General Manager, Food Distribution Center
About The Position
The General Manager leads the daily performance of The Common Market’s Philadelphia food distribution center, overseeing operations from inbound receiving and inventory control through order fulfillment and on-time delivery. This hands-on role is accountable for service, safety, staffing, costs, and continuous improvement, and makes day-to-day operational decisions independently while developing staff and supporting growth. The General Manager works with the Executive Director, Sales, Customer Support, and VP of Operations. The role leads warehouse and fleet functions, maintains safe handling and cold-chain practices, oversees food safety and quality processes, and manages site-level labor and operating budgets. The position is full-time and onsite at the Philadelphia distribution facility.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience.
- 7–12+ years in operations, logistics, or distribution, including 3–5+ years leading frontline or supervisory teams.
- Experience in a food-handling environment.
- Demonstrated experience with warehouse operations, inventory management, and order fulfillment.
- Experience overseeing delivery drivers, transportation operations, and fleet maintenance.
- Working knowledge of SQF, HACCP, FSMA, or comparable food safety systems, including audit or corrective-action processes.
- Experience managing operational budgets, analyzing costs, and making decisions that affect site-level financial performance.
- Ability to lead multiple functions in a lean operation; strong communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.
Nice To Haves
- Direct experience in food distribution, foodservice, fresh produce, refrigerated distribution, or comparable perishable-food operations.
- Experience with refrigerated trucking.
Responsibilities
- Lead receiving, storage, picking, packing, staging, and shipment of fresh and perishable products while maintaining safe handling and cold-chain practices.
- Maintain inventory accuracy, product rotation, traceability, and controls to limit shrink, spoilage, and waste.
- Manage warehouse staffing, equipment, workflow, order accuracy, productivity, and service-level performance.
- Oversee procurement coordination, inventory availability, and product flow, partnering with Sales and Customer Support to meet customer commitments.
- Direct route execution, driver scheduling, safe loading, dispatch, and on-time delivery.
- Oversee the nine-truck fleet, including preventive maintenance, vehicle inspections, repairs, and operational readiness.
- Supervise drivers and oversee applicable DOT compliance, vehicle safety, route efficiency, and transportation costs.
- Oversee site-level implementation of the SQF food safety program, including audit readiness, corrective actions, documentation, and staff compliance, in coordination with designated food safety personnel.
- Maintain compliance with applicable HACCP, FSMA, sanitation, temperature-control, and customer requirements.
- Lead hiring, onboarding, scheduling, coaching, and performance management for warehouse and driver teams.
- Develop and manage site-level labor and operating budgets; analyze costs and make decisions affecting site-level financial performance.
- Track operational KPIs, including productivity, order accuracy, safety, on-time delivery, labor efficiency, and product waste.
- Resolve operational problems proactively and implement practical process improvements.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision benefits
- SIMPLE IRA with 100% employer match
- Employer-paid life insurance, AD&D, short- and long-term disability
- Paid vacation, sick time, and public holidays
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
