Seeking General Manager
The Brattleboro Food Co-op is seeking a General Manager to lead our Co-op into the future with a strategic and community-focused mindset.
Who are we?
Cooperatives are member-owned, member-governed businesses that operate for the benefit of their members according to common principles agreed upon by the international cooperative community. In co-ops, members pool resources to bring about economic results that are unobtainable by one person alone. Most simply put, a cooperative is a business 1) voluntarily owned by the people who use it, and 2) operated for the benefit of its members. Regardless of the goods and services provided, co-ops aim to meet their members’ needs.
The Cooperative Principles are:
- Open and Voluntary Membership.
- Democratic Member Control.
- Members’ Economic Participation.
- Autonomy and Independence.
- Education, Training, and Information.
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives.
- Concern for Community.
The Brattleboro Food Co-op was formed in 1975 as a small buying club. The current location opened for business in June 2012, and today, the Brattleboro Food Co-op occupies 14,580 square feet of a beautiful anchor building in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont. We have over 9,400 member-owners (shareholders).
This four-story building was a result of a collaboration with the Windham and Windsor Housing Trust and Housing Vermont, with many environmentally friendly features, including utilizing refrigeration waste heat to heat apartments and the store, solar panels on the roof, and much more. While the Co-op occupies the entire ground floor, the Co-op offices, commissary kitchen, cooking classroom, and community room are housed on the second floor. The rest of the building comprises some 24 affordable apartments managed through Windham and Windsor Housing.
The Co-op is a vital destination for shoppers who are interested in natural foods that are locally and ethically sourced, from fresh local produce and meats to fair trade coffee. Aside from being a top-notch contemporary natural food market, the Co-op offers a large bulk department, a full-service deli, catering services, fresh-cut meat and seafood, fresh local bread, local and organic fruit and vegetables, local and international cheeses, natural wellness products, housewares, a beer and wine department featuring local breweries, and an eat-in café.
The Brattleboro Food Co-op believes in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others. Cooperative Values are:
- Self help
- Self-responsibility
- Democracy
- Equality
- Equity
- Solidarity
The Brattleboro Food Co-op supports the surrounding community in many ways.
- The Co-op supports over 515 local producers (farmers, bakers, brewers, and artisans) and sales of their products amount to a quarter of Co-op sales.
- The Co-op’s Commitment to Community program rewards shareholders who volunteer at participating Windham County non-profits with a discount on their purchases at the Co-op. Our TeamWork Opportunities program is another avenue for shareholders to connect with local projects.
- The Co-op offers customers the opportunity to “Round Up” their change for change in the community and has raised over $250,000 since the program’s inception. A third of Round Up proceeds go to BFC Cares, an employee-driven initiative to support our neighbors in need.
- The GM will publicly represent BFC to and as part of the broader Brattleboro community, through direct engagement and collaboration with municipal entities, community organizations and other stakeholders vested in the promotion of cooperative values and principles.
Proud Unionized Employer
Another way that we contribute to our community, and perhaps the most important one, is as an employer. The BFC employs over 145 people from the local area, and it is important that the jobs we create enable our team to achieve their personal and professional goals. Ultimately our success depends on the well-being of our staff. As a proud unionized employer we have an ongoing healthy and productive partnership with the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local-1459.
BACKGROUND: Board Governance Model
The Board practices a form of leadership called Policy Governance®. Developed in the 1970s and practiced by many cooperative boards, it’s a system designed to empower boards to fulfill their obligation of accountability for the organization they govern. This model enables the Board to focus on strategic issues, to establish organizational goals (our Ends Policy), to delegate responsibility to the General Manager with clarity, to provide meaningful oversight of the GM’s work without meddling, and to rigorously evaluate the accomplishment of the organization.
GM Job Purpose
To lead our retail food cooperative so that it achieves the Ends Policy as determined by the Board of Directors.
Ends Policy
The Brattleboro Food Co-op exists to meet its shareholders’ collective needs for:
- An open, inclusive and welcoming marketplace
- Access to and education about goods and nutritious food that are ecologically sound and responsibly sourced
- An organization that contributes to a just and resilient local economy
- An enterprise that engages in sustainable and regenerative environmental practices
Reporting and Evaluation
The General Manager reports to the Board of Directors, which is elected by the shareholders of the cooperative. The General Manager reports to the Board on a regular basis through the use of policy monitoring reports. The General Manager has the authority to use any interpretation of these policies that the GM and Board deem reasonable.
The General Manager’s performance is evaluated through systematic monitoring of expectations established in policies on asset protection, financial conditions and budgeting, business planning, people and culture, treatment of customers, shareholder equity and benefits, communication and support to the board, board logistical support, and emergency management succession.
Overview of GM Authority Based on Board Policies
The job of the General Manager is to ensure achievement of organizational results as defined in the Ends Policy and to avoid unacceptable conditions as defined in Executive Limitation Policies. The General Manager is empowered to make all decisions, create all organizational policies, and authorize all engagements that they can demonstrate to be consistent with a reasonable interpretation of Board policy as provided for in Board/GM Relations Policies. The General Manager has the authority to hire, direct, structure, and evaluate all other staff taking into account the rules set by the negotiated Union contract.
Requirements
Preferred Education and Experience
| 5+ years of experience in retail grocery management. |
| 3+ years of experience working with a Board of Directors preferred |
| Experience managing financial statements and projections |
| Experience managing a top-level management team and staff. |
| Experience managing and negotiating in a union environment |
| Previous experience with facilities management |
| Previous experience creating and developing effective procedural standards. |
| At minimum a High School diploma, GED or equivalent certificate. |
| No criminal history: Does not have criminal history that represents risk to the Co-op |
Qualifications (Competencies, Skills, Experience, Attributes)
| Accountability: shows willingness and ability to hold people accountable for Co-op, department, and self success. Willing to be held accountable |
| Building and leading teams: effectively facilitates the formation of teams by creating a climate of trust and encouraging information sharing |
| Experience managing people: experience managing managers. Managing people: makes good hiring decisions. Evaluates, inspires, recognizes, delegates work and provides feedback. Provides timely coaching and guidance |
| Financial management: knows meaning of financial variables, how to find them, and how to place them in business context. Able to request and assess meaningful business and financial reports from finance team. Creates and manages to a budget (operating; capital; and, cash budgets) |
| Strategic Thinking: thinks conceptually, imaginatively and systematically about success |
| Business planning: creates and communicates a compelling vision with goals and strategies and turns them into operational plan(s) aligned to BFC Ends. Uses data to establish targets and demonstrate accomplishment |
| Collaboration/Open-mindedness: works in cooperative, team-oriented way with groups. Shows openness to hearing multiple voices and participating in democratic processes. Listens to new ideas and alternatives, and explores positions to reach outcomes that gain acceptance of all parties. |
| Courage: shows capacity to make unpopular decisions when needed, and to have difficult discussions with stakeholders |
| Developing Talent: Develops staff to increase their capabilities, co-op performance, and engagement |
| Discretion: accurately assesses when to share information and when to keep information private; doesn’t gossip |
| Inter-cultural competency: champions diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout and on behalf of the organization |
| Professional communication: communicates effectively with multiple audiences using different formats and styles. Able to message for multiple stakeholders. Proactive and strategic about managing the Co-op’s story for Board, staff, and members |
| Respectful: demonstrates respect for others, even when a conflicting opinion is held |
| Retail grocery experience: shows familiarity with how stores operate to meet goals, knows key metrics. |
| Self-motivated: does not require constant oversight, proactively identifies opportunities and challenges |
Why work for us?
We are 50 years strong in this community
We give back to organizations with shared values
We offer great benefits and competitive compensation
We are continually innovating and investing in the future
We offer opportunities for personal and professional growth
If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please email your cover letter and resume to [email protected].
At the Brattleboro Food Co-op, we do not just accept difference — we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our producers, and our community. The Brattleboro Food Co-op is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer.
