Meat Lead Clerk

La-Montanita-Food-Cooperative; Santa Fe (NM); On-site; USD 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

La Montañita Food Cooperative in Santa Fe, NM is seeking a Meat Lead Clerk to manage meat processing, merchandising, and outstanding customer service to welcome every guest. The role emphasizes product knowledge, cleanliness, and safety in a fast‑paced department.

Responsibilities include accurate labeling and pricing, inventory support, and following standard procedures for safety and regulatory compliance. ServSafe certification upkeep is expected and essential.

Qualifications

• Previous meat cutting and handling experience preferred.
• Customer service skills to complete the full service cycle.
• Food safety certification; if not certified, able to obtain within 1 month.
• Knowledge of basic math (counting, addition and subtraction).
• Adhere to safety, regulatory and wellness guidelines; PPE required.
• Strong interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
• Able to identify and resolve problems in a timely manner.
• Able to work with a diverse group and be a team player.
• Excellent ability to prioritize and multi‑task with attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Orders, receives, and merchandises meat products following proper guidelines for merchandising, rotation, sanitation, pricing, mechanizing, and quality standards.
• Consistently replenishes products to ensure freshness and visibility.
• Maintains knowledge of all meat products and non-meat items to assist customers.
• Processes, packages, labels, displays, stocks, replenishes floor stock and inventories merchandise.
• Follows procedures for known loss, invoice discrepancies, special orders, and transfers.
• Ensures accurate and sanitary product processing, packaging, labeling, dating, and pricing per procedures.
• Maintains sanitation standards for utensils, counters, sinks, cutting surfaces, walls and floors.
• Creates welcoming environment and provides excellent customer service.
• Assists in inventory counts, storewide cleaning, and other projects as needed.
• Reinforces safety by following procedures and addressing unsafe conditions.
• Inspects equipment for maintenance and notifies relevant staff of needed repairs.
• Ensures compliance with federal/state/local regulations and ServSafe standards.
• Follows procedures for opening and closing.
• Maintains ServSafe certification.

Skills

Customer service

Meat handling

Safety awareness

Team player

Interpersonal skills

Job description

Description

The Meat Lead Clerk is first and foremost responsible for customer relations and satisfaction. The Meat Lead Clerk is also responsible for ensuring the department maintains its cleanliness, safety and appeal to customers (may also assist other departments in these areas on occasions). Duties include all meat processing (cutting, packaging and merchandising), sanitation, safety, and stocking procedures on all products while removing expired products from displays. Most importantly, the Meat Lead Clerk will make all customers feel welcomed by acknowledging or greeting each customer and providing genuine, helpful, and respectful customer service.

SOME ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Orders, receives, and merchandises meat products following proper guidelines for merchandising, rotation, sanitation, pricing, mechanizing, and quality standards.
• Consistently replenishes products to ensure freshness and visibility.
• Maintains a working knowledge of all meat products as well as non-meat items throughout the store to respond to customers to ensure they get the products they want and need.
• Adequately accepts, orders, receives, prepares, packages, labels, displays, stocks, replenishes floor stock and inventories merchandise.
• Follows department procedures for processing known loss, invoices discrepancies, special orders, and transfers.
• Ensures accurate and sanitary product processing, packaging, labeling, dating, and pricing according to department procedures.
• Maintains department sanitation standards following proper guidelines and procedures for cleaning utensils, counters, sinks, cutting surfaces, walls, and floors.
• Creates and maintains an environment that enables customers to feel welcome, important, and appreciated by answering questions regarding products sold within the department and throughout the store by providing excellent customer service.
• Assists in inventory counts, storewide cleaning, and other projects as needed.
• Reinforces safety within the store by complying with safety procedures and identify unsafe conditions and notify store management or addressing the concern if appropriate.
• Practices preventive maintenance by properly inspecting equipment and notify appropriate department or store team leader of any items in need of repair.
• Ensures federal, state, local and La Montañita Food Cooperative regulations and standards for product freshness, safety, refrigeration, sanitation and weights and measures are being adhered to and met.
• Follows proper procedures for opening and closing.
• Maintains and updates as needed ServSafe® certification.

Requirements

ATTRIBUTES AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Previous meat cutting and handling experience preferred.
• Customer service skills (able to complete the full customer service cycle).
• Food safety certification. If not currently certified, able to obtain certification within 1 month.
• Knowledge of basic math (counting, addition and subtraction)
• Ability to adhere and follow safety, regulatory and wellness guidelines. Safety Conscious and adhering to required PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is required.
• Good interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
• Able to identify and resolve problems in a timely manner.
• Able to deal and adapt to changes in the work environment, industry with a calm professional demeanor.
• Dependable, reliable and self-motivated.
• Able to work with a diverse group of people.
• Strong team player, friendly and patient.
• Excellent ability to prioritize and multi-task with attention to detail.