Grocery Buyer

The Grocery Buyer is responsible for ordering groceries, handling special orders, ensuring grocery shelves are well-stocked and maintained while providing excellent customer service. The Grocery buyer also assists with receiving, works with vendors, and manages the grocery inventory. Qualifications include knowledge of the Co-op grocery department including experience with ordering and inventory management. Previous experience working in a fast-paced retail environment, including a familiarity with trends in natural foods preferred. A successful candidate will be a self-directed, organized team player with impeccable attention to detail.

We encourage you to consider a job at the Moscow Food Co-op. We are a community-oriented workplace, offering a positive work environment, living wages, and great benefits. In a recent employee opinion survey, Moscow Food Co-op employees overwhelmingly rate the Co-op as a good place to work and say that they are proud to work for the Co-op.

All employees receive a 20% store discount, earn Paid Time Off (PTO, and participate in the Co-ops 401k plan.

Benefits for our full time employees include: Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance; Short-term Disability; Accidental and Hospital Insurance; Telemedicine and Telemed Mental Health.

Benefits for our part time employees that work more than 20 hours per week include: Dental Insurance; Short-term Disability; Accidental and Hospital Insurance; Telemedicine and Telemed Mental Health.

Job Description

Replenishment Purchasing and Inventory Control

• Place orders to ensure minimize Out-of-Stocks, ensure adequate supply for specials, and avoid unnecessary back stock.
• Regulate auto-reorder terms for grocery items.
• Work with Merchandising Coordinator to maintain an appropriate product mix that maximizes inventory turns.
  • Cull slow-moving items and suggest new product introductions as needed.
  • Evaluate vendors and investigate new sources of supply.
• Work with scan coordinator, buyers, and Grocery Manager to execute store pricing strategy, ensuring the accuracy of pricing information displayed at retail.
  • Calculate prices to meet margin and price image goals.
  • Conduct price comparison shops as directed.
• Maintain an accurate inventory count in POS system.
  • Perform weekly counts of OOS and low-inventory items.
  • Participate in store-wide inventory counts.
  • Schedule and perform cycle counts as directed.
  • Enter and commit invoices and inventory adjustment worksheets in POS when necessary.

Merchandising:

• Work with merchandising and grocery staff to plan and maintain attractive, fully stocked, shelves, bins, freezers, and coolers as necessary.
• Make suggestions for merchandising improvements and regularly participate in resets.
• Assist with designing and setting grocery end caps as needed.
• Participate in planning promotions, new item introductions, and cross-merchandising efforts.
• Provide product information to customers, staff and newsletter. Stay abreast of developments in natural products industry through reading trade publications and talking with brokers.
• Ensure shelf tags are in place and accurate.

Department Operations

• Keep shelves looking clean, full, fresh, and abundant. Ensure shelves are properly faced and fronted.
• Ensure grocery department goods are well-organized. This includes maintaining an accurate inventory count in POS system as well as proper location of products.
  • Participate in inventory counts.
  • Schedule and perform cycle counts as directed.
  • Enter and commit invoices to inventory when necessary.
• Ensure that unsellable items are returned or otherwise properly disposed of, following established procedures. Keep accurate shrinkage records.
• Obtain credit from small vendors where not handled by Receiver.
• Ensure that department areas (aisles, shelves, bins, and storage areas) are in clean, orderly condition, meeting health department standards.
• Maintain department equipment, grocery displays, coolers, aisles and storage areas in a clean, orderly, and working condition meeting health department standards.
• Assist with freight and stocking as directed.

Co-op Performance Standards

Customer Service

• Demonstrate excellent customer skills, both internally and externally; Follow the 10-4 service rule
• Make yourself available to customers; greet each customer promptly with a smile.
• Handle customer complaints and questions courteously.
• Coordinate with all supervisors and leads to address customer concerns, questions or thoughts. i.e., refunds, oops coupons, angry customers, broken machinery etc.
• Help customers place special orders.
• Accurately and completely record special orders and ensure the forms are delivered for processing.
• Offer tastes, samples, suggestions for purchase and ways to prepare baked goods.

Communication

• Communicate directly and professionally, following the Moscow Food Co-op Coworker Conduct Commitment.
• Stay up to date on information in department log books.
• Answer and route phone calls according to Moscow Food Co-op procedures.
• Keep a working phone and personal email address for necessary communication from the Co-op.
• Report customer suggestions, comments, and complaints to Mod and Department Manager.

Other Duties

• Work cooperatively with others in the department and throughout store
• Maintain excellent attendance and punctuality.
• Take breaks according to department and store policy.
• Requests time-off according to department and store policy, arranges subs for scheduled shifts and subs when needed.
• Follows the direction of the Manager on Duty (MOD).
• Carry out established opening and closing procedures.
• Complete Co-op-wide trainings as required.
• Attend all inventories, dept. meetings, and all-staff meetings.
• Participate in department and store-wide initiatives such as Open Book Management, and others as they occur.
• Maintain accurate use of the time system, substitute for other staff as needed.
• Ensure a safe working environment for all staff and customers.
• Assist with training new staff when appropriate

Requirements

Required

• Commitment to the mission and goals of the Moscow Food Co-op.
• One year experience working in a fast-paced retail environment; experience in buying and merchandising responsibilities in a grocery store setting preferred.
• Familiarity with trends in the natural food industry and grocery stores.
• Motivated, energetic, outgoing, self-directed, positive, adaptable team player.
• Reliable, dependable, organized and able to handle multiple demands.
• Excellent communication and problem solving skills.
• Basic math and computer skills.
• Regular, predictable attendance; Flexible schedule; willing to work early mornings, evenings and weekends.
• Experience with reading financial statements, margin and pricing strategy.
• Demonstrated ability to give high levels of customer service.
• Willingness and ability to meet the changing requirements of the job.

Physical Requirements

• Remain in a stationary standing or sitting position for long periods of time.
• Must be able to move about the store and surrounding co-op properties.
• Lift and/or move up to 50 pounds; Push/pull hand cart, racks up to 200 pounds.
• Frequent kneeling, stooping, squatting, bending, reaching (overhead/front/side/back).
• Ability to tolerate varying temperatures.
• Ability to stand for long periods and to work in close quarters with other people.
• Visual acuity to perform activities such as preparing and analyzing data and figures; viewing a computer terminal; frequent reading of financial reports, spreadsheets, contracts, invoices, and other detailed documents.

The job duties, responsibilities, skills, and the requirements and conditions listed in this job description are representative only and not exhaustive of the tasks that an employee may be required to perform. The employer reserves the right to revise this job description at any time and require employees to perform other tasks as circumstances or conditions of its business, competitive considerations or the work environment change.