Work collectively and contribute to your community!
The Olympia Food Co-op is a food Co-op with two retail locations and a separate office space. It’s a unique place to work with both full time collective managers and part time floor shift workers, known as flex staff. Our full time staff run our stores by consensus. If you’re interested in a collective position check out our consensus primer.

Collective staff receive equitable pay, excellent health benefits including dental and vision, alternative care, generous vacation accrual, retirement plan with 3% matching, a 20% discount on Co-op purchases, a charge account, experience with consensus decision making, scheduling flexibility and the opportunity to hone a diverse set of skills. From delivery processing to customer service, department management to meeting facilitation, policy making to financial coordination, the Co-op is looking for your talent and dedication. All collective positions involve both floor shifts and administrative/managerial duties and all these forms of work are payed equally within our collective structure.

Part time flex staff members operate as an on call and fill in support staff for floor shifts and these positions are for those who don’t want a management level position. These workers receive equitable pay, extremely flexible scheduling with minimal commitment and 20% off Co-op purchases.

Unlike most organizations, we hire and train in small groups! So it can take a bit longer to be hired than one would generally expect.

What do Staff Members Love about Working at the Co-op?
“My co-workers are some of the smartest, kindest, hardest working people I know.”
“I love that the Co-op has pay equity that values all work.”
“I challenge you to find better benefits anywhere.”
“I love that the Co-op puts people and values before profit.”
“Working with healthy food inspires me to eat well and share my knowledge with my community.”
“I love being part of a culturally creative enterprise.”

What is Work Like at the Co-op?

• Staff Collective Job Description
• Part Time Flex Staff Job Description

The Olympia Food Co-op is a not-for-profit, member owned, collectively managed natural foods grocery store that’s been in operation since 1977. As of 2025, more than 90 collective managers share responsibility for operating two stores and more than 20 flex staff workers work floor shifts. The organization is governed by a board of directors, who are elected by the membership.

Work at the Co-op is busy, fast-paced, and both mentally and physically demanding. The collective management structure is one where every staff person is expected to participate in the decision making process, and everyone assumes responsibility for the overall operation and welfare of the business. The collective and the rest of the Co-op organization make decisions by consensus, a process in which all participants work to develop decisions together. All collective staff receive consensus training.

Is the Olympia Food Co-op Currently Accepting Applications?
YES! In order to assure the broadest possible access to applications, and to give our hiring team adequate time to get to know candidates, the Olympia Food Co-op is always accepting applications.

If you’re interested in a full time collective staff position you can print this pdf, apply here or visit either store pick to pick up a copy. Paper applications can be returned to a staff member at the customer service desk in either store. Applicants can expect to be contacted by the hiring team regarding their hiring status by the end of the calendar month that follows the month in which they submitted their application. For example, for applications received anytime in May applicants will hear back from us by the end of June.

Applicants who receive first interviews are then notified whether or not they have been named as finalists. Finalists remain “active” for twelve months from the date of their first interview, and will be considered for second interviews when openings occur.

The Olympia Food Co-op is also always accepting applications for Part Time Flex Staff positions. Apply online or print this PDF and bring it into either of our stores.

Hiring Purpose and Values
The purpose of the Co-op’s hiring process is to select the best possible candidates to fulfill the duties of staff, as specified in the Co-op’s bylaws. The process includes considerations of skill, experience, values, diversity, commitment, availability, and compatibility. The process attempts to acknowledge the power imbalance and vulnerability that is inherent in any hiring process, and makes efforts to assure all applicants feel respected.

The Co-op strives to move away from the competitive, market driven values of typical hiring practices, where people are treated like commodities. We want to move toward building relationships in our hiring both with individuals and groups. To this end, we accept applications whether we are currently hiring or not, and we reach out to communities, organizations, and individuals to cultivate relationships to recruit staff.

The hiring process incorporates procedures and practices that attempt to remove barriers to classes of people who are oppressed, or are denied power and privilege in society generally. These classes of people include (but may not be limited to) people who are discriminated against based on race, sex, religious creed, age, disability, size, sexual orientation, gender orientation, marital status, and economic status or history.