Ripening Operations Mgr. - (Dole Fresh Fruit)

Dole Food Company Inc•Wilmington, DE

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Ripening Operations Manager has direct oversight of the overall strategy and execution of ripening programs and activities across the assigned banana ripening facilities, by translating demand forecasts into operational plans, leading teams and coordinating with cross‑functional partners to ensure facilities, equipment, and processes meet quality, food safety, and regulatory SOPs, accomplishing this while driving financial performance, inventory integrity, quality compliance and customer satisfaction, in order to consistently deliver high‑quality products, strengthen service reliability, and timely issue resolution.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Operations, Business Administration, Food Science, Agriculture, or a related field or equivalent experience required.
7+ years of experience in banana ripening, produce operations, quality standards, or related warehouse environment.
5+ years of experience leading leaders and managing performance through others.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office – Word, Advanced Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams
Knowledge of inventory control, labor management, and basic financial analysis.
Advanced problem‑solving and root‑cause analysis capabilities.
Excellent oral and written communication Skills
Ability to lift and move 50lbs.
Ability to stand for long periods of time.
Stooping, bending, twisting, lifting, pulling, pushing, and reaching may be required in completion of job duties.
Ability to work safely in a warehouse setting or field location, including working around heavy equipment, such as forklifts.
Ability to work in cold environments.
Occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid locations.
Exposure to food grade chemicals.
Ability to work in high places and climb ladders.
Banana rooms are long/narrow with only a front opening – incumbent must be able to perform some duties in confined spaces.
Ability to determine and distinguish color variation.
Ability to perform all work functions of a Banana Ripener.
Perform work outside of normal business hours as needed and required. Ability to work weekends, holidays, and overtime.
Travel required.

Nice To Haves

ERP system experience (e.g., D365) preferred.
Bilingual Spanish is a plus.

Responsibilities

Leads the strategy and daily ripening operations by converting demand forecasts into operational plans and directing teams to process and release products according to quality, food safety, and SOP standards, to ensure safe, efficient, and cost-effective operations that meet customer requirements and support business performance.
Maintains ripening room readiness by overseeing sanitation, preventative maintenance, and equipment functionality, while enforcing food safety, regulatory compliance and documentation, to ensure facilities operate reliably.
Drives operational performance by setting goals, monitoring KPIs, resolving risks, and serving as the key operational contact with warehouse and cross‑functional partners, enabling timely issue resolution, stronger service reliability, and improved customer satisfaction.
Develops and strengthens the ripening team by coaching and mentoring the Ripening Lead and ripeners, guiding their skill growth and leadership capability through structured development activities and succession planning, ensuring bench strength for key ripening roles.
Directs the ripening workforce by managing schedules, assigning tasks, ensuring labor coverage, and providing day‑to‑day guidance while monitoring productivity and overtime, enabling efficient staffing, consistent execution, and a safe, well‑coordinated operation that meets daily ripening demands.
Leads performance management by setting goals, conducting evaluations, enforcing SOP, quality, and food safety compliance, and fostering a safe work environment, applying structured oversight and corrective actions to ensure operational discipline, employee accountability, and a culture that protects product integrity and team wellbeing.
Improves ripening planning and fruit utilization by evaluating demand patterns, shrink trends, sales behavior, and inventory flows, using operational and historical data to strengthen forecasting, guide fruit allocation, and support more accurate ripening decisions in order to optimize product availability and waste reduction.
Supports profitability by tracking labor and operational costs, reviewing billing data, coordinating with Finance to verify accuracy and applying financial cost-control initiatives and data validation processes to ensure correct revenue capture and stronger financial performance.
Ensure end‑to‑end inventory accuracy from port arrival through ripening operations by analyzing discrepancies, partnering with internal and external stakeholders to resolve issues, and developing business cases for capital investments and process improvements, enabling continuous improvement across ripening facilities.
Provides oversight and governance of ripening SOPs, food safety protocols, and regulatory requirements by owning operational procedures, enforcing adherence across teams, and executing documented sanitation and preventative maintenance programs, to maintain compliant, safe, and high‑quality ripening operations.
Oversee product quality and customer satisfaction by investigating quality issues and customer complaints, identifying root causes, and implementing corrective actions in collaboration with internal teams, ensuring timely resolution, prevention of recurring problems, and consistent delivery of products that meet program and customer expectations.
Standardize the best practices across facilities and participating in trials related to ripening, packaging, and quality improvements, applying insights from testing and cross‑facility learnings to reduce costs, enhance performance, and optimize ripening programs for long‑term efficiency.
Communicates ripening performance, quality results, and operational updates with customers and QA teams, to support customer visits, audits, and retail assessments.
Collaborate with cross‑functional stakeholders while managing third-party warehouse, logistics, and transportation partners to ensure consistent operational execution.
Shares operational risks, changes, and improvement opportunities with site leadership and peer managers and travels to provide on‑site support to other facilities as needed.