• Strives to continually improve and implement new processes to reduce our environmental impact

Other Duties

• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers and vendors.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors protected by law. King Arthur Baking provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities to allow them to participate in both the application process and during employment. Such individuals are encouraged to seek accommodations to allow them to apply for a position, participate in the application process, and meet the essential functions and requirements of the position.

• Amounts vary based on achievement of financial targets. Participation based on hire date and program entry date.