Warehouse Manager

Position Summary

Flagstaff Family Food Center seeks an experienced, hands-on Warehouse Operations Manager to lead the safe and efficient movement of approximately 8 million pounds of food annually .

This is a working-manager position. The successful candidate will lead from the warehouse floor—directing employees and volunteers while actively supporting receiving, inventory control, order fulfillment, loading, distribution, and facility operations.

The Warehouse Operations Manager is responsible for maintaining a safe, organized, productive, and inspection-ready facility. The ideal candidate combines strong warehouse and logistics experience with practical leadership, sound judgment, and a commitment to serving individuals and families with dignity.

Essential Responsibilities

Warehouse and Distribution Operations

Direct daily receiving, inspection, sorting, storage, picking, staging, loading, and distribution activities.

Work alongside employees and volunteers to load, unload, move, organize, and distribute food.

Coordinate the efficient handling of approximately 8 million pounds of food each year.

Plan warehouse layout and workflow to maximize food safety, productivity, storage capacity, and accessibility.

Maintain organized dry, refrigerated, and frozen storage areas.

Coordinate inbound donations, scheduled deliveries, agency orders, community distributions, and outbound shipments.

Monitor loading-dock activity, vehicle movement, pallet storage, and material-handling practices.

Ensure products are properly rotated using first-expired, first-out practices.

Identify damaged, recalled, expired, or otherwise unsuitable products and ensure they are isolated and handled appropriately.

Coordinate fleet use, delivery schedules, warehouse equipment maintenance, and facility needs.

Respond promptly to operational disruptions, including equipment failures, staffing shortages, and delivery changes.

Inventory and Product Control

Maintain accurate records for food received, stored, transferred, and distributed.

Conduct routine physical inventories and reconcile discrepancies.

Track products by source, category, quantity, lot, expiration date, and destination when required.

Monitor inventory levels and communicate shortages, surpluses, and storage limitations to leadership.

Maintain temperature logs, receiving records, distribution records, waste records, and other required documentation.

Produce accurate operational reports, including pounds received and distributed, inventory levels, and product loss.

Maintain product traceability and support food recall procedures.

Coordinate the safe and responsible disposal or recycling of unusable products.

Identify opportunities to reduce preventable food loss and improve inventory accuracy.

Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance

Maintain compliance with applicable food safety, sanitation, health department, workplace safety, and fire regulations.

Ensure the warehouse remains clean, secure, pest-free, and ready for inspection.

Enforce safe food-handling, personal hygiene, cleaning, and sanitation procedures.

Conduct routine inspections of the warehouse, coolers, freezers, loading docks, vehicles, and equipment.

Monitor refrigeration and freezer temperatures and respond promptly to equipment failures or food-safety concerns.

Maintain required permits, inspection records, safety documentation, and corrective-action records.

Lead or support food-safety, emergency-response, accident-prevention, and product-recall procedures.

Ensure employees and volunteers receive appropriate food-safety and workplace-safety training.

Staff and Volunteer Leadership

Supervise, train, schedule, and support warehouse employees.

Coordinate and direct volunteers working in receiving, sorting, packing, cleaning, loading, and distribution.

Conduct shift meetings, assign daily work, and adjust staffing based on operational priorities.

Set clear performance expectations and provide timely coaching and feedback.

Build a workplace culture based on safety, teamwork, accountability, respect, and service.

Address operational and personnel concerns promptly and professionally.

Collaborate with program, development, volunteer, and administrative teams.

Ensure employees and volunteers understand and follow established procedures.

Planning and Continuous Improvement

Establish measurable goals for productivity, inventory accuracy, food recovery, waste reduction, and safety.

Develop and maintain standard operating procedures for warehouse and distribution activities.

Analyze workflows and implement practical improvements.

Help prepare and manage operational budgets.

Monitor supply, equipment, maintenance, fuel, and repair costs.

Assist leadership with capacity planning, emergency food response, seasonal programs, and special distributions.

Provide regular operational reports and recommendations to organizational leadership.

Build productive relationships with food donors, vendors, transportation partners, and community agencies.

Required Qualifications

At least five years of progressively responsible experience in warehouse, food bank, food distribution, grocery, logistics, or related operations.

At least three years of supervisory or management experience.

Demonstrated ability to lead high-volume, fast-paced warehouse operations.

Willingness and ability to perform physical warehouse work alongside employees and volunteers.

Working knowledge of inventory control, food rotation, receiving, storage, order fulfillment, and distribution practices.

Knowledge of food safety, sanitation, temperature control, and workplace safety requirements.

Experience supervising employees and coordinating volunteers.

Strong planning, organization, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Ability to use inventory software, spreadsheets, email, and standard office technology.

Ability to respond calmly and effectively to equipment failures, staffing shortages, delivery changes, and other operational challenges.

Valid driver’s license and an acceptable driving record.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in a food bank, hunger-relief organization, nonprofit warehouse, or large-scale food recovery program

Experience managing operations involving millions of pounds of food annually

ServSafe Manager certification or an equivalent food-protection credential

Forklift and pallet-jack certification

OSHA or other relevant workplace-safety training

Experience with refrigerated storage, fleet operations, warehouse equipment, and food traceability systems

Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills

Familiarity with Flagstaff and northern Arizona communities

Fleet and CDL logistics and compliance management experience

Physical and Scheduling Requirements

Regularly stand, walk, bend, reach, climb, push, and pull throughout the workday

Frequently lift and carry up to 50 pounds and move heavier loads using equipment or team lifting

Work safely in warehouse, loading-dock, refrigerated, and freezer environments

Safely operate pallet jacks, forklifts, carts, and other warehouse equipment after required training

Work around moving vehicles, machinery, varying temperatures, noise, dust, and cleaning products

Maintain a flexible schedule that may include occasional early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and emergency response

Remain available to respond to refrigeration, facility, food-safety, or other urgent operational issues

Measures of Success

Safe and efficient handling of approximately 8 million pounds of food annually

Accurate inventory and required documentation

Consistent food-safety and sanitation compliance

Reliable receiving and distribution schedules

Clean, organized, and inspection-ready facilities

Reduced product loss and preventable food was