Be part of a vibrant, award-winning, worker-owned supermarket embedded in the local community, which has built success on strong principles and responsible trading practices. We’re looking for people who love working with food and with the public, and want to take responsibility in co-managing an ethical food business as well as getting stuck in on the shop floor.
We’re recruiting for new members of our co-op, where we all hold the same fundamental role; To share responsibility for the management and development of the business while contributing effectively to the physical work of running a supermarket.
We are grocers with a mission. As a co-operative, our range of perspectives, cultures and life experiences strengthens our ability to fulfil that mission, and every round of recruitment gives us the opportunity to broaden our co-operative further.
Being a grocer is a fantastic occupation that brings great satisfaction. If you’re as happy to stack shelves as you are to shape policy, and can clean floors as well as you can calculate margins, this may be the role for you! Right now, we are particularly seeking those with an interest in our on-site kitchen, warehouse, and greengrocery department.
Pay & benefits: £16.00 per hour (£29,120 p.a. for 35 hrs) plus a 30% shop discount. We operate with flat pay – all permanent staff (and those in the probationary period) are paid the same amount per hour regardless of role, experience or length of service. For those who successfully complete the seven month probation, we offer healthcare and other generous benefits.
Working Hours: Employment will be between 20-35 average hours per week (exact number to be mutually agreed between ourselves and successful applicants), on a fortnightly rota. Working hours include some early starts, and late finishes, alternate two-day weekends, Thursday mornings, and additionally, quarterly Members’ Meetings (usually Mondays) which may fall outside normal rota’d hours.
Who we are: Twice-named ‘Best UK Food Retailer’ at the BBC Food & Farming Awards, Unicorn is a dynamic wholefoods supermarket. Our remit is affordable, tasty, nourishing food with a focus on organic, fair-trade, local and ethical sourcing, competing on price and range with the big supermarkets. As a shop and as a workplace, we constantly work to build belonging among all members of our community, reflected in the range of foods we offer, projects we uplift, flexibility in worker roles and hours, and more. Watch our films to find out more!
What’s the role: Unicorn is a workers’ co-operative, and we all share the same job title and description. We operate with a flat structure, where all co-op members (around 50) are managers and directors of the business, sharing equal responsibility for equal pay – there is no boss, head office or store manager! Our working weeks offer plenty of variety, with a mixture of manual/customer-facing, back-office and business development tasks. We all spend most of our time on the shop floor and warehouse (no matter how long we’ve been here); working on the till, re-stocking shelves, splitting deliveries, assisting customers and more. Over time you’ll also become part of one or more departments looking after a specific trading area (such as chilled produce or veg) and/or back-office function (such as finance or HR). Right now, we are particularly seeking those with an interest and/or experience in commercial food preparation, warehouse work, and greengrocery.
There is a probationary period of seven months from the start of employment. Successful completion of this period leads to an offer of full membership of the co-operative. At this point, you’ll join the rest of the co-op members in collectively stewarding the business, shaping business strategy and operations.
Introduction Day: If you’d like to get more of a sense of what it’s like to work here, book a slot at our Intro Day on Wednesday 5th March. You’ll get a short tour of the site including all the bits behind the scenes. Then we’ll go upstairs for a cup of tea and you can have a chat with a couple of co-op members about the business of being a wholefood grocer! It’s super informal – don’t dress up (we won’t be!) and we’re not assessing you – it’s your chance to see if we feel like the right fit for you. Places are pretty limited – request a slot here by 9am on 26th Feb.
How to apply for the job: Download the job pack below, then once you’re ready, click the button to fill in your application. Closing date is midnight on Friday 14th March. If you have any questions about your application, contact personnel@unicorn-grocery.coop.
We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the community we serve, creating a culture of belonging and providing equal employment opportunity. We strongly encourage applications from all potential candidates regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, sex, ability, neurotype or gender identity.
The more perspectives we have within our co-op membership, the better we can serve our community, steward our business for future generations and offer a genuine alternative to the exploitative global food system. If you would like to have a conversation with us about accessibility and inclusion, please contact personnel@unicorn-grocery.coop.
If you think you might have the skills we’re looking for but aren’t 100% sure, please apply anyway! We want this application process to be as accessible as possible, so please contact us if you require any additional support.
Closing date: 14th March 2025
Wholefoods Grocer at Unicorn
Privacy Notice: Please refer to our recruitment privacy notice for information on how your personal information in your application will be used, and your rights under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) 2018.
