Organization: Weavers Way Cooperative Association
Organization location: Philadelphia, PA
Apply by: Tuesday, June 30, 2015
How to apply: Send your resume with a cover letter to the GM Search Committee at GMSearch@weaversway.coop. In your cover letter, please include a short statement explaining why you wish to lead Weavers Way and how your experience and qualities would make you a good staff leader. Include your salary requirements.

Overview of the Position

Weavers Way Food Cooperative seeks a General Manager. We operate four retail locations — two grocery stores, one health-and-wellness store and one health-and-wellness/pet-supply store. Weavers Way was founded in 1973. It is a member-owned business dedicated to the Cooperative Principles, offering healthy and local products, support for our local economy and engagement in our community. We have over $20 million in annual sales, 170 staff members and more than 5,000 member households.

We seek a General Manager with experience and vision who can work successfully with employees, members, our Board of Directors and a wide range of community stakeholders to promote Weavers Way’s success as an essential resource for healthy eating and living in the Philadelphia region. A successful candidate will be someone committed to Cooperative Principles, with significant experience in food retail management, preferably in a cooperative and/or natural food store.

In addition, experience in a highly competitive environment, a multi-store operation and opening a new store or other expansion projects will be prized. Supervisory experience is highly desirable along with the proven ability to build an effective management team. We are looking for someone who can articulate a compelling vision for our future and engage staff, Board and our community in that vision, and who has the experience, skills and patience to take the steps necessary to make that vision a reality. These skills will include strategic planning and budgeting, excellent oral and written communication abilities, the capacity to handle multiple demands, and the talent to motivate and lead others. Prior experience working with a Board or with Policy Governance is also a plus.

Weavers Way is a dynamic, growing co-op that is valued as a community hub and a leader in the local cooperative economy. We have a diversified portfolio that includes a 5-acre urban farm and a nonprofit arm, Weavers Way Community Programs, that conducts programming for children, youth and families.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package.

About the Area

Weavers Way is located in northwest Philadelphia. Our original store is in Mt. Airy, a community with a storied history of social activism beginning with the effort that resulted in its becoming one of the first neighborhoods in the United States to be successfully racially integrated. It continues today to be a neighborhood that welcomes diversity, openness and inclusiveness. Both Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill, the site of our second grocery store, are known for their beautiful tree-lined streets, varied and attractive housing options and proximity to Fairmount Park, the largest city park in the United States. Chestnut Hill boasts a beautiful, historic commercial district, and the Weavers Way store is central to it. Employees of Weavers Way live both in Philadelphia and the neighboring suburbs.

Resources

• Click here for a list of job duties and responsibilities (PDF).
• Click here for a list of job qualifications (PDF).
• Click here for information about how the General Manager works with the Board at Weavers Way.