Reports: To GW Leadership Team
Employment Type: Full Time
Wage Range: 75-85 K + tips on service while on the floor & robust health care coverage

About Grape Witches:
We’re a small shop and thriving women owned and operated small business, opening our second location in downtown Toronto. Our mission is to make great wine accessible and fun. It’s our goal to create a safe, welcoming and equitable work environment for all. We bring an equitable and inclusive lens to our takes on hospitality and teamwork. We strive to be Toronto’s premiere bottle shop and natural wine hub.

Position Summary:
As the GM of our second location, you are a leader to our guests and staff, setting the educated and approachable tone in our exciting new space. This role is multi-faceted and well-suited to a well-rounded candidate who loves tackling challenges, developing and implementing systems and every dang day being joyfully different. On the customer facing side, you are in the shop often as an expert on the floor who knows our product inside out and warmly welcomes folks in. On the staffing side, you will help educate and empower your team to do the best job, while also scheduling, handling HR (with support from HQ!), and delivering tough feedback when necessary (something we’ll also give you a ton of support and training on!). On the backend, you are ensuring the business is in a healthy position while doing weekly ordering, receiving product and tracking inventory. You will also be responsible for monthly inventory and accounting, as well as cash tracking, tip out and payroll reporting. A lot of elements that add up to you being the senior leader in our new space working closely with the GW leadership team!

While we are big natural wine people here and a strong interest is required, it’s not essential for you to be as deeply into it as we are! What we’re looking for is a passion for wine and hospitality with leadership experience and a deep desire to learn. We’ll provide the rest. Even if you don’t have all the requirements we’ve mentioned above, but think you’d shine in this role, we’d still love to hear from you.

Perks:

Full time role:

• A positive, supportive, and inclusive work environment working on the cutting edge of natural wine.
• Juicy staff discount on delicious wines (duh!) 30% on bottles to go and glasses to stay!
• Comprehensive health benefits including prescription coverage, dental, and paramedical.
• Six paid sick days per year.
• Mentorship and learning opportunities through frequent tastings, winemaker events and collaborations.

Main Responsibilities:

• Work 3-4 shop shifts, acting as an expert sommelier, as well as shop and service lead, embodying the values of GW to deliver exceptional service and meet folks where they’re at
• Be confident and comfortable speaking to an ever changing list of wines, sharing our excitement about our producers and product, making wine accessible and fun
• Document any space needs or system upgrades required and report and strategize on how to fix them in weekly meetings so we’re always performing at our best
• Complete essential back end tasks including: scheduling, HR, tip-out, ordering, inventory, pricing and month-end accounting
• Ensure staff are trained and cared for: upholding service standards, conducting frequent 1 on 1s to work towards a well-functioning and switched-on team
• As the senior leader, taking ownership and pride in the space, dreaming with us on what the shop can be, while maintaining a firm foot in the day to day

Job Demands and Environment:

• High focus and organization, a true-people person who excels at communication, loves building community and isn’t afraid of tough conversations that promote growth
• Fast-thinking, problem solving and de-escalation skills will be key to success
• Must be able to comfortably lift 30 pounds (a case of wine) many times a day and stand for 8 hours three-four days a week
• While most weeks will be ~40 hours, as we figure out appropriate staffing in our new space and as emergencies come up, you may be required to occasionally work long hours and cover for your staff when no other accommodations can be found
• 1-2 office days per week from home

Knowledge & Skills:

• A demonstrated ability to lead a top-of-class hospitality space, previous AGM or GM experience of 2+ years
• Significant wine experience, this could look like a certified sommelier or WSET (3 or higher) with further work experience, or like significant restaurant, wine agency, wine making, self study or a combination
• A people person with strong emotional intelligence to adapt to many situations
• Extreme comfort with spread-sheets, simple formulas and digital communication
• Smart serve required

Accomodations Statement:
We highly (and warmly!) encourage folks from communities traditionally underrepresented in wine to apply! If you need accommodations with any part of the interviewing and application process, we’re happy to provide. Let us know what you need.

We are passionately committed to equal opportunity for all employees, increasing diversity at our workplace, and providing team members with a work environment free from discrimination and harassment.