Warehouse Coordinator

Ballard Food Bank’s mission is to bring food and hope to our neighbors because there can be enough for everyone. To achieve our mission, we provide access to nutritious foods through our grocery model food bank, no-cost Kindness Cafe, Home Delivery and Weekend Food for Kids programs, and Community Resource Hub, which encompasses financial resources, referral, and mail services that support self-sufficiency. We also advocate for food equity and justice. Our new home, which opened in October 2021, serves as a Hub for Hope as it brings together food, services, and community partners in a one-stop shop. The Ballard Food Bank actively strives to be an anti-racist organization and promotes the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in its work. 

Position Summary:

The Warehouse Coordinator works with other warehouse and grocery store staff and volunteers dedicated to hunger relief and the promotion of access to healthy foods. The position is hands-on and will actively participate in general warehouse and grocery store activities. This entails coordinating tasks associated with the receipt, storage, and distribution of food and other products. These tasks include, but are not limited to, organizing warehouse, managing inventory, stocking grocery store, unloading deliveries, re-packing food products, operating warehouse equipment, driving a van or an 18-foot truck for food pickups/deliveries plus general maintenance and cleanup of the warehouse, grounds, and facility.

Responsibilities:

• Work with warehouse and grocery store staff and volunteers, handling warehouse operations in a manner that fosters an energizing, cooperative environment
• Perform a variety of warehouse duties including receiving, inspecting, weighing, sorting, and stocking food deliveries and donations
• Conduct receipt, storage, and distribution of shelf-stable, fresh, and frozen product in coordination with staff and volunteers
• Ensure product received is inspected for quality control prior to storage and distribution, according to USDA food safety protocols and Food Lifeline Consumption Guidelines
• Maintain warehouse organization, including stock rotation and inventory management 
• Ensure warehouse layout is optimized for maximum efficiency as inventory needs require
• Stock grocery store, working in collaboration with staff to determine quantities and schedule, and communicate needs for ordering
• Be able to do one-off donation pickups from various partners and/or distribution sites
• Coordinate with staff and volunteers in food recall situations, overseeing proper product disposal
• Interact with food bank clients with professionalism, compassion, and through a trauma-informed lens
• Provide guidance and supervision to warehouse volunteers
• Perform other food bank and warehouse maintenance such as cleaning, organizing, and stocking

Qualifications: The Ballard Food Bank is seeking a highly organized, and detail-oriented self-starter to coordinate our warehouse. This individual must function as part of a team and should be comfortable working in a complex and fast-paced environment, involving staff and volunteers in various levels of life skills and capacity. Desired skills:

• Excellent communication skills: demonstrated ability to proactively communicate and build rapport; listen and react appropriately; give and receive constructive feedback; present written and oral information clearly and translate food safety requirements in simple terms
• Prior grocery store, warehouse, and food handling experience preferred
• Approaches duties with a sense of urgency
• Exhibits a friendly, professional demeanor and respect of others’ opinions and participation; has excellent customer service skills
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, using discretion, professionalism, integrity, and compassion
• Valid US driver’s license with a clean and safe driving record
• Experience driving a 23’ box truck and other large vehicles in urban streetscapes and freeway
• Comfortable lifting up to 50 pounds regularly
• Experience leading volunteers, including giving feedback and guidance
• Must be comfortable and respectful in interacting with staff, volunteer, clients, and community partners
• Is highly reliable, with initiative, flexibility, and enthusiasm

Hours: This is a full-time, hourly, and in-person position. The schedule for this position is Monday through Thursday, with some extended hours scheduled in advance. Ballard Food Bank currently works a 35-hour work week.

Physical demands and work environment: Ballard Food Bank strongly encourages vaccination against COVID-19 to keep our community safe. 

While performing the duties of this job you will:  

• Lift and carry up to 50 pounds safely 
• Frequently maneuver in and out of a van or truck 
• Spend most of the time on your feet  

The physical demands and work environment described are representative of those for an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.