Senior Director, Co-Manufacturing

Kinder's•Walnut Creek, CA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Kinder's is a privately held, founder-led CPG company that is expanding globally and approaching $1 billion in revenue. They are seeking adventurous and fearless individuals to join their crew. This role is for someone who wants to see the real impact of their work and contribute to adding flavor to millions of meals and lives. The Co-Manufacturing Senior Director will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure co-manufacturing operations meet business needs and deliver on key performance indicators. This role involves negotiating supplier contracts, monitoring performance, measuring savings, and facilitating communication between contract manufacturers and internal departments, ensuring all engagements are conducted to the highest ethical standards.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree
Minimum of 15 years of experience in manufacturing operations or co-manufacturing, supply chain experience in the food industry.
Proven track record of managing relationships with co-manufacturers and delivering results in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Demonstrated experience developing and coaching teammates and peers.
Ability to travel up to 50% of month as needed.
General computer skills (MS Office, web, etc.)
ERP and advanced Excel skills preferred.
Understand how business drivers such as OPEX, CAPEX, MOQs, OEE, throughput, yield and scrap ultimately affect a deal in terms of quality, delivery, and cost.
Demonstrated understanding of end-to-end CPG supply chain processes with an emphasis on the technical aspects of food/beverage manufacturing and packaging.
Empathy, self-awareness, and respect.
Strong analytical skills and ability to use data to drive decision making.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and external partners.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Overseeing the company's co-manufacturing operations, including managing relationships with co-manufacturers, ensuring quality and consistency in production, and driving continuous improvement in manufacturing processes.
Develop and manage the Monthly/Quarterly/Annual Co Packer Review processes for co-manufacturing partners, monitor performance and drive quality, efficiency, cost and case fill improvements with the vendor through implementation of KPI’s and score cards.
Evaluate the operations and management teams, financial structure, and potential risks at each facility with input from FSQA, PD, Commercialization, Sourcing, Planning, Customer Services and Finance.
Make internal recommendations/presentations for new products or transitions of existing products.
Establish and maintain contract manufacturing relationships.
Act as a single point of contact for the supplier on production qualifications, quality/supply issues and KPIs.
Be the tactical business link between the Co-Manufacturer and Kinder’s.
Work with Vendors, PD and Commercialization department to analyze manufacturability of new products, recommending changes that will facilitate efficient manufacturing and lower costs.
Develop processes to ensure that products can be commercially reproduced.
Model theoretical and actual (OEE) at co-packers.
Balance availability of capacity against constraints to line time (clean outs, change overs, down-time, other customers’ line time) at the Co-packer.
Meet with Co-Packers to discuss ways to manage capacity consistent with sales forecasts.
Prospect redundant and overflow capacity and provide recommendations to plan for unexpected sales growth or an unforeseen constraint to supply.
Ensure quality and consistency in production, including establishing quality standards and conducting regular audits of co-manufacturing facilities.
Drive and document continuous improvement in manufacturing processes, including identifying and implementing opportunities for cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved quality.
Stay current with industry trends and best practices in co-manufacturing and recommend changes to the company's strategy and operations as needed.