Vice President of Operations #ESF4097
About The Position
What you will be doing: Drive strategic growth, profitability, and operational excellence as a hands-on executive leader. Oversee a team of five direct reports across Operations, Quality/Food Safety, and EH&S. Develop and monitor annual goals, KPIs, and operational strategies that support the company’s financial and growth objectives. Manage cost centers (labor, inputs, overhead), oversee the operations budget, and execute a cost-reduction roadmap. Lead capacity planning and capital investment projects to maximize product yield and ROI. Implement Lean Manufacturing principles to reduce waste, improve workflows, and maximize labor/material efficiency. Establish and enforce metrics for food safety, product quality, order fulfillment, and plant performance. Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies to leverage automation and drive continuous improvement. Direct production, packaging, QA, and hulling plant activities. Champion a 'zero-loss' safety culture through high operator awareness and strict adherence to personnel safety standards. Foster a high-performance culture through mentorship, professional development, and strategic workforce planning with HR. Collaborate with Sales, Grower Relations, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure a seamless product flow from harvest to shipping.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in business administration, operations management, or a related field is desirable and/or equivalent experience.
- A minimum of 15 years of experience within the food or beverage manufacturing industry and a minimum of 7 years in an operations leadership role.
- Strong understanding of FDA, USDA, and OSHA guidelines.
- Proven track record in driving operational excellence and process improvement.
- Sound knowledge of operational processes, methodologies, and best practices.
- Excellent financial acumen and budget management skills.
- Exceptional ability to conceptualize large-picture projects and foresee challenges and needs to be addressed.
- Strong problem-solving skills; analytical and data-driven; able to come up with creative solutions to unique challenges.
- Excellent organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks and meet constant deadlines with strong attention to detail and quality control.
- Strong organization skills with the ability to execute multiple parallel projects.
Nice To Haves
- Previous leadership of Environmental, Health, and Safety teams is highly preferred.
- A comprehensive knowledge of a grower, packer, shipper, processor business model is preferred.
Responsibilities
- Drive strategic growth, profitability, and operational excellence
- Oversee a team of five direct reports across Operations, Quality/Food Safety, and EH&S
- Develop and monitor annual goals, KPIs, and operational strategies
- Manage cost centers (labor, inputs, overhead), oversee the operations budget, and execute a cost-reduction roadmap
- Lead capacity planning and capital investment projects
- Implement Lean Manufacturing principles
- Establish and enforce metrics for food safety, product quality, order fulfillment, and plant performance
- Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies
- Direct production, packaging, QA, and hulling plant activities
- Champion a 'zero-loss' safety culture
- Foster a high-performance culture
- Collaborate with Sales, Grower Relations, Supply Chain, and Finance
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Executive
