El Super Is Hiring Store Directors Across San Diego, Starting at $85,000
El Super is building out its store management bench across the San Diego region, and the opening is for the person who wants to run the whole show, not just a shift or a department. If you’ve got real grocery leadership experience and you’re ready to own a store from the ground up, this one’s worth a close read.
What the Job Actually Involves
The Store Director role at El Super is, in plain terms, the top job inside the building. You’re the person accountable for the complete operation of one designated store, which means every department, every associate, and every vendor relationship runs through you in some capacity. The posting is clear that this isn’t a narrow lane job. You’ll be coordinating with corporate management on one side and department heads and floor associates on the other, working to drive sales while keeping customer service at a high standard.
There’s also an expectation baked into the description that goes beyond operations: you’re supposed to be the example. The listing specifically calls out professionalism, ethical behavior, and sound decision-making as constants, not occasional requirements. That’s worth sitting with for a second. A lot of management postings talk about “leadership,” but this one names the behavior directly.
Day to day, expect a mix of people management and problem solving. The description notes you’ll focus on your employees and work through complex problems as they come up, then coordinate the broader team to hit operating results that stay compliant with company procedure. In a grocery environment, that typically means the job doesn’t sit still. Expect a fast-paced floor, not a desk.
Requirements and Qualifications
- Food safety certification: A CPFM (Certified Food Protection Manager) credential, or an equivalent certification, is required for any position tied to food preparation, handling, or serving, which in a grocery store setting covers a significant chunk of the role.
- Physical readiness: This is a physically active job. The posting lists lifting, standing, walking, and kneeling as essential functions, along with visual and auditory requirements tied to running a store floor.
- Full job description on file: El Super notes that the complete job description, including details on possible reasonable accommodations, is available at the store location itself, so candidates with questions about specific physical demands can get more detail there directly.
Notably, the posting doesn’t spell out a required number of years of experience or a specific education level in the text provided. What it does make clear is the scope of the role, and scope like this generally speaks for itself: this isn’t a first management job, it’s the job you take after you’ve already proven you can run people and a P&L under pressure.
Compensation
El Super states a starting salary of $85,000 annually for this position. The listing is upfront that the actual starting pay will depend on a number of qualifications, including a candidate’s experience and relevant skills, so treat that figure as a floor rather than a fixed number. No additional benefits information was included in the posting itself.
Who This Role Is a Good Fit For
This is a strong match if you’ve already run a department or a full store somewhere and you’re comfortable being the one everyone else looks to when something goes sideways. Grocery retail rewards people who can hold a lot of moving parts at once: inventory, staffing, vendor timing, customer complaints, corporate expectations, all on the same afternoon. If that sounds like a normal Tuesday to you rather than a nightmare scenario, this role fits.
It’s probably not the right move if you’re looking for a management title with limited floor time, or if the idea of being on your feet through lifting and kneeling all shift doesn’t appeal to you. Same goes if you don’t currently hold, or can’t quickly obtain, a CPFM certification. That piece isn’t optional here.
Store management roles like this one tend to stay in demand because they’re genuinely hard to fill. The skill set is specific: you need operational discipline, people management instincts, and the stamina for a physical retail environment, all at once. Grocery chains expanding their regional footprint, as El Super appears to be doing across San Diego, need that combination in multiple locations at the same time, which is part of why openings like this one surface in batches rather than one at a time.
Bottom Line
If you’ve got the grocery or retail management background, the food safety credential, and the appetite for a job that puts you in charge of an entire store rather than a slice of one, this is worth applying to directly. El Super is actively filling these Store Director positions across its San Diego locations now.
El Super provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics.