Assistant Operations Manager

Position Summary

The Assistant Operations Manager supports the General Manager and ownership in overseeing daily store operations, employee accountability, customer experience, compliance standards, inventory integrity, and workplace professionalism.

The ideal candidate is calm under pressure, organized, emotionally mature, solutions-oriented, and comfortable holding people accountable in a respectful and consistent way.

This role is designed for someone who can bring structure, leadership presence, and operational discipline to a growing cannabis retail environment.

Key Responsibilities

Store Operations & Daily Leadership

• Support day-to-day retail operations and management coverage.
• Serve as a visible leadership presence on the sales floor.
• Assist with opening, closing, shift transitions, and daily operating procedures.
• Help ensure the store is clean, organized, professional, and ready for business.
• Monitor workflow, customer traffic, staffing needs, and operational priorities.
• Support scheduling coverage and shift execution.
• Identify operational issues early and escalate concerns appropriately.
• Help maintain a calm, professional, and accountable store environment.

Team Leadership & Employee Accountability

• Coach employees professionally and consistently.
• Reinforce attendance, punctuality, dress code, cell phone, customer service, and workplace conduct standards.
• Address employee issues early before they become larger problems.
• Support documentation of coaching conversations, verbal warnings, written warnings, and follow-up expectations.
• Help ensure policies are applied consistently across shifts.
• Support onboarding, training, and ongoing employee development.
• Promote a workplace culture grounded in professionalism, respect, accountability, and teamwork.

Customer Experience

• Support a welcoming, educational, and professional customer experience.
• Assist with customer concerns, escalations, and service recovery.
• Reinforce hospitality standards and brand expectations.
• Ensure employees are engaged, attentive, and customer-focused.
• Help maintain a positive environment where customers feel respected, informed, and comfortable.

Cannabis Compliance & Operational Integrity

• Support compliance with New Jersey cannabis regulations and Company SOPs.
• Reinforce ID verification, purchase limits, transaction procedures, and customer privacy standards.
• Support inventory accountability, diversion prevention, and chain-of-custody expectations.
• Escalate discrepancies, suspicious activity, compliance concerns, or operational irregularities immediately.
• Assist with audit readiness, inventory reviews, and compliance-focused store operations.
• Help protect the Company's license, reputation, and operational integrity.

Inventory, Cash Handling & Security

• Support cash handling procedures, drawer accountability, and transaction accuracy.
• Help monitor inventory controls, product movement, and operational security.
• Reinforce restricted-area access, vault procedures, and security expectations.
• Assist with discrepancy review, incident reporting, and operational follow-up.
• Ensure employees follow policies related to employee purchases, discounts, and product handling.

Corrective Action & Documentation Support

• Support a coaching-first accountability culture.
• Help managers document employee concerns objectively and professionally.
• Participate in workplace investigations or operational reviews when appropriate.
• Maintain confidentiality and professionalism when handling employee matters.
• Escalate serious concerns involving harassment, retaliation, theft, safety, inventory, or compliance.

Delivery Operations Support

Where applicable, the Assistant Operations Manager may support delivery operations, including:

• Driver readiness and route coordination.
• Customer verification expectations.
• Cash handling and chain-of-custody procedures.
• Delivery safety and incident escalation.
• GPS, dashcam, and operational tracking compliance.
• Vehicle cleanliness, professionalism, and security standards.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• We are looking for someone who is:
• Calm and steady under pressure.
• Professional and emotionally mature.
• Comfortable coaching and holding employees accountable.
• Organized and detail-oriented.
• Strong with follow-through.
• Customer-service focused.
• Respectful but firm.
• Comfortable working in a regulated environment.
• Able to lead by example.
• Skilled at balancing people, process, compliance, and operations.

The strongest candidate will understand that leadership is not about intimidation. It is about consistency, communication, accountability, professionalism, and trust.

Qualifications

Required

• Prior retail, hospitality, restaurant, cannabis, or customer-facing leadership experience.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to coach employees professionally.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong reliability, punctuality, and professionalism.
• Comfort enforcing policies and operational standards.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and peak retail periods.
• Must meet all eligibility requirements for working in a licensed cannabis business in New Jersey.

Preferred

• 2+ years of supervisory or management experience.
• Cannabis retail experience.
• Experience with POS systems, inventory systems, or regulated retail operations.
• Experience documenting employee coaching or corrective action.
• Experience supporting compliance, cash handling, inventory, or delivery operations.
• Background in hospitality, luxury retail, restaurant management, specialty retail, or high-volume customer service.

Physical & Scheduling Requirements

• Ability to stand for extended periods.
• Ability to lift and move inventory or supplies as needed.
• Ability to work in a retail cannabis environment.
• Ability to work flexible schedules, including nights, weekends, holidays, promotional events, and high-volume periods.
• Ability to respond calmly and professionally to customer, employee, and operational issues.

