Neighborhood Co-op Grocery seeks a new leader as our beloved General Manager of 28 years retires. Founded in 1985, our store serves 3000 active owners and provides over 45 jobs, with sales of over $6 million a year. The General Manager reports to a nine-person Board of Directors that is elected by the cooperative’s owners.

 

Carbondale, Illinois is a vibrant college town nestled amid the natural beauty of southern Illinois, where small-town warmth meets the energy of a university community. Surrounded by the scenic Shawnee National Forest, it offers easy access to outdoor adventures like hiking, fishing and rock climbing. For more relaxed recreation, the region has a thriving music scene and award-winning wineries and breweries. Its welcoming spirit, creative pulse, and affordable cost of living make Carbondale a uniquely livable and inspiring place. Southern Illinois is also home to a wide variety of food producers and Neighborhood Co-op is an integral partner in the local food network.

 

How to apply

Please submit a cover letter and resume to gmhiring@neighborhood.coop. In your cover letter, let us know what attracts you to leading a cooperative business.

 

Job Summary

The General Manager’s purpose is to lead our cooperative so that it achieves the mission and the ends policies determined by our board of directors:

Mission: We aim to serve the needs of our owners and patrons by providing wholesome food--economically in the cooperative tradition, in ways that best promote the health of the individual, the community, and the earth.

Ends Policies: Because of Neighborhood Co-op, the people of Southern Illinois and surrounding areas will have:

• A more engaged, vibrant community focused on local sustainability

• Access to meaningful products and services

• A model of a cooperatively-owned and profitable business

• An increased understanding of food systems

 

The general manager reports to the board of directors. The board uses Policy Governance, a system that emphasizes vision and promotes empowerment and accountability. The job of the general manager is to ensure achievement of organizational results as defined in ends policies and to avoid unacceptable conditions as defined in executive limitation policies. The general manager has the authority to use any reasonable interpretation of these policies, and has the authority to hire, direct, and evaluate all other staff.

The general manager’s performance will be evaluated through systematic and rigorous monitoring of performance in areas such as asset protection, financial conditions, business planning and budgeting, staff treatment and compensation, treatment of shoppers, and ownership equity and benefits, as detailed in the relevant policies.

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A full set of the board’s policies is available upon request.

 

Qualifications

The board of directors is looking for the following competencies, skills, experience and attributes:

• Track record of success: Prior work experience indicates a high level of success in previous endeavors.

• Retail grocery experience: Familiar with how stores operate to meet goals, understands key metrics. Knows enough about administrative departments to effectively manage them.

• Financial management: Knows meaning of financial variables, how to find them, and how to place them in business context. Creates and uses meaningful business and financial reports. Creates, and manages to, operating, capital, and cash budgets. Knows how to adjust key operational variables to respond to negative trends.

• Managing people: Makes good hiring decisions. Inspires people to do their best through performance feedback, recognition, timely coaching and guidance, and appropriate delegation of work.

• Embracing cooperative values and structure: Expresses values aligned with co-op values. Articulates what makes co-ops unique, understands the importance of transparency throughout the organization. Thrives in a cooperative environment.

• Commitment to social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion

• Building and leading teams: Effectively facilitates the formation of teams by creating a climate of trust, encouraging information sharing, active collaboration, and teamwork.

• Strategic thinking: Thinks conceptually, imaginatively and systematically about the success of the co-op while taking into account the big picture and the long term.

• Developing talent: Develops staff to increase their capabilities, contribution, and engagement.

• Accountability for self and others: Willing to be held accountable. Listens to feedback without defensiveness. Takes ownership and accepts responsibility for actions, decisions and impacts. Willing and able to hold people accountable for performance.

• Adaptability: Resilient and keeps moving forward in the face of challenges or new information. Manages stress effectively.

• Professional Communication: Communicates effectively with different audiences, matching styles and formats to the audience.

• Respectful, self-aware and transparent.

 

Compensation

Salary $80,000 to $100,000, plus health, dental, vision and life insurance, Paid Time Off, 401(k) match, staff discount. Relocation package available.

 

To learn more about our store, our culture and our employee benefits: https://www.neighborhood.coop/jobs