Director, Operations

METROPOLITAN WAREHOUSE AND DELIVERY•Carneys Point Township, NJ

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Metropolitan’s new Penns Grove / Carney’s Point, New Jersey Distribution Center is a major East Coast operation supporting multiple business segments, including 3PL warehousing, inbound receiving, fulfillment, cross-dock, linehaul, returns, and integration with Metropolitan’s final-mile delivery network. The Director of Operations is responsible for the overall performance of the facility, including safety, service, inventory accuracy, productivity, labor management, customer performance, financial results, building standards, and continuous improvement. As the leader of a new Metropolitan location, this position will play an important role in establishing the operating culture, developing the leadership team, implementing Metropolitan standards and systems, supporting customer onboarding, and scaling the operation as volume grows. The Director will work closely with Operations, Customer Success, Business Transformation, Quality, Safety, and other functional teams to ensure the facility delivers consistently against customer commitments and Metropolitan operating standards.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Operations Management, Business, or related field preferred.
Minimum 10 years of progressive operations experience in a high-volume warehouse, distribution, fulfillment, or logistics environment preferred.
Minimum 5 years of leadership experience, including responsibility for managers, supervisors, and hourly employees.
Experience managing a large, multi-shift distribution operation strongly preferred.
Experience with 3PL warehousing, furniture, big-and-bulky products, home furnishings, or final-mile logistics preferred.
Experience opening, expanding, relocating, or stabilizing a distribution center is highly desirable.
Demonstrated ability to manage customer SLAs, KPIs, productivity standards, budgets, and financial targets.
Strong understanding of warehouse management systems and inventory control processes.
Strong knowledge of receiving, putaway, storage, picking, shipping, cross-dock, returns, and inventory management.
Working knowledge of OSHA requirements and warehouse safety practices.
Working knowledge of warehouse material handling equipment and MHE safety requirements.
Working knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local employment requirements.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to use operational data to identify root causes and drive action.
High proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
Experience implementing organizational and process change within a distribution environment.
Strong leadership, communication, coaching, and employee-development skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Ability and availability to work irregular or extended hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays, as operational needs require.

Nice To Haves

The successful candidate will be a visible, hands-on operations leader who can move comfortably between the warehouse floor, customer discussions, performance data, and strategic planning.
This individual must be able to establish accountability, develop people, solve problems quickly, and build scalable processes while maintaining a strong focus on safety and the customer experience.
Because this is a new and strategically important Metropolitan facility, the Director will be expected not only to run warehouse operation, but also to build and continuously improve it as the business grows.

Responsibilities

Provide overall leadership and accountability for warehouse operations within the Penns Grove / Carney’s Point Distribution Center.
Strategically, manage the operation in accordance with Metropolitan policies, operating standards, customer requirements, and company objectives.
Lead a 24/7 operating environment, including multiple shifts and seven-day-per-week operations as business requirements dictate.
Establish and maintain a strong operating culture focused on safety, accountability, customer service, quality, productivity, and continuous improvement.
Ensure appropriate management coverage and escalation processes across all shifts.
Maintain effective communication and coordination between warehouse, transportation, linehaul, final-mile, customer service, and corporate functions.
Ensure the facility is prepared to scale staffing, capacity, equipment, and processes as customer volume increases.
Support the operational launch and stabilization of the new Penns Grove / Carney’s Point facility.
Build and develop the facility leadership structure and operating routines.
Partner with cross-functional teams on new customer implementations, inventory transitions, system setup, SOP development, testing, and go-live readiness.
Ensure customer requirements are translated into clear operational processes and measurable performance standards.
Support facility layout, workflow, storage utilization, MHE requirements, labor planning, and operational readiness.
Lead post-launch stabilization and continuous improvement activities.
Maintain strong customer relationships by ensuring timely response, issue resolution, and operational follow-through.
Ensure execution against customer SLAs, contractual commitments, and Metropolitan service standards.
Participate in customer business reviews and operational discussions as required.
Identify service risks and operational exceptions early and implement corrective action before they negatively impact the customer.
Partner with Customer Success and Account Management on root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and customer improvement plans.
Maintain high levels of inventory accuracy, location accuracy, barcode/scan compliance, receiving accuracy, picking accuracy, and shipping accuracy.
Ensure disciplined execution of receiving, putaway, storage, picking, staging, loading, returns, and inventory control processes.
Establish strong cycle-counting, inventory reconciliation, and root-cause processes.
Ensure inventory discrepancies and operational exceptions are investigated and resolved promptly.
Maintain warehouse organization, housekeeping, slotting, storage utilization, and dock discipline.
Ensure proper handling and protection of furniture and other customer products throughout the facility.
Provide leadership and management oversight for all warehouse and applicable office personnel within the Distribution Center.
Ensure staffing levels and schedules align with forecasted volume, customer requirements, productivity expectations, and financial targets.
Optimize labor utilization while controlling overtime and temporary labor expense.
Recruit, develop, coach, and retain a high-performing leadership and hourly workforce.
Establish clear performance expectations and provide regular coaching and feedback.
Ensure appropriate training and cross-training across operational functions.
Maintain succession plans and leadership bench strength for critical roles.
Partner with Human Resources to ensure employment practices comply with company policy and applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
Establish and maintain productivity standards
Monitor labor productivity, cost per unit, cost per CFT, overtime, staffing, capacity utilization, and other operational cost drivers.
Manage the facility within established operating budgets and financial expectations.
Identify opportunities to improve labor efficiency, storage utilization, dock utilization, throughput, and overall operating cost.
Ensure facility capacity is effectively managed across racked storage, bulk storage, staging, docks, and other operating areas.
Support volume forecasting and capacity planning to ensure adequate labor, space, equipment, and resources.
Establish disciplined daily, weekly, and monthly operating reviews.
Produce, analyze, and act upon operational data, reports, and performance trends.
Maintain clear ownership of corrective actions when performance falls below target.
Use data to identify root causes, operational trends, and improvement opportunities.
Ensure management teams understand performance expectations and have visibility to results.
Ensure consistent execution of Metropolitan Standard Operating Procedures throughout the facility.
Participate in the implementation, testing, training, and adoption of new or upgraded warehouse, transportation, inventory, and reporting systems.
Maintain a high level of WMS transaction and scan discipline.
Ensure operational processes and system transactions accurately reflect the physical movement and status of inventory.
Identify opportunities to automate processes, improve data quality, and increase operational visibility.
Identify and execute Lean and continuous improvement opportunities that eliminate waste, reduce handling, improve flow, and increase productivity.
Lead structured root-cause analysis and corrective action for recurring operational issues.
Standardize successful processes across shifts and departments.
Encourage employee participation in identifying safety, quality, service, and productivity improvements.
Maintain a strong safety culture and ensure compliance with applicable OSHA requirements and Metropolitan safety policies.
Identify and drive safety improvements throughout the Distribution Center.
Ensure appropriate training and safe operation of forklifts, turret trucks, pallet jacks, dock equipment, and other material handling equipment.
Maintain standards for facility cleanliness, housekeeping, hygiene, security, emergency preparedness, and access control.
Ensure aisles, docks, exits, egress paths, storage areas, and work areas remain safe and compliant.
Coordinate building maintenance and facility-related issues with the appropriate internal and external partners.
Ensure incidents, injuries, product damage, and safety concerns are investigated and corrective actions are implemented.