Assistant Manager Fresh Foods at Gila River Development – Sacaton, Arizona

Summary:

The Fresh Foods Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing Produce, Deli, Hot Foods, Bakery, and Catering operations at Sacaton Market. This position ensures fresh, high-quality food offerings that reflect community values, support local needs, and create a welcoming gathering place within the Market. This role blends operational leadership with hospitality and food quality. The Fresh Foods Manager drives sales and profitability while maintaining strong food safety standards, ensuring inspection readiness, developing team members, and creating a food experience that feels inviting, consistent, and community-centered.

Responsibilities:

Store Leadership & Daily Operations:

• Oversee all daily operations and ordering for Produce, Deli, Hot Foods, Bakery and Catering production items and services.

• Ensure departments are fully staffed, organized, and customer-ready each day.

• Monitor sales, labor, shrink, spoilage and production levels to meet financial and operational goals.

• Develop production and ordering plans aligned with demand, seasonality, promotions and community preferences.

• Maintain high standards of cleanliness, safety, and organization across all fresh food areas, prep rooms, storage and displays.

• Ensure equipment is operational and coordinate maintenance or repairs to minimize downtime.

• Assist leadership in reinforcing daily expectations, store policies, SOPs and performance standards to help keep employees focused and aligned with overall store goals.

Community-Centered Food Experience:

• Ensure fresh foods reflect quality, consistency, and cultural relevance.

• Introduce seasonal, special event, or community-inspired offerings.

• Support catering programs and special orders as applicable.

• Engage with customers to gather feedback and better understand preferences.

• Create a welcoming environment where customers feel valued and connected.

• Support store initiatives that promote wellness, accessibility, and local engagement.

Team Development & Culture:

• Recruit, hire, train, and develop supervisors and team members.

• Build schedules that support business needs while promoting team balance and accountability.

• Provide coaching, mentoring, and performance guidance.

• Foster a respectful, inclusive, and service-driven team culture.

• Ensure all staff maintain required certifications and training standards.

• Lead by example with professionalism, integrity, and collaboration.

Food Quality, Safety & Inspections:

• Serve as the primary point of accountability for health inspections and food safety compliance across all fresh food departments.

• Ensure compliance with all health, sanitation, and food safety regulations.

• Maintain proper food handling, temperature logs, labeling, rotation practices, and storage procedures.

• Oversee quality control for preparation, baking, cooking, packaging, merchandising, and display.

• Implement corrective actions and follow-up plans related to inspections, audits, or internal reviews.

• Reduce waste through effective inventory planning and production management, and spoilage control.

Financial Stewardship & Inventory Management:

• Manage purchasing, ordering, and vendor relationships for fresh food products, produce and supplies.

• Ensure vendors meet quality, food safety, delivery, and service standards.

• Maintain appropriate inventory levels to balance product availability and cost control.

• Conduct inventory counts and lead shrink and spoilage reduction strategies.

• Analyze sales, margin, and performance trends to guide production planning and pricing strategies.

• Drive department profitability while maintaining quality and service standards.

Merchandising, Pricing & Growth:

• Maintain attractive, well-stocked, and compliant displays that encourage impulse purchases and meal solutions.

• Ensure planogram execution, product rotation, freshness standards, and visual merchandising across fresh departments.

• Collaborate with other departments and Corporate staff to support cross-promotions, meal solutions and pricing.

• Support promotional planning, feature execution, and new product rollouts.

• Ensure accurate pricing, signage, and labeling throughout all fresh areas.

Supervisor Responsibility:

Oversees the supervision of personnel, which includes hiring, work allocation, training, problem resolution; evaluates performance and makes recommendations for personnel actions; motivates employees to achieve peak productivity and performance; provides guidance and feedback for assigned staff.

Other Duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Working Conditions:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Work will primarily be performed in a retail store environment.

• Work will be performed both inside and outside on a regular basis, in most weather conditions.

• Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

• Evening, weekend, and holiday shifts are required as a normal part of this position.

• Occasional local day travel, local travel to managed businesses, trainings or corporate office.

Physical Demands:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, and walk extended period. The employee occasionally is required to bend, climb, stoop, lift, carry, push, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 75 pounds.

Required Qualifications:

• High School diploma or GED.

• Three (3) years of experience in grocery, food service, deli, bakery, or related food operations.

• Two (2) years of supervisory or management experience.

• Food Safety Certification (e.g., ServSafe) or obtained within 30 days of hire.

• CPR and First Aid Certification within 90 days of hire.

• Valid AZ driver’s license, provide a 39-month satisfactory MVR report.

• Obtain a Tribal operator driving permit at the time of hire.

• A satisfactory result obtained through a test for illegal drugs.

• Acknowledge and agree to maintain a drug-free workplace.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in business, Hospitality, or related field.

• Experience managing food production and fresh merchandising standards.

• Experience managing multiple fresh food departments.

• Strong financial acumen with ability to interpret sales and margin reports.

• Knowledge of culturally relevant food offerings and community engagement.

• Knowledge and experience working with Gila River Indian Community or other Native American Communities.

• Proficient in POS systems and MS office and other relevant workplace tools.