General Manager, Food Distribution Center

The Common Market•Bedford Park, IL

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Common Market is a nonprofit social enterprise that connects family farmers with institutional customers to build a more resilient and equitable food system. The General Manager leads daily operations at its Great Lakes food distribution center in Bedford Park, Illinois, overseeing warehouse, fleet, food safety, and frontline teams. This hands-on role is accountable for service, safety, staffing, costs, and continuous improvement across inbound receiving, inventory control, order fulfillment, and delivery. The General Manager makes day-to-day decisions independently, develops staff, and ensures warehouse and transportation operations can support growth. The role works with the Executive Director, Sales, Customer Support, the VP of Operations, and designated food safety personnel. It requires leading multiple functions in a lean, fast-paced facility, with a focus on safe handling of fresh and perishable products, reliable customer service, operational performance, and site-level financial results. The position is full-time and onsite at the Great Lakes distribution facility, 7424 S Lockwood Ave, Bedford Park, IL 60638. The stated salary is $100,000 annually.

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 that 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 five-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 that directly affect 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.
Work with the Executive Director, Sales, Customer Support, and VP of Operations to support daily operations and growth.