Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., started in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, USA, founded by childhood friends and dedicated activists Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. In 2000 Ben & Jerry’s became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever while maintaining an independent Board of Directors to provide leadership focused on preserving and expanding Ben & Jerry’s social mission, brand integrity, and product quality. Nowadays our products are distributed in 35 countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops and other venues.
At Ben & Jerry’s we have an inspiring ambition. We aim to pioneer our ‘linked prosperity business model’ to advance the global movement for social and economic justice while growing our sales to one billion € by 2020. This translates into a high-paced growth environment where we bring our grassroots and activist spirit every day. That is how we remain a true values-led organization with a connected 3-part mission, which you will find reflected in your goals and aspirations:
Social mission: to initiate innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally
Product mission: to make and distribute the finest quality all natural and super premium ice-cream and euphoric concoctions
Economic mission: to operate the Company on a sustainable financial basis of profitable growth
Background & Purpose of the Job
The role of the Gift Shop Experience Hospitality Manager is to lead efficient retail and gift shop operations, while showcasing excellent customer service and living the Ben & Jerry’s 3-part mission daily. Their goal is to drive consumer loyalty and staff satisfaction by managing a fun, safe, clean, and high energy environment. The Gift Shop Manager will also support and participate in all other areas of the Hospitality business, including the scoop and tour operations, to provide a seamless overall experience for our guests at the Waterbury Factory. The Gift Shop Experience Hospitality Manager will report to the Hospitality Experience Operations Manager.
Who You Are & What You’ll Do
Essential Functions & Responsibilities:
Supervise and provide direction/communications to the Shop staff, ranging from 20 to 50 employees, with a strong emphasis on ensuring that the appropriate staff is available to service our fluctuating business needs including the additional summer staffing needs
Organize the hiring and orientation of staff. Provide support in preparation for weekly payroll. Conduct in-store training and, with an added emphasis on ergonomics and safety for all work functions
Lead effective operations and communications for the entire department, including store & staff appearance, proper cash handling procedures, customer service, cleanliness, compliance with all safety and operating standards, merchandising and production of waffle cones, novelties, and baked goods
Ensure that all opening and closing procedures are followed and executed
Accountable for all daily and weekly financial reporting requirements including daily sales and deposit reports, daily inventory logs, purchasing, paid out, vault balance, and monthly transfer logs as well as end of month inventory count and financial month closing process
Oversee shop inventory, tracking store sales and inventory levels to ensure proper stock levels. Report financial progress of the store and generation of monthly profit/loss statements
Accountable for maintaining the accuracy of daily cashing in and out of all registers and cashiers, sales to cash reconciliation, and daily sales summary reports for their shift
Update and maintain shop marketing plan with an emphasis on marketing the store in the local community through innovative donations, catering, off premise opportunities, and special event programs
Manage the inventory ordering process which includes ordering, receiving, storage, and logging of all inventory items. Maintain and track all invoices for reporting needs.
Assist in the coordination and staffing of special events
Participate in store planning and development meetings with the General Manager, Store Managers, and attending other company meetings and activities to keep informed about the objectives of the Brand.
Work on special projects as assigned by the Retail Operations team. These may include but are not limited to spreadsheet tracking, presentations at staff meetings and staff memos.
Participate in first aid and emergency response for Hospitality operations, with the ability to serve as the onsite manager for all emergency situations. Actively support company safety goals by ensuring consistent safe work behaviors.
What You’ll Need To Succeed
6+ years’ experience supervising staff in a retail or food service environment
Experience in high volume, fast paced retail environment
Strong accounting/finance skills
Excellent communication, interpersonal and customer service skills
Strong organization, follow-through, and time management skills
Efficient initiative and a detailed focus on the “big picture”
Strong project management skills and problem-solving ability
Experience in handle customer complaints and providing recovery
Ability to handle stressful situations calmly and quickly
Highly professional, patient, energetic, team-oriented individual with a positive “can –do” attitude and a strong commitment to outstanding customer service
Self-motivated, autonomous, proactive, and responsive disposition to anticipate and fulfill customer and staff needs
Additional Information
Physical aspects of the job include: oversize merchandise handling, bulk containers of ice cream, supply orders, general cleaning and maintenance and standing for long periods of time
Flexible work hours including nights, weekends, and holidays
Over the past year, we have dedicated ourselves in new ways to understanding and developing strategies for the deep work necessary to uproot the systemic racism underpinning our racial inequity. Ben & Jerry’s is committed to becoming a truly antiracist company by eliminating racial disparities within the company and to disproportionately create Black wealth through our business relationships.
We are actively working to achieve equity in our workforce, franchise network and supplier base through a wide range of ongoing and evolving strategies that eliminate barriers, increase access to opportunity, and make real changes in our business practices and culture. This work will be supported by goals and internal metrics to maintain and report on our progress.
We have chosen to center on racial equity out of an understanding that the culture of white supremacy must be dismantled to achieve equity for all marginalized people. We have focused our strategies on outcomes for Black people because slavery and its legacy remain such a defining element of American life. We believe this targeted work will help us achieve our broader commitment to universal social equity.
The initial phase of this work focuses on our home market of the U.S., where the majority of our employees and business is located. As we learn and build our capacity for this work, we will expand it to our global markets where systemic racism in other forms, with roots in colonialism, persists.