Produce Lead Clerk

La Montañita Co-op; Santa Fe (NM); On-site; USD 21,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

La Montañita Co-op is seeking a Produce Lead Clerk to focus on customer relations and satisfaction while maintaining cleanliness and safety in the produce department. You will handle all produce processing, sanitation, stocking and merchandising, ensuring displays are fresh and compliant with standards.

You will greet customers, respond to questions, assist in inventory and store-wide cleanliness, and help maintain ServSafe standards.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED required.
• Customer service skills to complete full service cycle.
• Effective communication skills.
• Food safety certification; if not certified, obtain within 1 month.
• Knowledge of regulatory and safety policies and procedures.
• Ability to follow safety and wellness guidelines; PPE required.
• Good interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
• Integrity, professionalism and confidentiality.
• Ability to identify and resolve problems promptly.
• Adaptability to changes in work environment with calm demeanor.
• Dependable, reliable and self-motivated.
• Ability to work with a diverse group of people.
• Professional appearance and manner.

Responsibilities

• Orders, receives, and merchandises produce following guidelines for merchandising, rotation, sanitation, pricing, mechanizing, and quality standards.
• Consistently replenish products to ensure freshness and visibility.
• Maintain knowledge of all produce products and respond to customers.
• Inspect and handle inventory: open, receive, package, label, display, stock and inventory merchandise.
• Follow procedures for processing known loss, invoice discrepancies, special orders and transfers.
• Maintain accurate and attractive signage and keep department clean.
• Assist customers with product selections and provide information about produce items.
• Ensure sanitary product processing, labeling, dating and pricing per procedures.
• Prioritize prep work, stocking, cleaning and customer service.
• Create welcoming environment and provide excellent customer service.
• Assist in inventory counts and store-wide cleaning.
• Ensure compliance with regulations for freshness, safety, refrigeration, sanitation and weights and measures.
• Follow opening and closing procedures.
• Maintain ServSafe certification as needed.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Training others

Food safety

Regulatory knowledge

Safety practices

Interpersonal skills

Integrity

Problem solving

Adaptability

Reliability

Diversity teamwork

Professional appearance

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Job description

Description

The Produce Lead Clerk is first and foremost responsible for customer relations and satisfaction. The Produce 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 produce processing (cutting, packaging and merchandising), sanitation, safety, and stocking procedures on all fresh produce products (fruits, wet vegetables, and dry vegetables) while removing expired products from displays. Most importantly, the Produce 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 produce products following proper guidelines for merchandising, rotation, sanitation, pricing, mechanizing, and quality standards.
• Consistently replenish products to ensure freshness and visibility.
• Maintains a working knowledge of all produce products as well as non-produce 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.
• Maintains accurate and attractive signage within your department.
• Keeps the department orderly and clean.
• Helps customers make product selections by answering questions and providing information about all produce items.
• Ensures accurate and sanitary product processing, packaging labeling, dating, and pricing according to department procedures.
• Prioritizes time to ensure that prep work, stocking, cleaning, and customer service are handled efficiently.
• 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.
• 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.

Lead Responsibilities:

• Under the direction of the department team leader, coordinates, evaluates, and ensures completion of daily tasks of department clerks to the standards and expectations.
• Notifies the department management promptly of department team member performance concerns or potential policy violations.
• Monitors and ensures that staff keep work areas neat, clean and orderly.
• Contacts department management and Store Support for assistance as needed.
• Serves and acts a role model, provides, and ensures customers receive prompt, friendly and courteous service in a professional manner.

Requirements

ATTRIBUTES & QUALIFICATIONS

• High School diploma or GED.
• Customer service skills (able to complete the full customer service cycle).
• Effective communication skills
• Capable of teaching others positively and constructively.
• Food safety certification. If not currently certified, able to obtain certification within 1 month.
• Knowledge of regulatory and safety policies and procedures.
• Ability to adhere and follow safety and wellness guidelines. Safety Conscious and adhering to required PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is required.
• Good interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
• Able to act with integrity, ethically, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• 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.
• Professional appearance and manner.