General Manager of Retail Experience

Meet Us: King Arthur Baking Company is an award-winning, audience-leading baking company with a strategic vision to be the resource for baking education and inspiration. Through traditional and new media, in-person and virtual education, we strive to be a leader in helping novice and expert bakers alike. We're not going anywhere - we've been part of the family since 1790. We work to build stronger communities and increase access and the connection to real foods. We take pride in our responsible sourcing and our "never bleached" guarantee. And we work closely with farmers, millers, and suppliers in a continued commitment toward sustainability. Our wheat flour is grown and milled right here in the United States. Flour this good uses only the purest ingredients, free from GMOs. As a founding B Corporation, we are committed to using the power of business as a force for social and environmental good. We believe every employee's contributions make our company what it is: vibrant, successful, and committed to spreading the joy of baking. We are a welcoming and inclusive 100% employee-owned company.

The Position: The General Manager of Retail Experience leads King Arthur Baking Company's flagship-destination in Norwich, Vermont, and the Baking School in Skagit Valley, Washington. The destination in Norwich encompasses our Bakery, Baking School, Store, and Café. The individual in this role will have P&L responsibility for our Norwich and Washington locations with a proven ability to define and deliver a 'wow' consumer experience, drive profitability, and continuously improve experience operations.

The General Manager of Retail Experience partners with the VP of DTC on the strategic direction of the flagship location and supports the design of a playbook that can be rolled out to future retail locations.

The Benefits: Yes, we have the regular "stuff" - medical, dental, vision, company paid short- and long-term disability, life insurance, paid time off to rest, paid holidays to have fun, a 401(K) with a company match. But here's what makes us different: 40 paid volunteer hours a year, profit sharing*, participation in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)* and knowing that those working with you are dedicated and engaged co-employee owners that believe in you and your extraordinary abilities to move us all forward.

Reports to: VP, Direct to Consumer (DTC)

Location: Norwich, VT (ability to travel 5% of time)

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Creates and delivers a 'wow' consumer experience to all visitors through best-in-class customer service, impactful product merchandising and storytelling, and integration of King Arthur's brand promise for quality and consistency throughout
• Manages, coaches, and develops a high-performing team to drive results; monitors and delivers performance feedback regularly
• Actively recruits, hires, and retains employees; develops clear advancement plans for employee growth.
• Sets sales and profitability goals via annual budget planning process, monitors business performance, and ensures operating targets are met or exceeded.
• Preserves a culture of accountability by ensuring that KPIs are achieved, and standard operating procedures are consistently followed.
• Enhances and deploys strategic sales, merchant and marketing strategies, and event programming that inspire baking, drive traffic, and increase sales and profitability across the King Arthur Baking store experience.
• Creates and implements a strategic roadmap for continuous improvement based on employee and customer feedback
• Works with cross-functional partners and managers to develop and implement training programs for staff, addressing product knowledge, sales skills, customer service, and baking techniques.
• Partners with café and bakery leadership on menu innovation and new product development initiatives
• Embraces and ensures a strong representation of our company mission and values at our flagship location, including our commitment to people and the planet.
• Leverages the flagship location as a test and learn innovation lab that can incubate concepts before they are ready to scale to future locations.
• Ensures the facility environment demonstrates our commitment to high-quality standards.
• Works in partnership with digital, IT, eComm, and customer support teams to successfully launch and optimize omni-channel initiatives that drive convenience and value for consumers
• Participates in company-wide meetings; proactively communicates updates and asks with leadership and key stakeholders
• Establishes and maintains effective communication across all departments.

Team Management/Leadership

• Openly communicates team and individual expectations and concerns
• Is readily accessible, willing to listen and seek to understand
• Engages your team: motivating, directing, inspiring and involving them in decisions
• Ability to delegate tasks and empower teams with development opportunities
• Nurtures growth in others by supporting their passions, strengths and work styles
• Maintains employee attitude and morale by recognizing outstanding performance and managing performance issues.

This should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties and responsibilities. There may be some variation and/or development of the above duties and responsibilities without changing the general nature of the job.

Minimum job requirements

• 8+ years of experience managing in a retail, restaurant/cafe, or hospitality role
• Bachelor's Degree in a related field preferred.
• Leadership experience across sales and operations, including managing a P&L.
• Must be proficient in technology, including Word, Excel, POS, etc.
• Can-do attitude and ability to work well in fast-moving environment.
• Demonstrated ability to build effective teams and motivate employees
• Ability to prioritize, good problem-solving skills, out of the box thinker
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Able to adapt quickly and react positively to business needs and changes in strategies.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work and collaborate successfully with a variety of people.
• Ability to build trusting relationships through the personal display of integrity; operates in accordance with his/her expressed values and commitments.
• Passion for baking is strongly preferred.

Success factors/competencies for this role

• Ability to lead change, recommends actions for continuous improvement
• Think and act strategically, understand how role contributes to larger outcome
• Provide exemplary customer service to both internal and external consumers
• Set high standards for oneself and team, meet deadlines
• Learn from mistakes, receptive to feedback
• Effective communicator, listen and respect others' points of view
• Participate in team problem solving and decision making
• Maintain a positive attitude
• Community minded - get involved, volunteer

Physical requirements/work environment

• Must be able to sit or stand for extended periods of time
• Must be able to work at a computer for several hours at a time each day
• Must be comfortable with working in an open office environment
• Must be able to travel domestically utilizing various transportation methods

Safety

• Understand that safety is the responsibility of everyone at the organization
• Responsible for providing a safe and ergonomically sound work environment, identifying unsafe conditions and correcting these conditions immediately
• Engage in safety and compliance training programs and encourage 100% team participation in same

Environment

• Adhere to company-wide green norms, look for ways to reduce, reuse, recycle
• Educate oneself on KAB environmental campaigns
• Strive to continually improve and implement new processes to reduce our environmental impact

It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, consumers and vendors.

There's room at our table for you! Apply today.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors protected by law. King Arthur Flour provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities to allow them to participate in both the application process and during employment. Such individuals are encouraged to seek accommodations to allow them to apply for a position, participate in the application process, and meet the essential functions and requirements of the position.

*Amounts vary based achievement of financial targets. Participation based on hire date and program entry date.