Operations Manager

Wonderful Citrus • Mission, TX

19d • Onsite

About The Position

Wonderful Citrus is North America’s leading integrated grower, shipper and packer of fresh citrus. This role will own daily plant execution and production schedule, maximizing throughput while balancing quality, maintenance, and labor requirements. The position plans and directs production activities and establishes production priorities for products in keeping with effective operations and cost factors. This role will also develop budget and cost controls, and obtain data regarding types, quantities, specifications, and delivery dates of parts and equipment ordered. The Operations Manager will coordinate operations with agriculture/fruit supply, planning, quality, engineering, maintenance, warehouse, logistics, and commercial teams. They will confer with management to establish production KPIs and how they are monitored and reported. A key responsibility is to maximize juice, pulp, oil, and other valuable product recovery from incoming fruit, investigating losses and process inefficiencies. The role involves reviewing and analyzing production, quality control, maintenance, and operational reports to determine causes of nonconformity with product specifications and operating or production problems. The Operations Manager will develop and implement operating methods and procedures designed to eliminate operating problems and improve product quality, ensuring these methods are documented and trained as per company standards. They will conduct meetings to resolve grievances and ensure production data is accurately entered into the ERP systems in a timely manner. This role leads root-cause analysis and improvement projects, eliminating recurring losses and bottlenecks, and promoting Lean/CI principles. Partnering with maintenance to improve equipment reliability, prioritizing critical work, and ensuring preventive/predictive maintenance is executed are crucial. Collaboration with food safety and quality teams to ensure compliance with internal policies and timely corrective actions is also essential. The Operations Manager leads production, develops supervisors, establishes accountability, and implements succession planning. A strong safety culture is paramount, ensuring OSHA compliance, enforcing safety programs, and driving incident investigations and corrective actions. Compliance with HACCP/FSMA, sanitation, and GMP programs, maintaining audit readiness, and ensuring deviations are properly controlled and documented are key duties. This role serves as the subject matter expert for teams regarding the operations aspect of the business, supporting CAPEX, maintenance, and FSQA. Effectively presenting operations-related projects, initiatives, performance results, and other key updates to business leadership and employees is also required. The Director of Operations may add other duties at any time depending on the needs of the company.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and significant manufacturing leadership experience.
• 8–10 years of progressive manufacturing experience.
• 5+ years of manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience managing production operations, employees, budgets and KPIs.
• Strong knowledge of industrial safety, quality systems and manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated experience improving safety, quality, reliability, productivity and cost.
• Strong analytical, communication and organizational skills.
• Computer literacy: Microsoft Suite, Power BI, etc.
• Have the ability to travel domestically and internationally. (~10%)

Nice To Haves

• Engineering, Food Science, Operations or related technical degree.
• 10–15+ years manufacturing experience.
• Previous Plant Manager or Operations Manager experience.
• Food/beverage or citrus processing experience.
• HACCP/PCQI training.
• Lean/Six Sigma training or certification.
• Experience with sanitary processing, CIP and thermal processing.
• Experience managing a facility with refrigeration, boilers, wastewater and other significant utilities.
• Experience with capital projects and plant expansions.
• Bilingual: English/Spanish

Responsibilities

• Own daily plant execution and production schedule; maximize throughput while balancing quality, maintenance and labor requirements.
• Plans and directs production activities and establishes production priorities for products in keeping with effective operations and cost factors.
• Develop budget and cost controls, and obtain data regarding types, quantities, specifications, and delivery dates of parts and equipment ordered.
• Coordinate operations with agriculture/fruit supply, planning, quality, engineering, maintenance, warehouse, logistics and commercial teams.
• Confer with management to establish production KPIs and how they are monitored and reported.
• Maximize juice, pulp, oil and other valuable product recovery from incoming fruit; investigate losses and process inefficiencies.
• Reviews and analyzes production, quality control, maintenance, and operational reports to determine causes of nonconformity with product specifications and operating or production problems.
• Develop and implement operating methods and procedures designed to eliminate operating problems and improve product quality.
• Ensure these methods are documented and trained as per company standards.
• Conducts meetings to resolve or effectively reach a settlement of grievances and refers unresolved grievances to the human resources department.
• Ensure production data is accurately entered into the ERP systems in a timely manner.
• Lead root-cause analysis and improvement projects; eliminate recurring losses and bottlenecks; promote Lean/CI principles.
• Partner with maintenance to improve equipment reliability; prioritize critical work; ensure preventive/predictive maintenance is executed; reduce emergency work.
• Partner with food safety and quality to ensure compliance with internal polices, complete corrective actions in a timely manner, or any other task required to meet GFSI expectations.
• Lead production; develop supervisors; establish accountability and succession planning.
• Establish a strong safety culture; ensure OSHA compliance; enforce LOTO, confined space, chemical/ammonia, PPE and other programs; drive incident investigations and corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with HACCP/FSMA, sanitation and GMP programs; maintain audit readiness; ensure deviations are properly controlled and documented.
• Be the subject matter expert for teams for the operations aspect of the business, supporting CAPEX, maintenance and FSQA.
• Effectively present operations related projects, initiatives, performance results, and other key updates to business leadership and employees.
• The employee shall be responsible for all reasonable measures and precautions to ensure compliance with 21CFR 117, FSMA, Juice HACCP, GFSI standards and process controls within their department.
• This position schedules all operations supervisory employees’ vacations and work schedules.
• This position is also required to work out any major employee disputes and perform annual employee evaluations.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits package including Medical, Vision, Dental, 401k
• Continued training and generous Education Reimbursement Program
• Paid sick, vacation and holiday time
• Wonderful Giving ( www.wonderfulgiving.com ) -- allowing you to donate company money to a cause of your choice

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager