Food Department Manager (Food DM)

Roles & Responsibilities

1. Sales & Business Performance

• Achieve daily, weekly, and monthly sales targets for the food department.
  
• Drive category-wise growth (Staples, Fresh, Dairy, Frozen, Packaged Foods).
  
• Improve conversion, basket size, and repeat purchases.
  
• Execute promotions, offers, and vendor schemes effectively on the shop floor.
  

2. Inventory & Availability Management

• Ensure right stock at right time with zero stock-outs in fast-moving items.
  
• Monitor daily replenishment and shelf availability.
  
• Maintain FIFO / FEFO strictly, especially for fresh and near-expiry products.
  
• Reduce non-moving and dead stock through timely actions.
  

3. Wastage, Shrinkage & Loss Control

• Control wastage, damages, and expiries within defined benchmarks.
  
• Conduct daily quality checks and corrective actions.
  
• Lead cycle counts and audits, investigate variances, and close gaps.
  
• Prevent theft, pilferage, and process lapses through strong controls.
  

4. Food Safety, Hygiene & Compliance (Critical)

• Ensure strict adherence to FSSAI guidelines and company SOPs.
  
• Maintain cleanliness, hygiene, and cold chain in all food sections.
  
• Ensure proper storage, temperature control, and labeling.
  
• Train staff on food safety practices and personal hygiene.
  

5. Team Management & Capability Building

• Lead, train, and motivate Food Associates and Supervisors.
  
• Ensure adequate manpower planning for peak hours and weekends.
  
• Monitor attendance, productivity, and discipline.
  
• Coach team on product knowledge, upselling, and customer handling.
  

6. Customer Experience

• Deliver consistent quality, freshness, and availability to customers.
  
• Resolve customer complaints related to quality, expiry, or pricing immediately.
  
• Build trust and loyalty through transparent and ethical practices.
  
• Ensure correct billing and labeling to avoid customer escalations.
  

7. Vendor & Supply Chain Coordination

• Coordinate with vendors, warehouse, and SCM teams for timely supply.
  
• Monitor vendor quality issues and raise corrective actions.
  
• Ensure proper execution of new launches and planograms.
  

8. Store Operations & Reporting

• Follow and implement store SOPs and VM standards for food categories.
  
• Share daily MIS, wastage reports, and action trackers with ASM/SM/HR.
  
• Support internal audits, compliance checks, and inspections.
  
• Ensure smooth operations during festivals, EOSS, and peak periods.
  

9. Leadership & Ownership

• Take end-to-end ownership of the Food Department.
  
• Act as a role model for discipline, integrity, and process adherence.
  
• Identify improvement opportunities and drive continuous improvement.
  
• Support store leadership in achieving overall store KPIs.
  

Key Skills Required