The Director of Retail Culinary Operations is responsible for ensuring the company’s deli, prepared foods, bakery, and café programs are executed with excellence and consistency across all retail locations. This role serves as the bridge between culinary vision and in-store execution while building, scaling, and sustaining training programs, operational systems, and repeatable processes that support retail, e-commerce, and catering businesses.
With a strong focus on data integrity, product availability, food safety, merchandising standards, and team development, this position plays a critical role in driving sales, operational efficiency, and an elevated guest experience through disciplined execution, system optimization, and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
Data Integrity & Administrative Management:
Support the maintenance and accuracy of all items, recipe, and pricing data for deli, prepared foods, bakery, café, e-commerce, and catering programs across internal systems.
Ensure cost integrity by regularly auditing ingredient, labor, and packaging costs; proactively identify and resolve discrepancies in collaboration with offsite kitchen, production bakery, Procurement, Culinary, and Finance teams.
Co-own and support the building, maintenance, and optimization of store-to-commissary and store-to-vendor ordering workflows that support retail, catering, and e-commerce demand.
Establish and enforce standardized data governance procedures to ensure accuracy, consistency, and scalability across all locations and sales channels.
Conduct routine system audits to validate SKU setup, recipes, yields, allergen data, and inventory alignment with operational reality.
Develop and distribute reporting on sales performance, margin trends, waste, labor efficiency, and system compliance to support strategic decision-making.
Continually evaluate systems and workflows, identifying opportunities for automation, process improvement, and cross-platform integration.
Partner with IT, Finance, and Operations to support POS, inventory, production, and e-commerce system enhancements and rollouts.
Retail Merchandising & Execution
Lead the development and execution of merchandising standards for deli, prepared foods, bakery, and café programs across all retail locations.
Design, implement, and maintain department layouts, planograms, and product displays that drive sales, operational flow, and visual excellence.
Conduct regular (minimum weekly) store walks and deliver written feedback and scorecards to Store Managers, Department Managers, and Senior Leadership.
Partner with Store and Department Managers to ensure timely follow-through on corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives.
Ensure all departments consistently meet quality, freshness, food safety, and sanitation standards.
Support execution of new programs, seasonal rollouts, limited-time offers, and menu changes with disciplined implementation.
Collaborate with Culinary, Marketing, and Operations to ensure in-store execution aligns with brand and promotional standards.
Drive a culture of daily execution excellence through clear standards, visibility, accountability, and coaching.
Vendor & Operational Coordination:
Partner with deli, prepared foods, bakery, café, e-commerce, and catering vendors to ensure seamless execution of programs, promotions, product launches, and ongoing supply needs.
Collaborate with Procurement, Production (offsite kitchen and production bakery), Logistics, and Store Operations to ensure accurate product flow and availability.
Support Department Managers in monitoring stock levels, forecasting demand, minimizing waste, and ensuring timely replenishment.
Coordinate with suppliers on pricing, order minimums, lead times, and delivery schedules.
Assist in onboarding new vendors and programs, ensuring systems setup, training alignment, and execution readiness.
Troubleshoot supply chain, production, and in-store execution issues in real time.
Support new store openings, remodels, and program expansions.
Financial Performance & Strategy:
Analyze sales performance, margin trends, guest feedback, and market dynamics to inform assortment, pricing, and merchandising strategies.
Partner with Store and Department Managers to develop and execute cost-control strategies focused on labor, food cost, waste reduction, and operational efficiency.
Monitor department-level profitability through disciplined margin management and product mix optimization.
Support annual budgeting, forecasting, and reforecasting processes.
Plan and execute promotional strategies, seasonal features, and limited-time offerings.
Identify growth opportunities across retail, catering, e-commerce, and new store channels.
Track performance against targets and communicate risks and opportunities to senior leadership.
Team Development & Leadership
Partner with Store and Department Managers to assess training needs and develop structured training programs for deli, prepared foods, bakery, and café teams.
Build, standardize, and continuously improve written onboarding and training programs with a focus on the first two weeks of employment.
Lead systems, tools, production workflow, food safety, and merchandising standards training across retail, production, catering, and e-commerce environments.
Coach and support Department Managers in leadership development and execution discipline.
Inspire a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
Observe, assess, and communicate team performance and development opportunities to leadership.
Support succession planning and internal talent development.
Required Skills:
Proven leadership capability with exceptional strengths in training, coaching, motivation, and clear communication.
Deep knowledge of retail food service operations, prepared foods, bakery, café, and food merchandising.
Strong systems and process mindset with the ability to build and scale workflows across multiple channels.
High level of organization and attention to detail.
Strong financial acumen including food cost, labor, margin management, and waste reduction.
Analytical, data-driven decision maker.
Proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite and/or Google Workspace (G-Suite), along with food cost, inventory, production, and ERP systems.
Strong cross-functional collaboration and influence skills.
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.
Education & Experience:
Minimum of 5 years of progressive leadership experience in retail food service, prepared foods, bakery, café, commissary/production, or related operations.
Demonstrated experience supporting multi-unit operations, training programs, and systems implementation.
Experience with offsite production, catering, and/or e-commerce programs strongly preferred.
Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality, Business, Supply Chain, Operations, or related field preferred, or equivalent practical experience.
Salary Range: $85,000-130,000
Who Are We?
Woodlands Market is a leader in gourmet retailing, service and innovation in the grocery industry. We are a flourishing Marin County-based employer who believes in supporting our community in many ways. One of these ways is to employ talented individuals from within our communities and surrounding areas. We currently operate grocery stores in Kentfield, Tiburon and San Francisco. We also operate a Pet Shop in San Francisco as well as an off-site kitchen in San Rafael. We engage approximately 330 individuals on staff, many of whom have come to us with an in-depth knowledge of the specialty food industry. These members of our extended Woodlands family and their commitment to community, food, service and to each other are what set us apart from other grocery stores.
Who Are We Looking For?
At Woodlands Market, we are delighted to be able to share our passion for food and fresh produce with our customers. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and are looking to continue your career alongside an awesome team, then join the family!
Benefits of working at Woodlands Market include:
Competitive wages
Comprehensive Health/Dental/Vision Insurance
Full-time employees receive a generous benefits package including Health/Dental/Vision Insurance, 401(k), paid vacation and paid holidays
Holiday premium pay for time worked on recognized holidays
20% store discount , 50% shift meal discount
$50 subsidy towards non-slip shoes every 6 months.
Awesome, team-oriented environment
Opportunities for growth and development
Must meet minimum hours for some benefits/max lunch discount $6.00