Prepared Foods Kitchen Shift Leader Full-time 35 - Northampton

River Valley Co-op is a community-focused cooperative grocery store dedicated to creating a just marketplace that nourishes the community. Founded on cooperative values and inspired by the larger cooperative movement, this company works collaboratively toward a sustainable and equitable future. The co-op is deeply committed to social justice initiatives, including the development of anti-racism and multicultural skills throughout its organization. As a cooperatively owned business, River Valley Co-op prioritizes partnerships with local food producers, vendors, service providers, community organizations, employees, and customers. These collaborations aim to meet the community's food needs while supporting mutual aspirations in a sustainable manner. The store focuses on providing fresh, local, organically grown, and natural foods, which helps build community resilience and contributes to the growth of the local economy. Operating with honesty, kindness, and respect, the team strives to maintain a positive work environment characterized by hard work and having fun.

The Prepared Foods Kitchen Shift Leader plays a critical role within River Valley Co-op’s Prepared Foods department. Reporting directly to the Prepared Foods Manager, this position involves supervising the daily shift operations of a full-service deli kitchen. The role requires someone with open availability, including evenings and weekends, as it supports the efficient operation of the deli. This non-exempt Level IV position carries significant responsibility for assisting the Prepared Foods Kitchen Manager in overseeing kitchen activities, meeting sales, margin, labor expense targets, and ensuring outstanding customer service. The kitchen shift leader also provides support for broader department supervision, including counter and cheese sub-departments, especially in the absence of other leaders.

Key responsibilities include preparing and cooking deli items to specification, researching and developing recipes, and ensuring accurate product labeling and date tracking to maintain freshness and quality. The role involves overseeing purchase inventories, placing orders, and managing supply receipts and invoices, ensuring continuous ingredient availability. Operational duties focus on maintaining kitchen safety, cleanliness, and adherence to food safety protocols as set by health authorities. The shift leader plays a central role in menu creation for seasonal, special, and holiday products, equipment monitoring, temperature checks, and compliance with opening and closing procedures.

As a supervisor and leader, the kitchen shift leader organizes prep lists, delegates tasks, participates in hiring, training, and reviews, and actively supports a positive, productive, and customer-service-oriented work culture. Acting as a conflict resolution point and ensuring cross-training among sub-departments, this role ensures smooth communications across teams and maintains service standards. The shift leader may also fill staffing gaps, manage special orders and catering requests, and uphold high standards for product signage, including allergen and dietary notes. This multifaceted position fosters teamwork, empowers staff skill development, and represents the deli kitchen during shifts to both employees and customers. Overall, this role is vital to sustaining River Valley Co-op’s mission of fostering community wellbeing and food justice through exceptional food service and operational excellence at the deli.