Director of Operations

Director of Operations

Food Manufacturing | Reports to: President / COO Full-Time, On-Site

About the Role:

We are a growth stage food manufacturing company based in Northeast Ohio. We currently produce multiple innovative, product lines that are the taste, quality and nutrition leaders in their categories. We put our employees and customers first in everything we do, including feeding the world as we feed our own families. This position is a lifetime opportunity to grow with us as a part of our rapid expansion, both people and products, while challenging yourself and the world to realize our vision that busy people deserve better. This position reports to the President, COO.

Key Responsibilities

1. Safety

• Maintain a zero-incident mindset and lead the facility’s safety culture.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA and company safety requirements.
• Establish measurable safety objectives and accountability throughout the organization.
• Lead investigations of accidents, near misses, and safety incidents.
• Ensure corrective actions are implemented and sustained.
• Promote employee engagement in safety programs.

2. Production & Operations

• Own daily plant performance and production results.
• Ensure production schedules are achieved while meeting quality and customer requirements.
• Optimize labor, equipment, materials, and production capacity.
• Establish appropriate production standards, KPIs, and accountability.
• Identify and eliminate production constraints and bottlenecks.
• Drive improvements in throughput, yield, labor efficiency, and overall equipment effectiveness.
• Maintain appropriate staffing levels and operating schedules.

3. Quality & Food Safety

• Maintain the highest standards of food safety and product quality.
• Ensure compliance with FDA, USDA where applicable, HACCP, GMP, SQF/BRCGS, and customer requirements.
• Partner with the Quality/Food Safety team to maintain audit readiness.
• Ensure root-cause analysis and corrective actions are completed effectively.
• Establish a culture where food safety and quality are everyone’s responsibility.

4. Financial & Cost Management

• Have full accountability for the plant’s operating budget.
• Manage labor, overtime, scrap, utilities, supplies, and other operating expenses.
• Develop and execute annual operating budgets and capital plans.
• Track plant financial performance against budget.
• Identify and execute cost-reduction opportunities without compromising safety, quality, or customer service.
• Improve manufacturing cost per unit and overall plant profitability.
• Partner with Finance to understand and improve plant financial performance.

5. Maintenance & Reliability

• Ensure the reliability and availability of critical production equipment.
• Partner with the maintenance department to build preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Prioritize capital expenditures based on safety, reliability, capacity, and financial return.
• Develop long-term asset replacement and capital plans.

6. Sanitation

• Ensure effective sanitation programs and compliance with food safety standards.
• Maintain sanitary conditions throughout production and support areas.
• Optimize sanitation labor, chemical usage, downtime, and effectiveness.
• Partner with Quality to address recurring sanitation issues.

7. Warehouse & Materials

• Oversee efficient movement and storage of raw materials, packaging, work-in-process, and finished goods.
• Maintain inventory accuracy and appropriate inventory levels.
• Improve warehouse utilization and material flow.
• Ensure FIFO practices where applicable.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement to address material availability and production requirements.

8. People Leadership

• Lead, develop, and retain a high-performing plant leadership team.
• Establish clear expectations and accountability at every level.
• Develop supervisors and managers through coaching, mentoring, and formal development plans.
• Build succession plans for key plant positions.
• Improve employee engagement and retention.
• Maintain positive employee and labor relations where applicable.
• Establish a culture of respect, teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.

9. Continuous Improvement

• Lead a structured continuous-improvement program throughout the facility.
• Utilize Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, TPM, 5S, root-cause analysis, and other appropriate methodologies.
• Establish measurable improvement targets and drive sustainable improvement.
• Ensure improvements are sustained rather than temporary.

10. Customer Service

• Partner with Sales, Customer Service, Supply Chain, and Planning to meet customer requirements.
• Ensure production and shipping commitments are achieved.
• Address recurring service issues and develop corrective-action plans.
• Maintain a strong focus on on-time, complete shipments.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations, Manufacturing, Engineering, Business, Food Science, or related field preferred.
• 10 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, preferably in food, beverage, consumer packaged goods, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• 5 years managing a manufacturing facility or major manufacturing operation.
• Demonstrated experience leading a facility with significant revenue and workforce complexity.
• Strong understanding of food safety and regulatory requirements.
• Demonstrated P&L/budget management experience.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement.
• Strong knowledge of production, maintenance, quality, and supply-chain processes.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and retain strong leadership teams.
• Strong financial and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and leadership abilities.

Leadership Characteristics

The successful Plant Manager should:

• Lead from the floor rather than exclusively from the office.
• Hold people accountable while maintaining respect and trust.
• Make decisions based on facts and data.
• Be highly visible to employees.
• Develop leaders rather than simply manage problems.
• Have a strong sense of urgency.
• Be comfortable making difficult operational decisions.
• Think strategically while remaining engaged in daily execution.
• Communicate clearly with both hourly employees and executive leadership.
• Create a culture where problems are identified rather than hidden.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $125,000.00 - $175,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Health insurance
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance

Work Location: In person

Salary : $125,000 - $175,000