The Meat Manager, who directly reports to the Assistant Store Manager - Merchandising, successfully supervises the operations of the Meat Department staff in a customer focused, safe, and efficient manner. The role is also responsible for assisting in the development of a goal oriented team accountable for meeting company standards.

Joining NWCI gives you the opportunity for growth and development throughout the company, an attractive and competitive salary and benefits package, and to be part of a dynamic and diverse culture.

NWCI is a leading retailer to under-served rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in the following regions: Northern Canada, Western Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific islands, and the Caribbean. Our stores offer a broad range of products and services with an emphasis on food. Our value offer is to be the best local shopping choice for everyday household and local lifestyle needs. Check out northwest.ca for more information.

Key Accountabilities:

• Ensure staff are following all safety procedures including using proper knife techniques, wearing company and local government regulated clothing and follow meat department equipment safety practices to provide a safe shopping/work experience for customers and employees
• Prepare list of merchandise to be brought from cold storage or freezer, by forklift driver, for department use
• Ensure that all staff are following department procedures regarding categorization, space allocation, merchandise placement, organization, merchandise rotation and signage
• Review plan-o-grams on a daily basis; ensure that meat department staff are following the plans to maximize sales
• Oversee proper rotation of merchandise by staff, ensuring that code dates are adhered to and that merchandise is rotated in a timely manner and to company requirements
• Perform, administer and review monthly yield test; submit results to Assistant Store Manager or Store Manager
• Monitor and review all meat packaged for sale to ensure it is in compliance with Company standards
• Ensure all staff understand and follow the Cost-U-Less Meat Manual procedures at all times

Provide superior customer service to each customer

• Greet and thank each customer for shopping at Cost-U-Less
• Ask each customer if they need assistance with finding anything; seek assistance from management when unable to answer customer inquiries on own
• Be prepared to assist customers with heavy and/or large purchases or cart
• Respond promptly to incoming calls to handle customer special orders and customer issues; provide solution to issue.

• Make certain that code dated items on the floor and in the back room are closely monitored and through proper rotation shrink is minimized and profits are maximized
• Protect customers and employees by ensuring that staff are using proper safety and sanitation methods for food handling per company and government standards
• Perform a weekly review of prices of department merchandise and prices listed in department for price accuracy; contact EDP Clerk regarding any updating needed
• Certify that the temperature of all refrigerated equipment is operating within the range that is required for that particular piece of refrigerated equipment
• Immediately upon discovery, report all dangerous and/or hazardous conditions or situations to direct manager, Manager on Duty (MOD) or Store Manager
• Make sure that all merchandise placed on the floor by staff is the correct quantity, that it’s quality is to company standards, and that any damaged and out of code merchandise is removed from the sales floor and dealt with per company procedures
• Continuously audit assigned area to ensure that all merchandise is accounted for and that any discrepancies are properly researched, documented and reported to management

• Along with other department team members, cut, wrap, stock and face meat department and meat case(s) throughout shift
• Prepare weekly sales forecast for purchasing projections for the Assistant Store Manager or Store Manager to ensure proper level of merchandise is ordered weekly
• With staff, perform monthly stock take
• Participate in monthly and semi-annual financial/physical inventory
• Review all department Log books to ensure compliance, accuracy, and timeliness; discuss any issues with team members and follow-up as necessary

• Properly train all new staff members on the job responsibilities of their position
• Assist in developing the employees, working with them on continuous improvement
• Provide insight on each employee during evaluation period regarding their performance, productivity, attendance, ability to work within the merchandise team, amount of direction needed, ability to follow directions, attitude and any other information that will assist in providing the employee with a complete review of their performance
• Monitor, analyze and report to direct manager payroll dollars spent, ensuring that the right amount of staff are used per shift without being over or under on any given shift
• On a weekly basis review department reports with Assistant Store Manager or Store Manager, providing insight and solutions on positives and negatives found; enact all solutions to resolve issues
• Provide employees with appropriate counseling both verbally and in writing
• Review safety training on an ongoing basis with staff
• Promptly report all customer incidents to the Manager on Duty

• Prior managerial experience is required
• Minimum 5 years of meat cutting experience is required
• Ability to cut beef, fish, poultry and pork a must
• USDA Standards knowledge is a plus
• High school diploma a plus
• Must have intermediate math and reading skills
• Intermediate knowledge and ability using MS Office 2007 and above
• Intermediate computer skills a plus
• Cooperate with other team members in a busy environment in a professional manner to accomplish the business goals
• Able to anticipate and accommodate customers concerns and needs; likes to help people
• Possess a passion to excel and provide excellent customer service
• Strong work ethic within a team environment
• Must be able to identify and resolve problems in a timely manner; gather and analyze information properly; develop alternative solutions and use reason even when dealing with emotional topics or situations
• Strong ability to communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and in writing
• Possess a strong attention to detail, maintaining a high level of efficiency and accuracy at all times
• Able to multi-task
• Must be organized and maintain high standards regarding safety and cleanliness for the customers and employees
• Must be able to adapt well to change