Director of Operations

***this is not a job at ForceBrands***

Director of Operations- Manufacturing, Planning, Customer Supply Chain

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

Location: Asheville, North Carolina

Work model: Onsite with approximately 25 percent travel

Status: Full Time Exempt

Industry: Natural Foods and CPG

About the Company

A fast-growing natural foods company is seeking a Director of Operations to strengthen its manufacturing and end-to-end supply chain capabilities. The business serves retail, distributor, wholesale, eCommerce, and marketplace channels through an owned production site, external co-manufacturers, and third-party warehouse partners.

The Role

The Director of Operations will own execution from production planning through customer delivery. This leader will improve manufacturing performance, build a disciplined planning cadence, and strengthen warehousing, logistics, order-to-cash, and omnichannel fulfillment. The role will partner closely with the company’s procurement leader, who owns strategic sourcing and supplier strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Manufacturing and Planning

• Lead manufacturing performance across the owned production site and external co-manufacturing network, including safety, quality, labor, throughput, yield, downtime, capacity, and cost.
• Own production planning, scheduling, inventory strategy, and material readiness across make-to-stock and make-to-order requirements.
• Lead the S&OP process, connecting demand, supply, capacity, inventory, procurement, and financial decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement, root-cause problem solving, operating standards, and accountability across production, maintenance, and warehouse teams.
• Lead manufacturing readiness for new products, packaging changes, and commercialization initiatives in partnership with FSQA and cross-functional teams.

Customer Supply Chain and Fulfillment

• Own order-to-cash execution from order receipt through allocation, fulfillment, shipment, delivery confirmation, invoicing handoff, and issue resolution.
• Lead customer supply chain performance across retail, distributors, wholesale, direct-to-consumer, Amazon FBA, Walmart programs, and other marketplaces.
• Oversee EDI execution, routing and compliance requirements, appointments, proof of delivery, returns, shortages, damages, deductions, and chargebacks.
• Improve OTIF, fill rate, order accuracy, lead time, inventory turns, and cost-to-serve through clear metrics and corrective action.

Warehousing Logistics and Leadership

• Lead inbound freight, internal and third-party warehousing, inventory control, outbound transportation, and fulfillment performance.
• Manage 3PL and fulfillment partners through service expectations, scorecards, operating reviews, and corrective action plans.
• Partner with Procurement on material availability, supplier capacity, lead times, and continuity planning without duplicating sourcing ownership.
• Build scalable processes and systems across ERP, MRP, WMS, EDI, planning, reporting, and customer portals.
• Develop manufacturing, planning, warehouse, logistics, and customer operations capabilities while partnering closely with Sales, Finance, Procurement, FSQA, Marketing, and Product Development.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a hands-on manufacturing and supply chain leader who has managed both plant execution and the downstream flow of product through warehousing, logistics, and customer delivery. Procurement exposure is helpful, but manufacturing leadership and customer-facing supply chain experience are the primary requirements.

Required Experience

• At least 10 years of progressive operations and supply chain leadership within food, beverage, or another regulated CPG environment.
• Direct accountability for owned or outsourced manufacturing, including labor, throughput, yield, capacity, cost, and continuous improvement.
• Strong experience with S&OP, production planning, supply planning, inventory management, and service tradeoffs.
• Meaningful ownership of warehousing, transportation, 3PLs, distribution, and customer fulfillment.
• Order-to-cash and customer supply chain experience across multiple channels, such as retail, distributor, wholesale, eCommerce, direct-to-consumer, or marketplaces.
• Experience leading managers and cross-functional teams in a hands-on growth environment.
• Working knowledge of food safety, quality systems, FDA and FSMA requirements, traceability, and customer compliance.
• Strong ERP and MRP capability, with working knowledge of WMS, EDI, customer portals, and advanced Excel or comparable analytical tools.

Preferred Experience

• Experience scaling a founder-led, entrepreneurial, or high-growth consumer business.
• Exposure to Amazon FBA, Walmart programs, distributor networks, direct-to-consumer fulfillment, and retail compliance.
• Experience improving chargebacks, deductions, inventory accuracy, customer service, or cost-to-serve.
• Experience with capital planning, automation, network design, or warehouse optimization.
• APICS, CPIM, CSCP, Lean, or Six Sigma certification.