What Success Looks Like

A successful Assistant Operations Manager will help Simply Pure Trenton achieve:

• More consistent employee accountability.
• Stronger shift leadership.
• Better communication across the team.
• Improved attendance and reliability.
• Stronger customer experience.
• Better compliance execution.
• Cleaner documentation and follow-up.
• Stronger store presentation.
• Less owner involvement in daily issues.
• A more professional, stable, and high-performing workplace culture.

Salary

Required Skills

The ideal candidate should bring a strong combination of leadership judgment, operational discipline, and people-management ability. Required skills include:

• Leadership presence: Ability to lead by example, maintain calm under pressure, and provide clear direction during daily store operations.
• Accountability management: Comfort addressing performance, attendance, professionalism, and policy concerns early, respectfully, and consistently.
• Communication skills: Ability to communicate clearly with employees, customers, management, vendors, and ownership in a professional and solution-oriented manner.
• Coaching and documentation: Ability to coach team members, follow up on expectations, and document workplace concerns objectively and appropriately.
• Operational judgment: Ability to recognize priorities, make sound decisions during busy shifts, and escalate issues when needed.
• Customer service leadership: Ability to model and reinforce a welcoming, educational, and professional customer experience.
• Compliance mindset: Ability to follow and reinforce rules, SOPs, ID verification requirements, inventory controls, and regulated retail procedures.
• Conflict resolution: Ability to de-escalate customer or employee issues calmly, professionally, and without creating unnecessary disruption.
• Attention to detail: Ability to identify errors, inconsistencies, cash handling concerns, inventory issues, scheduling gaps, or operational problems before they grow.
• Reliability and follow-through: Ability to complete assigned tasks, close loops, communicate updates, and maintain consistent management coverage.
• Technology comfort: Ability to use POS systems, scheduling tools, inventory platforms, communication apps, and basic reporting systems.
• Professional discretion: Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding employee issues, customer information, business operations, and compliance matters.

Desired Skills

In addition to the required skills, strong candidates may bring one or more of the following:

• Cannabis retail experience: Familiarity with dispensary operations, regulated product sales, customer education, and cannabis compliance expectations.
• High-volume retail or hospitality background: Experience leading teams in fast-paced environments such as specialty retail, restaurants, hotels, wellness, grocery, or customer-focused service businesses.
• Inventory or cash controls experience: Prior exposure to inventory counts, cash reconciliation, loss prevention, drawer accountability, or audit preparation.
• Employee development experience: Ability to help train, mentor, and grow team members into stronger performers or future leaders.
• Process improvement mindset: Ability to identify workflow gaps, recommend improvements, and help turn informal habits into consistent operating procedures.
• Scheduling and labor awareness: Understanding of how staffing levels, call-outs, coverage gaps, and peak traffic periods impact store performance.
• Comfort with accountability conversations: Experience handling difficult conversations in a calm, respectful, and professional way.
• Brand ambassador mindset: Interest in representing Simply Pure's mission, customer experience, and community-centered cannabis values.
• Delivery operations familiarity: Experience with dispatch, route coordination, vehicle safety, cash security, GPS tracking, or last-mile delivery operations.
• Bilingual communication skills: Ability to communicate effectively with a broader range of customers and team members is a plus.

About SIMPLY PURE TRENTON NJ INC

Simply Pure Trenton is a mission-driven cannabis retail dispensary located in Ewing, New Jersey. We are committed to creating a positive, professional, and people-centered cannabis experience rooted in education, inclusion, social justice, customer care, and operational excellence.

As part of the Simply Pure legacy, our brand represents one of the most historic and socially impactful stories in legal cannabis. Simply Pure was founded by pioneers who helped redefine cannabis ownership, representation, and access, and we proudly carry that spirit forward in New Jersey.

At Simply Pure Trenton, we believe cannabis retail should be welcoming, knowledgeable, compliant, and community-centered. Our team is focused on providing customers with respectful service, high-quality products, responsible education, and a professional retail experience they can trust.

We are building a workplace culture grounded in accountability, teamwork, professionalism, compliance, and growth. As our business continues to evolve, we are looking for leaders who can help strengthen daily operations, support team development, protect our standards, and contribute to the long-term success of Simply Pure Trenton.

Benefits

Simply Pure Trenton offers a competitive benefits package designed to support employee wellbeing, work-life balance, and professional growth. Eligible employees may receive:

• Competitive salary range of $62,000–$68,000, based on experience
• Performance-based bonus opportunities
• Paid time off
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage
• Employee discount
• Professional development and leadership growth opportunities
• Opportunity to help shape operations at a growing cannabis retail business
• Supportive, mission-driven workplace culture
• Experience with a respected cannabis brand rooted in education, inclusion, and social justice
• Potential performance-based growth opportunities as the company expands

Equal opportunity employer

Simply Pure Trenton is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.