Copack & Supply Chain Operations Manager

Perfetti Van Melle•Erlanger, KY

About The Position

The Copack & Supply Chain Operations is responsible for leading the performance, governance, and strategic direction of the company's external operations network across the United States and Mexico. This role ensures safe, efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality production/packaging through external partners while driving customer service, reliable supply, Quality and continuous improvement. The position serves as the primary leader for external copack/production coordination and this role partners closely with Supply Chain, Procurement, Quality, R&D, Finance, and Commercial teams to deliver business objectives, service and support growth initiatives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Business, or related field required.
10+ years of progressive manufacturing, supply chain, or operations leadership experience.
Multi-site leadership experience required.
Strong supply chain and manufacturing operations expertise.
Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority.
Strong financial and business acumen.
Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
Experience managing complex supplier and partner relationships.
Ability to lead through ambiguity and drive results across a distributed network.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred
Experience managing external manufacturing, co-packing or co-manufacturing networks preferred.
Experience operating across the United States and Mexico preferred.
Strong background in food, consumer packaged goods, consumer products, or related manufacturing environments preferred.
Experience leading continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead all aspects of external partners and operations across assigned U.S. and Mexico networks.
Establish operational performance standards, governance processes, and accountability mechanisms.
Develop and maintain strong strategic relationships with copackers and external Supply Chain partners.
Ensure production capacity and capability align with business demand requirements.
Drive network optimization initiatives to improve service, cost, quality, and efficiency.
Partner with Supply Chain Planning to ensure strong Customer service reliable product availability and inventory management.
Monitor production schedules, capacity utilization, and fulfilment performance across the network.
Lead issue resolution for supply disruptions, shortages, and operational risks.
Support new product launches, commercialization projects, and business continuity planning.
Identify opportunities to improve end-to-end supply chain performance.
Ensure all external partners meet company quality, food safety, regulatory, and customer requirements.
Partner with Quality teams to address corrective actions, audit findings, and compliance gaps.
Maintain adherence to applicable regulatory standards in both the U.S. and Mexico.
Champion a culture of standards, quality and continuous improvement throughout the network.
Serve as the primary operational liaison between internal stakeholders and external SC partners.
Collaborate closely with Procurement, Supply Planning, Logistics, Quality, Finance, Engineering, and Commercial teams.
Provide regular business updates and performance reviews to senior leadership.
Support strategic sourcing and contract negotiations as needed.