Donations Sorter - Retail Operations

The major focus of this hands-on role for Forgotten Angels Retail Operations in Pearland, TX is sorting incoming donations into organized segments, including clothes, household items, crafts, and media. This active role requires a safety-first mindset to safely test small appliances, lift heavy boxes, and evaluate the best path for every item—whether it goes directly to our sales floor, gets routed to partner companies, or gets separated for specialized recycling (such as damaged metal pans). In addition to categorizing goods, you will test items for functionality and learn to price items to help prepare them for sale.

Key Responsibilities

• Primary Sorting & Segmenting: Efficiently sort large volumes of incoming donations into accurate categories, including clothes, household items, crafts, media, books, and toys.
• Safe Functionality Testing: Follow strict safety protocols to inspect and test donated electrical items (such as irons, blenders, and lamps) to ensure cords and mechanisms work safely before being placed on the floor.
• Safe Material Handling: Safely handle, lift, and unpack incoming donation boxes and bags, watching out for sharp objects, broken glass, or heavy items.
• Disposition & Judgment: Evaluate items to decide if they meet quality standards for our sales floor or if they should be routed to alternative partner companies.
• Recycling & Scrap Sorting: Separate unsellable items for recycling streams, such as placing damaged or heavily worn metal cookware into designated scrap metal recovery bins.
• Pricing & Preparation: Receive training to assign fair pricing to items and clean, dust, or sanitize merchandise so it is ready for the sales floor.
• Workspace Maintenance: Keep the donation processing and receiving areas highly organized, clean, and free of tripping hazards.

All-Staff Commitment

We work as a team. All employees, regardless of title, are expected to:

• Maintain Cleanliness: Help keep workspaces, processing areas, and the retail shop clean, tidy, and organized throughout the day.
• Provide Radical Service: Treat every customer and volunteer with the respect and care they deserve.
• Promote Safety: Actively look for and correct any situation that could be unsafe for our team or guests.

Requirements

• Previous retail experience of any kind is highly preferred; experience in donation processing, warehouse sorting, or material recycling is a plus.
• A strong commitment to safety protocols, especially when testing appliances or handling potentially sharp items.
• Good judgment to quickly determine if items are retail-ready or better suited for recycling and partners.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to quickly sort and categorize different types of goods.
• Willingness to learn pricing standards and safely test small household appliances.
• Ability to work on a flexible schedule, including weekends.
• Ability to stand, bend, and lift boxes of donations weighing up to 40 lbs.