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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Seafood Assistant Department Manager

💰 $40,000 - $60,000

RetailGroceryFood ServiceManagementSeafood

🎯 Role Definition

The Seafood Assistant Department Manager supports the Seafood Department Manager by leading daily operations of the fresh and/or frozen seafood area, ensuring product quality, regulatory compliance, merchandising excellence, labor efficiency, vendor coordination, and a consistent customer-first experience. This role combines hands-on fishmonger skills (filleting, portioning, scaling), people leadership (coaching, scheduling, performance management), and commercial responsibilities (inventory control, shrink reduction, promotional execution) to achieve sales, margin and safety targets.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Seafood Clerk / Fishmonger
  • Grocery Clerk or Deli Assistant
  • Retail Associate with perishable department experience

Advancement To:

  • Seafood Department Manager
  • Perishables/Seafood Manager (multi-store)
  • Store or Assistant Store Manager (with broader retail leadership training)

Lateral Moves:

  • Deli Manager
  • Meat/Butcher Assistant Manager
  • Produce Assistant Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead day-to-day operations of the seafood department, ensuring all fresh and frozen products meet company quality standards, are handled properly, and are displayed attractively to maximize sales and minimize shrink.
  • Supervise, coach and develop a team of seafood clerks and fishmongers: assign daily tasks, conduct on‑the‑floor training (filleting, portioning, sanitation), perform performance evaluations, and support career development.
  • Ensure full compliance with food safety programs including HACCP, state and local health codes, allergen controls, and company sanitation procedures; maintain accurate temperature logs and corrective action documentation.
  • Execute receiving and inspection procedures for inbound seafood shipments: verify counts, inspect for quality and freshness, report discrepancies to vendors, and process claims in coordination with procurement.
  • Oversee inventory management and ordering: forecast demand, place orders, manage par levels, rotate stock by FIFO, and minimize overstock and out-of-stocks to control shrink and improve margins.
  • Prepare and portion fresh seafood to specification — filleting, butterfly cuts, skinning, pin boning and portioning — to support prepared cases and retail sales while maintaining yield and cost targets.
  • Lead merchandising and promotional execution: planograms, feature cases, daily case fills, signage, pricing accuracy, and cross-merchandising to drive impulse buys and promotional lift.
  • Monitor and manage department financials: analyze sales, margin and shrink reports, implement corrective actions, and collaborate with management to meet weekly and monthly targets.
  • Build strong customer relationships: provide product knowledge, recommend cooking methods, make custom cuts, and resolve escalated customer concerns in a professional, timely manner.
  • Train team members on safe knife handling, wet floor protocols, personal protective equipment, and proper use of cutting and weighing equipment.
  • Maintain sanitation and safety standards for all equipment and wet areas: ensure drains, sinks, prep tables and display cases are cleaned and sanitized per schedule and logged appropriately.
  • Implement loss prevention strategies specific to perishables: monitor inventory variances, control theft risk, and train staff on secure cash handling and POS best practices.
  • Coordinate with vendors and distributors on delivery schedules, product recalls, quality issues, and new product introductions to ensure reliable supply and product compliance.
  • Create daily prep plans and staffing rosters to align labor with sales volume and promotional activity while controlling payroll within budgeted targets.
  • Oversee case maintenance and replenishment during peak shopping periods, ensuring front-facing product rotation, proper labeling, and even spacing for an attractive, shoppable case.
  • Manage packaging, pricing, and labeling: ensure accurate PLU codes, sale tags, allergens and source declarations (wild-caught vs. farmed) to meet regulatory and company standards.
  • Conduct regular quality audits and taste/visual inspections, document findings, and take immediate corrective action for spoiled or out-of-spec product.
  • Lead new product introduction and seasonal program execution: coordinate demos, sampling, signage, and team coaching to maximize speed-to-shelf and consumer awareness.
  • Support cross-functional initiatives with deli, meat and produce to coordinate promotions, shared prep space and labor, and to leverage cross-merchandising opportunities.
  • Maintain and troubleshoot department equipment: refrigeration units, scales, slicers and vacuum packers; schedule preventative maintenance and coordinate repairs with facilities.
  • Enforce and model proper PPE, handwashing, and hygiene behaviors; investigate incidents or near-misses and implement corrective training and controls.
  • Drive continuous improvement by collecting customer feedback, monitoring category KPIs, recommending assortment changes, and piloting process improvements to increase sales and reduce costs.

Secondary Functions

  • Assist with hiring, onboarding and orientation of new seafood department team members, including skills validation and compliance paperwork.
  • Create and maintain department SOPs and training guides for prep, cleaning and customer service; update documentation for seasonal shifts or regulation changes.
  • Support store-level inventory counts, cycle counts and physical inventory processes; investigate variances and implement controls to reduce discrepancies.
  • Coordinate with marketing/merchandising teams to ensure planogram compliance for holiday seafood programs, specials and national promotions.
  • Participate in store leadership meetings and contribute insights on seafood category trends, supplier performance and labor needs.
  • Mentor cross-trained associates to cover for absenteeism and to increase team flexibility during high-volume periods.
  • Maintain accurate records for seafood sourcing, vendor certifications, recall notices, and traceability documentation as required.
  • Implement energy efficiency and waste-reduction initiatives specific to wet-bench operations and refrigeration use.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Strong knowledge of HACCP, food safety, and local/state health department requirements for seafood handling and wet operations.
  • Advanced knife skills: filleting, portioning, deboning, skinning and precision cutting for retail presentation.
  • Seafood product knowledge: species identification, freshness indicators, seasonal availability, sustainability and sourcing (wild vs. farmed).
  • Inventory and ordering proficiency: par level management, vendor ordering, receiving procedures and shrink control strategies.
  • Case merchandising and planogram execution experience for perishables, including FIFO rotation and attractive display techniques.
  • Experience with retail POS systems, scale programming, digital pricing, and label/PLU management.
  • Knowledge of refrigeration systems and basic preventive maintenance procedures for display cases and storage areas.
  • Competence with cost control and P&L fundamentals for a department: margin analysis, markup strategies and waste reduction tactics.
  • Vendor and supplier management skills: delivery scheduling, claims processing and quality escalation.
  • Food packaging, vacuum sealing and portion control skills, including experience with package labeling and allergen declarations.
  • Proficiency in scheduling tools and labor optimization to align staffing with traffic and promotions.
  • Basic Excel or retail reporting skills to analyze sales, shrink, margins and inventory trends.

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and team development skills: coaching, feedback, performance management and conflict resolution.
  • Customer-focused communication: product education, complaint resolution and upselling in a hospitality-minded way.
  • High attention to detail and accuracy in weighing, labeling and price signage to prevent customer dissatisfaction and regulatory issues.
  • Problem-solving and decision-making under pressure during peak business hours and unexpected product issues.
  • Time management and organization to balance prep, merchandising, training and administrative duties.
  • Adaptability and resilience to work in a fast-paced, wet-environment that includes cold temperatures and fluctuating volume.
  • Collaborative mindset: work effectively with store leadership, other perishables departments and corporate partners.
  • Integrity and accountability for food safety, loss prevention and accurate recordkeeping.
  • Coaching presence to teach technical skills (knife work, filleting) and customer service best practices.
  • Initiative and continuous improvement orientation: propose changes to processes, assortments and service offerings to drive results.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent required.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate degree or certificate in Culinary Arts, Food Science, Hospitality Management, Business or related field preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Culinary Arts / Professional Cooking
  • Food Science / Food Safety
  • Hospitality Management
  • Business Administration / Retail Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of experience in a seafood, fishmonger, or perishables role; 1+ year in a supervisory or lead capacity preferred.

Preferred:

  • Prior experience as a seafood clerk, fishmonger, deli/meat/perishables assistant manager, or equivalent hands-on retail seafood experience.
  • Demonstrated history of managing food safety programs (HACCP), executing merchandising for perishable categories, and meeting sales/margin targets.
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