Help Build the Next Great Produce Season

At Swan Lake Market & Garden, produce is more than a department. Since 1959, our independent market has connected Okanagan customers with fresh food and local growers. Our direct relationships with hundreds of farms and producers give us an advantage: we can recognize a harvest opportunity, buy a bulk load, and put an exceptional deal in front of customers quickly.

We are looking for an energetic, hands-on Produce Department Manager who wants to grow customer traffic and seasonal sales through excellent quality, abundant displays, bold merchandising and smart buying. The right person enjoys physical work, but also has the initiative to find new suppliers, negotiate confidently, read the numbers, use a spreadsheet and delegate a plan to the team. This is a working merchant-manager role, not a desk job or simply a stocking-supervisor position.

What Makes This Role Different

A conventional grocery background can be a great foundation. But our competitive advantage is local farm relationships, short-notice bulk purchasing, distinctive seasonal displays and the flexibility to act on opportunities that larger chains may not pursue. We need someone who can make the commercial decision, organize the people and inventory behind it, and turn a great buy into profitable sales - while coordinating with Deli/Bakery when safe, usable seasonal surplus could become a prepared-food feature.

What You Will Do

· Lead, schedule, coach and delegate to the produce team, including an Assistant Department Manager; build a department that executes reliably without depending on one person to do everything.

· Proactively find and contact farmers, growers and other suppliers; build relationships, negotiate prices and terms, and respond decisively to short-notice buying opportunities.

· Evaluate farm offers on quality, unit conversion, delivery cost, retail price, expected sell-through, shrink risk and gross profit dollars.

· Create excellent curb appeal: abundant seasonal displays, strong entrance and approved roadside presentation, clear signage,



quality standards and high-impact bulk fruit and vegetable promotions.

· Review competitor pricing, seasonal demand, historical sales and gross profit; propose strong flyer features and profitable retail prices that bring customers back.

· Maintain exceptional freshness, rotation, cooler storage, sanitation and waste controls - without holding stock so tightly that attractive seasonal displays and sales opportunities are lost.

· Coordinate with Deli/Bakery ahead of seasonal peaks and surpluses to plan safe use of suitable excess produce in soups, baking or prepared foods, with proper transfers and accurate records.

· Ensure all deliveries are accurately received using the POS and handheld devices; maintain item costs, counts, receiving records, shrink and transfer records as the department advances toward reliable perpetual inventory.

· Personally use Excel and POS reports to tabulate sales and purchase data, calculate landed costs and gross margins, identify year-over-year trends and make practical buying, pricing and labour decisions.

· Work on the sales floor, during receiving and in the coolers as needed, while staying accountable for buying, delegation, follow-through and results.

What We Are Looking For

· Demonstrated leadership in produce, fresh-food retail, farm-market or wholesale produce operations; experience at a large grocery chain is welcome if paired with initiative and commercial judgment.

· A track record of leading and delegating to a team, setting transparent expectations and following through - while willingly participating in hands-on work.

· Strong instincts for produce quality, seasonal buying, attractive presentation, competitive retail pricing and growing customer traffic.

· Confident working knowledge of Excel:



entering and organizing data, sorting and filtering, using basic formulas and percentages, and producing a simple sales or margin comparison. Able to work independently with email, POS reports, receiving and handheld tools; no advanced IT or programming expertise is needed.

· Practical understanding of perpetual inventory: complete receiving, correct item costs/units, transfers, shrink adjustments, cycle counts and investigating stock variances.

· Working commercial numeracy: able to explain cost versus retail, markup versus gross margin, gross profit dollars, purchase volume, shrink, and year-over-year sales trends.

· Willingness to independently approach and negotiate with new suppliers. Direct grower relationships and local buying experience are strong assets, but you can learn the regional network if you already have the initiative and judgment.

· Forklift experience is an asset; willingness to complete required training is expected. Must be able to safely handle produce, pallets and bulk seasonal deliveries with appropriate equipment or assistance.

· Availability for early mornings, some weekends and heavy seasonal periods; energy and pride in building a first-class department.

Why Join Swan Lake?

You will have real influence over the commercial direction of a distinctive, locally connected produce department. We value honest dealing with growers, outstanding quality and curb appeal, practical problem solving and managers who develop capable teams. The goal is not just to keep the department running - it is to make Swan Lake a produce destination.

Pay: $25.00-$29.00 per hour

Expected hours: 30.0 – 50.0 per week

Benefits:

- Extended health care
- Flexible schedule
- On-site parking
- Store discount

Experience:

- management: 3 years (required)
- produce: 3 years (required)
- forklift: 1 year (preferred)
- POS: 3 years (required)
- Inventory management: 3 years (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

- First Aid Certification (preferred)

Location:

- Vernon, BC V1B 3W6 (required)

Work Location: In person

📌 Produce Department Manager (Vernon)
🏢 Swan Lake Market
📍 Vernon