General Manager (Full Time)

Department: Operations

Reports To: Chief Operations Officer

Location: Portland, OR

Salary: $80,000-110,000 (DOE) + Bonus & Equity Opportunity

WHY BUYWANDER

BuyWander is a fast-growing startup reimagining the $850B retail returns industry. We launched in 2024 to help Americans GET AHEAD!! by offering returned items through online auctions with local pick-up. Think: Black Friday meets a treasure hunt—powered by AI and built for everyday people.

WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE SPECIAL

We’re hiring a General Manager to launch and lead our new Ontario location. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives at the intersection of logistics, people, retail, and chaos. You’ll oversee daily operations, hire and lead the team, drive performance, and build culture from the ground up.

YOU WILL:

• Launch and lead day-to-day operations for our warehouse store
• Build, coach, and inspire a team of 45+ across warehouse, front desk, and retail
• Own store KPIs across revenue, inventory throughput, fulfillment, customer experience, and staffing
• Create and execute SOPs for receiving, processing, picking, customer pickup, bin replenishment, and daily close
• Work cross-functionally with our tech, support, and executive teams to launch new tools and scale operations
• Be the face of BuyWander to customers, creating a fun, respectful, and mission-driven shopping experience
• Hold the team accountable to high standards and lead with integrity

WHAT WE OFFER:

• Competitive Salary and Performance-based Bonuses
• Meaningful equity in a company attacking a massive market, for a brand that can become nationally recognized
• Health, Vision & Dental Insurance
• Sick & Holiday Pay
• Unlimited PTO
• Annual Company Offsites
• Ownership and Opportunity for Advancement
• 401K

Job Summary

At BuyWander, our General Managers are hands-on operational leaders who thrive at the intersection of logistics, people, retail, and customer wins. They oversee daily operations, hire and lead the team, drive performance, and live the company culture and values.

• Happy: We bring positive energy to our work and support each other.
• Humble: We stay grounded, open to learning, and focused on the team over ego.
• High Performing: We set a high bar and hold ourselves accountable to results.
• (H)Loyal: We show up for each other and the company, with loyalty that goes beyond the ordinary.

The General Manager serves as the senior leader of a multimillion-dollar fulfillment, e-commerce, and distribution operation, providing strategic leadership, operational direction, and financial stewardship across all aspects of the business. This role is accountable for driving profitable growth, operational excellence, exceptional customer experiences, and developing high performing teams while fostering a culture built on accountability and continuous improvement.

The General Manager lives the values, executes company strategy, develops future leaders, and creates an environment where employees are empowered to deliver outstanding business results.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.
• Provide overall leadership and direction for all retail, warehouse, inventory, fulfillment, and customer service operations.
• Drive sales growth, profitability, productivity, and operational performance through planning, disciplined execution, and continuous improvement.
• Develop, mentor, and inspire a high performing leadership team by creating clear expectations, promoting accountability, and building leadership capability at every level.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence that aligns with the company's 4H values and business objectives.
• Lead workforce planning, talent acquisition, succession planning, coaching, and employee development to build a strong leadership pipeline.
• Establish performance standards and hold leaders and employees accountable for achieving goals.
• Analyze financial statements, operating metrics, labor performance, and business trends to identify opportunities, mitigate risk, and improve overall performance.
• Develop and manage disciplined expense control.
• Monitor and improve key performance indicators including sales, gross margin, labor productivity, inventory accuracy, order fulfillment, customer satisfaction, safety, and shrink.
• Ensure inventory accuracy.
• Direct warehouse and store operations to achieve best in class standards for receiving, storage, inventory control, returns, and order fulfillment.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, eliminate inefficiencies, standardize best practices, and increase operational effectiveness.
• Ensure full compliance with company policies and all applicable federal, state, and local employment, wage and hour, and workplace safety laws.
• Promote a proactive safety culture through employee engagement, hazard identification, accident prevention, safety meetings, safety standups, and regulatory compliance.
• Partner closely with Human Resources to support performance management, investigations, corrective actions, leadership development, and organizational stability.
• Lead organizational change initiatives while effectively communicating company priorities, strategic objectives, and operational expectations.
• Build strong partnerships with Operations, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Information Technology to ensure alignment across the organization.
• Protect company assets by maintaining strong operational controls, inventory integrity, facility security, and confidentiality.
• Develop future leaders by providing meaningful coaching, mentoring, training, and growth opportunities.
• Serve as the operational leader during emergencies, business disruptions, and other critical situations, ensuring business continuity and decisive leadership.
• Perform additional responsibilities and strategic initiatives as assigned.

Leadership Expectations

The General Manager leads by example, creating an environment where accountability, trust, collaboration, and high performance are the standard. This leader inspires others through visibility, authenticity, and consistent execution while empowering teams to take ownership of results and continuously raise the standard of excellence. Success in this role is measured not only by financial performance, but by the ability to build exceptional teams, develop future leaders, improve operational performance, create an outstanding customer experience, and consistently deliver sustainable business results.

What Defines a BuyWander General Manager

• Our General Managers are builders. They create high performing teams, establish operational excellence, solve problems with confidence, embrace technology, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. They thrive in growth, lead with purpose, and take ownership of results. They also bring the following.
• 8 or more years of experience in warehouse, logistics, or retail operations leadership.
• Energized by building from scratch. They thrive in a company that is growing and building its success one store at a time.
• Detail-obsessed but know how to prioritize what matters.
• Clear communicator and confident decision-maker.
• Comfortable with software, technology, and computers, including Shopify-like software, barcoding tools, Google, and internal dashboards.
• Mission-driven, believing in building something bigger than themselves.
• Experience in resale, auctions, liquidation, or high-volume retail is a plus.

Physical Requirements

• This role involves sustained physical activity throughout the shift. The following are bona fide requirements of the position.
• A General Manager operates throughout the store and in an office setting.
• Position requires seeing, hearing, use of hands and fingers, sitting, standing, walking, reaching, twisting, turning, kneeling, bending, squatting, and stooping in the performance of daily activities.
• Must be able to communicate with others including talking, hearing, listening, and exchanging communication.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods throughout the shift.
• Ability to lift, carry, and move up to 50 pounds repeatedly throughout the day.
• Ability to bend, stoop, and reach overhead frequently.
• Ability to work at a fast pace in a goal-driven environment.
• This position requires working both indoors and outdoors as business needs require. Employees may be exposed to a variety of weather and environmental conditions, including heat, cold, rain, wind, snow, humidity, and varying temperatures. Employees are expected to work safely in these conditions while following all company safety policies, using appropriate protective equipment, and taking reasonable precautions to prevent heat or cold related illness.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

BuyWander is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We make employment decisions based on qualifications, skills, merit, and business needs. We believe a range of skills, perspectives, and experiences strengthens our team and supports better outcomes for our employees and customers.