Bakery Manager

The Bakery Department Manager oversees all day-to-day operations within the Bakery Department. This leadership role is responsible for driving sales, managing product margins, controlling labor budgets, enforcing pricing integrity, and maintaining top-tier merchandising and sanitation standards. The Manager leads, trains, and motivates department personnel to ensure flawless execution in fresh baking, ordering, product rotation, inventory control, and customer service excellence.

• Daily Baking Operations:
  Oversee daily baking schedules, ensuring rolls, paczki, and sweet yeast rolls are freshly baked, packaged, and displayed in sales cases prior to 8:00 AM daily.
• Opening & Closing Procedures:
  Manage morning bread cutting and packaging for inter-store transportation, as well as evening prep, including preparing breadcrumbs, cart setup for morning baking, and display case shutdown.
• Equipment Maintenance & Sanitation:
  Ensure proper operation, cleaning, and maintenance of all department equipment, including commercial ovens, proofers, mixers, bread slicers, and service display cases.
• Logs & Quality Control:
  Enforce strict daily waste logging, temperature tracking, and sanitation standards across all baking, storage, and service areas.
• Supplier Negotiations & Purchasing:
  In coordination with store leadership, negotiate with suppliers for favorable pricing, quality, and delivery terms.
• Inventory & Rotation:
  Maintain optimal inventory levels to eliminate out-of-stock items while preventing overstocking. Enforce strict First-In, First-Out (FIFO) product rotation across backroom storage coolers and customer displays.
• Stock Counts & Audits:
  Conduct periodic physical inventory counts using the SMS LOC / PDA backstore count system and manage zero-out inventory audits.
• Invoice Audits & Credits:
  Review vendor delivery invoices for accuracy, process credits for damaged or expired goods, and coordinate price scanning and labeling with the Pricing Manager.
• Customer Commitment:
  Lead by example in delivering prompt, polite, and attentive service ('Customer is always a priority').
• Immediate Service Rule:
  Enforce the policy requiring clerks to immediately pause side work or restocking tasks to serve customers at the counter.
• Quality Standard:
  Strictly enforce the store quality directive: 'Don't sell bad quality products to customers — don't sell anything you wouldn't eat or give your family members to eat'.
• Labor Scheduling:
  Create weekly employee schedules structured around established labor budgets and arrange coverage for vacant shifts.
• Onboarding & Training:
  Hire, orient, and train qualified department staff, completing new-hire training checklists.
• Performance Management:
  Provide ongoing coaching, conduct performance evaluations, and implement corrective counseling or progressive discipline in accordance with company policy.
• Team Communication:
  Conduct regular department staff meetings to communicate operational goals, safety protocols, and promotional initiatives.
• Display & Merchandising:
  Plan attractive bakery displays, seasonal feature tables, and cross-merchandising initiatives with other department managers.
• Promotional Coordination:
  Partner with the Marketing Director and Promotion Manager to structure product selections for printed weekly circular ads and digital KD Club loyalty program offers.
• Dashboard Analysis:
  Continuously review Department Dashboard metrics to monitor sales velocity, labor percentage, gross margins, and shrinkage, adjusting department operations to meet financial targets.

• Proven experience in retail grocery or commercial bakery management, including budgeting, cost control, margin management, ordering, pricing, and inventory…