Senior Operations Manager

Bridgetown Natural Foods•Mt Juliet, TN

About The Position

The Senior Operations Manager builds and leads the production leadership team, executes the manufacturing strategy, and oversees the daily management system. The role is accountable for production team performance and operational results across all shifts. It develops and retains leaders, defines skill requirements, establishes standard work, and partners closely with HR, Finance, Planning, Maintenance, Engineering, R&D, and Quality. The manager uses an active leadership style, spending more than 50% of the time on the production floor, and champions the Bridgetown Performance System and the organization’s mission and values. The role leads safety, quality, and food safety; develops and engages production leaders and team members; sets priorities across the value stream; and uses data-based root-cause analysis to identify and reduce losses. It tracks and reports performance through the daily management system, leverages technology, supports new processes and product development, and works cross-functionally on production capability, tooling, machine replacement, and staffing. It also supports employee communication and morale, manages objectives and development plans, and ensures a clean, safe work environment and compliance with GMP and food safety standards. The position requires availability across all shifts in a 24/7 production operation, including some weekends and holidays, and a flexible schedule as needed. Working conditions include prolonged standing, repetitive movement, bending and twisting, sustained noise, food allergens, hot temperatures, and exposure to machinery, slippery floors, ladders, and powered industrial vehicles. Personal protective equipment may be required.

Requirements

5–8 years of relevant food manufacturing experience, including direct supervisory experience.
Ability to communicate and understand work instructions in English.
Proficient at Microsoft Suite.
Strong ability to engage and develop employees and leaders.
Proven ability to build effective teams.
Strong conflict resolution skills and ability to work with others at all levels of the organization.
Ability to stand for 85–90% of a shift, sometimes up to 12 hours.
Ability to ascend and descend stairways, ladders, and ramps.
Availability for all shifts in a 24/7 production operation, including some weekends and holidays, and ability to maintain a flexible schedule as needed.

Nice To Haves

Bakery experience.
Bachelor’s degree.

Responsibilities

Lead Safety, Quality, and Food Safety as a role model for the organization.
Lead people development, training, and engagement for production managers, supervisors, and team members.
Set priorities across a 24-hour period within the value stream to achieve commitments and make improvements.
Champion Bridgetown Performance System initiatives across the organization.
Identify, prioritize, and reduce losses through collaborative, data-based root-cause analysis; teach and coach others.
Model cross-functional partnership and collaboration.
Drive out waste in the manufacturing department as a leader and change agent.
Champion and model the organization’s mission and values.
Spend more than 50% of working time on the production floor.
Track, analyze, and report operational performance across all shifts through the daily management system.
Leverage technology to deliver better results.
Partner cross-functionally to implement changes involving production capability, tooling, machine replacement, and staffing.
Develop open lines of communication to engage the team and improve employee morale.
Partner with HR to staff, develop, and evaluate production managers.
Support new processes and product development.
Assure a clean and safe working environment for all employees.
Maintain GMP standards and prevent potentially hazardous conditions.
Promote safety awareness and address unsafe acts and conditions.
Manage team objectives, performance reviews, training needs, and development plans.
Enforce food safety policies and procedures, report food safety issues, and emphasize cleaning standards and execution.
Perform other duties as assigned; job duties may change at management’s discretion.