Retail Manager

Job Title: Retail Manager - Fillmore St. and Powell St. 
Hours: Full Time (40 hrs/week), weekends and evenings
Report: Future Director of Retail, current COO
Wage: Salary, exempt, starts at $80k/year
Location: Fillmore Street and Powell Street stores

 

About Us

Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. We make chocolate from only two ingredients, cocoa beans and cane sugar, and travel to origins as often as we can to build good, trusting relationships with the producers who grow and ferment our beans. Today, we’re seeking a Retail Manager to create world-class, high-touch chocolate experiences at our Fillmore Street and Powell Street locations while also upholding our mission to be a sustainable, ethical business.

 

About the Role

Our stores are bustling with all kinds of guests eager to learn about our chocolate making process, taste chocolate, or pick out a special gift. While there is no typical day at our shop, your day might start with a meeting with the Creative team to make a plan for getting our space ready for the holidays -- retail signs, chalkboard art, and merchandising will all need to be looking their best before we welcome the onslaught of guests for the holidays. Last night, one of your retail associates texted you last night that they weren’t feeling well, so you are also covering your team’s lunch breaks. After stepping off the floor to check emails, working with the Facilities Manager to schedule an electrician to fix the under shelf lighting, and placing the supply order for the week, you have some 1:1s with your team members and then respond to all Yelp and Google reviews before meeting with the Retail Manager team to come up with a staffing plan for the holiday season.

 

Outside of the day-to-day tasks, you have a clear vision for how the shop can continue to improve, broken into concrete quarterly milestones such as later hours, team greeters, better systems for tracking goods and inventory, and more community events. Even with ambitious plans and shifting priorities, you always make time to prioritize your team and guest service -- when a regular who you haven’t seen in awhile shows up, you take the time to ask about their grandchildren and get them their favorite chocolate bar.  

 

About You

There are many different types of people who could succeed in this role -- whether you’re a been-there-done-that entrepreneurial restaurant manager who craves an artisan experience or a kitchen manager who has worked in a fast-paced, high-volume environment who wants a more intimate, guest-facing role. Regardless, you should have the operational chops and leadership experience to know that no plan ever goes perfectly -- machines break, tour groups show up without notice, and team members have unexpected life complications. Our ideal candidate has experience running a high-touch, guest forward cafe or retail environment -- be it a restaurant, high volume cafe, or a high level of service operation. We are looking for someone to own this position and build out the teams, systems, and processes to ensure that our shops always run smoothly.

 

Success looks like:

• Vision: Working closely with the COO, develop a vision for what an exquisite chocolate shop experience should be while also keeping an eye on profitability and overseeing a healthy, cohesive team. Maintain an open and clear communication line to ensure cohesion and alignment towards the organization’s goals. Be the single point-person responsible for the day-to-day success and long-term growth of the operation.
• Department relationships: Work across the organization to build long-lasting systems with Fulfillment, Product, Creative, and other Cafe and Retail teams that will ensure that products and merchandise are stocked and displayed at their best. 
• Track Financial Objectives: Work with the Finance team to outline actionable goals for the company’s overall profitability including maintaining weekly reports that track costs for goods and labor.
• Guest Experience: Ensure that the shops are kept to a high standard of cleanliness and organization that reflects the Dandelion Chocolate brand. This includes clean bathrooms, organized stock rooms, and stocked shelves while still making sure the team has time to proactively greet and attend to guests. Partner with Facilities and Creative to ensure stores are well-maintained and exquisitely merchandised. 
• Service: Reinforce and improve our hospitality and retail service standards. Ensure that guests feel welcome and part of the story of craft chocolate and Dandelion’s place in the industry, constantly striving to raise the bar for guest service.
• Team Member Education: Ensure that your team is trained appropriately so they can deliver high-touch guest care, quickly and accurately answer any guest questions ranging from the bean-to-bar sourcing to allergen concerns to tricky guest issues. 
• Team Management: Work with and oversee the retail teams to ensure smooth guest interactions, a safe work environment, completion of day-to-day tasks, and long tenures within your staff. Actively recruit, train, and develop all team members with an eye towards their long-term success so that Dandelion Chocolate remains one of the best small businesses to work for in San Francisco.
• Eye for Detail: From an askew bar display to smudged chalkboard art, you are always aware of the guest experience and can develop systems to ensure that the stores always look their best. 
• Other tasks as necessary 

 

Requirements

• Previous Experience: Already know best practices from 3+ years previous experience in a food establishment such as a restaurant, high-volume café, or intimate retail shop with the systems and process know-how to prioritize elevated guest service.
• Tech Skills: Proficiency with spreadsheets and profitability reports. Can read and modify financial models to inform day-to-day decision making such as what products should be displayed and staffing hours.
• Availability: While this is a full-time role and we prioritize work-life balance, we’re looking for someone who can adjust their schedule to fit the needs of the team, including working evenings and weekends.
• Guest Relations: Able to turn around the most sensitive or disagreeable guest, even when the cafe is at its busiest. Can respond to customers with a friendly, approachable demeanor on our social media accounts such as Yelp and Google Reviews.
• Plus: A passion for chocolate or experience in the cacao-world is a huge plus though not required!

 

Benefits

Dandelion Chocolate constantly invests in our people and culture. All team members receive medical, vision, and dental benefits as well as the option to enroll in our 401k program. All team members receive paid vacation time, holiday pay, and paid sick time. In addition, team members enjoy commuter benefits, FSAs, local gym discounts, chocolate tasting opportunities, the chance to travel to origin and our Japan locations, and a range of opportunities to grow and develop within the company.

 

How to Apply

Please submit a copy of your resume and cover letter. You’ll stand out from the crowd if you include one or two sentences about your favorite technique for engaging guests. We do our best to respond to all serious candidates within 7-14 days. We look forward to hearing from you!