Company description

National Co+op Grocers (NCG) is a business services cooperative for retail food co-ops located throughout the United States. We represent 165 food co-ops operating 241 stores in 39 states with combined annual sales over $2.8 billion and serving over 1.3 million consumer-owners. NCG provides the capacity of a chain while maintaining the autonomy of each individual co-op. We help unify retail food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere.

Job description

REMOTE • CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES
Meat Departments • Grocery Operations • Retail Consulting 

Are you passionate about meat & seafood and ready to lead high-impact projects that make a difference in community-owned grocery co-ops across the country? We're looking for a Retail Program Manager to help us elevate fresh departments through strategic initiatives, hands-on support, and powerful collaboration.

This position will lead and support meat and seafood department performance at member co-ops, offering expert guidance to improve sales, margin, and operations. Developing strong partnerships with our co-ops to diagnose challenges, implement solutions, and drive adoption of market-specific programming will be a key aspect of this role.

This is an ideal position for meat and seafood grocery experts interested in having a direct impact on the success of food co-ops, their suppliers, and their communities. Up to 75% business travel required. 

Our goal is to attract qualified candidates and encourage applications from all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any characteristic protected by applicable law.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide independent onsite operational department level written assessments identifying opportunities to improve sales, margin, labor, and overall department performance
• Support and coordinate with NCG staff to achieve the strategic business objectives established for NCG member co-ops. Identify, diagnose, and solve challenges or issues at member co-ops and promote a culture of safety and food safety and demonstrate good food safety practices. 
• Ensure the successful department-level planning, set-up, and opening of business expansion projects in coordination with NCG staff. 
• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to inform, develop, and implement the retail programming of store development projects. 
• Coordinate department-level planning, preparations, ordering, system implementation, and staff training as needed to achieve budget and performance expectations for store development projects. 
• Provide co-ops with the resources, services, tools, and information needed to successfully utilize NCG programming. 

Qualifications:

• Minimum of five years of experience providing multi-unit, self-service and full-service meat and seafood department management and strategy.
• Experience and familiarity with the operation and management of retail meat and seafood departments, category management, category adjacencies, equipment specifications and set-up, and design for a variety of store sizes and concepts.
• Extensive experience in profitable primal and sub-primal meat cutting and merchandising.
• A clear understanding of current USDA and FDA regulatory requirements for retail meat and seafood operations
• Hold an ANSI certified food protection manager certification or must be able to pass an ANSI accredited certified food protection manager exam upon hire.

National Co+op Grocers: For more information about our company, please visit www.ncg.coop/about-us. 

Benefits, benefits, benefits! We offer a generous salary and benefits package including 4 weeks PTO at hire, medical, dental, vision, HSA/FSA with company contribution, company-paid life and disability insurance, identity theft protection, comprehensive Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a matching 401(k) plan and many perks! The salary for this position is $109,073. To view NCG's 2025 Benefits Summary copy/paste bit.ly/NCG2025BenefitsSummary into an internet browser.

Home Office Option: This position is eligible for a home office in the contiguous U.S. if within 100 miles of a major airport and there is sufficient internet bandwidth and mobile phone service for work to be completed efficiently. 

Workstation Option: For individuals interested in working from an office, workstations are available in our St. Paul, Minnesota office. St. Paul is part of the major metropolitan area which along with Minneapolis is known as the Twin Cities. The area is known for its excellent parks, bike trails, and other outdoor activities; vibrant arts, culture, and dining scene; and cultural diversity. Our office is conveniently located between St. Paul and Minneapolis at 2610 University Ave W. There is free parking and the Green Line Light Rail stops at our building (Westgate Station).

Individuals with Disabilities: National Co+op Grocers wants all interested and qualified candidates to be able to use this career site to review and apply for employment opportunities. If you have a disability and need an accommodation to access this site, please contact us for assistance at (866) 709-2667 ext. 2992.

No recruiters or agencies please.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, more than 100k

Location

job can be done remotely

Application instructions

If you are not registered, you'll be prompted to do so. Don't worry, it's free!

Deadline

no deadline