Website firestormcoop Firestorm Books & Coffee
As a worker-owned co-operative, Firestorm is not seeking an “employee,” but a future co-owner of the business who both participates in daily retail operations and possesses the managerial skills to help the co-op achieve growth. Additionally, as a community-supported, horizontally-organized collective with anarchist roots, Firestorm seeks a future co-owner who has affinity with our collective model and commitment to liberatory social movement.
The available position is suited for those seeking full-time work (35 hours per week). Because consistent involvement of worker-owners is necessary for the project’s ongoing sustainability, we are looking to hire someone able to make a multi-year commitment, following a successful trial period.
If you share Firestorm’s mission and values, have retail and management experience, think that co-owning a radical bookstore sounds like a dream come true, and are ready to settle into one project and let it be your thing, we want to hear from you! Individuals from historically marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Do you have experience with customer service in a retail setting?
Firestorm is a specialty retail store, so customer service is an essential component of our work. We are seeking individuals who love meeting new people, cultivating relationships, and solving problems. A good candidate has prior retail experience, extensive knowledge of the book industry (or the motivation and confidence to quickly acquire it), strong communication skills, effective time management, and a willingness to learn and maintain systems.
Do you have grassroots leadership or business management experience?
As a collective, Firestorm depends on each member to effectively oversee their own work and take responsibility for the health and performance of the co-operative. Applicants should have managerial experience that demonstrates ability to take initiative, develop plans with others, and exercise leadership to bring a shared vision to fruition. Beyond simply performing discrete tasks, worker-owners must be holistic in their thinking and collaborative in their approach.
Shared Responsibilities
Book Retailing
- Customer engagement
- Inventory processing and management (arrivals, returns, etc)
- Maintaining neat and visually pleasing sales floor
- Maintaining in-store displays
Collective Membership
- Financial planning
- Attendance at and facilitation of collective meetings
- Facilities maintenance
Additionally Desirable
Please be sure to tell us if you have any of the following skills or experiences:
- Two or more years of bookstore work
- Talent for retail display and window creation
- Experience with consensus decision-making and collective work environments
- Proficiency with graphic design, Html, and CSS
- Fluency in Spanish
E-commerce Coordinator
Our co-operative is developing an online sales channel with the goal of capturing new revenue from customers outside Western North Carolina. We “soft launched” e-commerce in November of last year and currently have extremely basic fulfillment infrastructure. We are looking for someone who is comfortable creating new systems—from the ground up—to ensure effective marketing, fulfillment, and evaluation of online sales. This is not a position overseeing the nuts and bolts of existing routines put in place by others. The job will be creative, challenging, and (for the right person) a lot of fun.
Responsibilities
- Developing fulfillment strategies; including order processing, shipment, tracking, and returns
- Managing online customer service
- Identifying new areas of e-commerce opportunity (incl. referrals, marketing, etc.)
- Managing internet marketing including social media integration
- Working with cross-functional teams on content, web maintenance, and usability to create an optimal experience for current and prospective customers
- Developing and monitor site performance metrics, and all KPIs related to e-commerce
- Building a culture of data-driven decision-making
Requirements
- Outstanding analytical skills, strong experience interpreting results and drawing conclusions
- Demonstrated strong business judgment and decision-making skills; ability to identify, prioritize, and articulate highest impact initiatives
- Willingness to “invent” and derive new ways to do business in uncharted territory
- Ability to educate, motivate, and steer resources toward a collective goal
- Ability to work cross-functionally and collaboratively
- Strong problem-solving skills and work ethic
About Our Co-operative
Firestorm is an eleven year old worker co-operative with roots in Asheville’s activist, anarchist, and queer communities. We operate without a boss or general manager and work together as a collective, making decisions using consensus process. Our business operates with a goal of generating value for its workers and its community rather than accruing “profit” in the traditional sense.
Over the course of six to nine months, a prospective member will become intimately familiar with our co-op, developing the skills and experience necessary to act as an owner. A full explanation of the prospective membership process can be found here.
Our collective is a majority queer project that centers anti-oppression within our co-op and community. By operating a welcoming, accessible space, we facilitate encounters between individuals and communities often separated by identity, geography, and economic status. Here, we feel it is important to acknowledge that spaces of encounter are inherently conflictual. While we see potential value in the creation of spaces that are safe(r), we believe that the homogeneity required of safe(r) spaces is often incompatible with the radical inclusivity of encounter. Firestorm is not a safe(r) space.
Compensation
$18,200 per year + 2 weeks paid time off
This is currently the maximum salary for co-operative members. We are looking for a fifth member who can support the growth needed to achieve a more equitable compensation.
This job begins no later than March 23, 2020. For consideration, please submit your resume and a cover letter describing why you would be a good fit for this position to bookstore@firestorm.coop. Resumes with no cover letter will not be considered.