Retail Material Handler P/T

Goodwill of Southern New England; East Greenwich (RI); On-site; USD 23,336 - 31,271; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition reimbursement

Gym reimbursement

Paid time off

Referral bonuses

Retirement plan contributions

Job summary

A nonprofit organization in East Greenwich is seeking a Retail Material Handler responsible for moving materials, assisting customers with donations and purchases, and preparing goods for display. The ideal candidate must have a high school diploma or GED and possess strong customer service skills. This role requires the ability to lift heavy objects and work weekends, holidays, and evenings. Hourly pay ranges from $16.94 to $22.70, along with various benefits including tuition reimbursement and paid time off.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED preferred.
• Ability to read simple instructions and communicate effectively with customers.
• Ability to lift and move up to 100 pounds.

Responsibilities

• Assist customers by carrying donations and purchases.
• Sort, price, and grade donated goods.
• Ensure the donation center is clean and organized.

Skills

Customer service skills

Ability to lift heavy objects

Ability to operate hand truck

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Position pays $16.94/hr. Hourly pay range: $16.94 – $22.70.

Benefits

• Tuition and gym reimbursement
• Emergency assistance funds
• Paid time off
• Referral bonuses
• Retirement plan contributions
• And more depending on position!

Summary

Responsible for the movement of materials at Goodwill Store or Outlet, including loading and unloading trucks, assisting customers with donations and purchases, preparing donated goods for processing and display, and disposing of non‑saleable goods and waste. Work under the direction of the Store Manager or Outlet Manager.

Special Requirements

Employees will typically be required to work regular weekend (Saturday, Sunday), holiday and evening hours customary to the retail trade. The Retail Material Handler may be cross‑trained to perform duties of a Janitor, Retail Material Sorter or Sales Associate based on business necessity.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Follow verbal instructions or read work orders to determine materials and containers to be moved.
• Assist donors by carrying donated merchandise from their vehicle into the store; assist customers by carrying heavy/bulky purchases to their vehicle.
• Sort, price and grade newly arrived goods.
• Convey materials to and/or from storage or work areas to designated areas using hand truck, carts, pallet jack or straddle stacker.
• May use equipment to handle, move or dispose of materials (e.g., trash compactor, tipping equipment).
• Stock shelves, counters and tables.
• Count, weigh and/or record the number of units of material moved or handled and prepare inventory of stock, as required.
• Assist in preparation of all shipping documentation for materials being shipped from premises. Ensure contents of crates are clearly labeled. Install strapping, bracing or padding to prevent shifting or damage in transit, when loading Goodwill trucks for pick‑up/delivery. Install load bars as required.
• Lift heavy objects by hand and maintain clean work area, machines and/or equipment.
• Assist at designated retail outlets to sort, move or set up fixtures, move donated goods and other related duties as assigned.
• Remove snow/ice from sidewalks and surrounding grounds to ensure a safe environment for staff, customers, visitors and clients at any Agency location, as assigned.
• Perform other related essential duties as required or assigned by supervisor.

Safety, Security and Loss Prevention

Ensure that the customer drop‑off and donation center is kept clean, organized and free of safety hazards along with adjacent production and processing areas. Immediately report all unsafe conditions to supervisor. Immediately report any suspicions or allegations of fraud to supervisor.

Requirements

Education and/or Experience

High school diploma or general education degree (GED) preferred, not required; and one to three months of related experience or training; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Students under the age of 18 years still enrolled in high school may be hired to fill part‑time positions but may not operate the compactor, floor‑cleaning machine, straddle stacker or any other hazardous equipment and must abide by the CT DOL regulations regarding hours of work for minors in the workplace.

Language Skills

Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos. Ability to communicate with customers in one‑on‑one situations.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio and percent.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with standardized situations with only occasional or no variables.

Other Skills and Abilities

• Ability to operate hand truck.

Physical Demands

Employee is regularly required to stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear.

Employee may also be required to climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.

Employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 100 pounds.

Employee is regularly required to push crates (on wheels) that may weigh up to 600 pounds. Crates may be moved on flat or sloped surfaces.

Employee is regularly required to assist customers when unloading bags and boxes of donations from their vehicle and carrying purchases to their vehicle.

Employee may also be required to assist customers with handling of donations or purchases of large and heavy items such as furniture and appliances (e.g., microwave oven, television, computer equipment).

Additionally, employee is required to place large objects on the sales floor for display or in a crate or cart for disposal.

A hand‑truck should be used whenever possible to move large/heavy objects. The assistance of additional staff must be sought when lifting such objects whenever feasible and proper lifting techniques must be applied.

Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision, distance vision and color vision.

Requirements for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Protective eyewear must be worn at all times while preparing cleaning solution for floor‑cleaning machine and while dispensing fluid into the machine. Protective gloves (cloth/leather) and eyewear must be worn at all times while using push‑stick to propel material into trash compactor. Latex gloves are made available for any employee engaged in sorting credentials but are not required.

Work Environment

The work environment includes occasional exposure to wet and/or humid conditions; moving mechanical parts; high, precarious places; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; outside weather conditions and risk of electrical shock. Noise level is usually moderate and typical of a busy retail environment.

Equal Opportunity Employer.