Director of Growing and Operations

Director of Growing & Operations

Leadership Opportunity Details

Loma Vista Nursery, Ottawa, Kansas

Position Summary:

The Director of Growing & Operations will provide leadership and strategic oversight across nursery production and operational functions for Loma Vista Nursery. This role will oversee production operations, labor leadership, operational systems, logistics coordination and process improvement initiatives across container and field production.

The position plays a critical role in helping shape the future operational direction of the company while continuing to strengthen production quality, efficiency, leadership development, and long-term sustainability.

The ideal candidate is a strong operational leader who combines plant production knowledge with systems thinking, leadership maturity, accountability, and a long-term mindset.

Key Responsibilities

Production Leadership

·      Lead and oversee nursery production operations – propagation, container, field & pot-in-pot. Adjust growing techniques as needed to keep up with changes in the industry, advise on crop protection plan, address production challenges. Oversee production practices (i.e., planting, pruning, spacing, weeding, winterizing, propagation). Advise growers on timeliness of production practices.

·      Implement production planning, scheduling, and coordination across departments.

·      Maintain high standards for plant quality, consistency, and efficiency. Deploy staff between departments in a balanced and efficient manner, prioritize workforce needs across departments, and ensure H2A contract requirements are fulfilled.

·      Collaborate with growing teams and sales to support crop scheduling, inventory flow, and production/sales forecasting. Adjust growing schedules as needed to keep up with demand, manages space planning.

·      Assist in identifying opportunities for operational improvements and scalability.

·      Support irrigation, equipment, and facility coordination across operational areas, including procurement of all supplies (i.e., poly, containers, growing supplies, mulch, fertilizer, pesticides, winterization material, asset purchases, equipment fabrication or upgrades, shipping supplies.

Operational Leadership

·      Lead operational systems and process improvement initiatives across the organization.

·      Improve labor efficiency, accountability systems, and workflows. Assist in establishing department budgets for nursery in line with profitability goals.

·      Coordinate logistics, shipping, production flow, and operational scheduling.

·      Assist in improving operational reporting, forecasting, and production planning systems.

·      Actively supports safety culture, safety initiatives, compliance, and best practices.

·      Guide and support all supervisors on efficient labor management, balanced with growing the best product possible.

·      Collaborate directly with company ownership to develop short and long-term goals, strategic vision and shape the future operational direction of the company.

Team & Leadership Development

·      Lead and develop department managers and supervisors.

·      Forst a culture of accountability, communication, teamwork, and operational excellence.

·      Support employee development, coaching, and leadership growth across teams.

·      Build strong working relationships across production, logistics, sales, and leadership teams.

·      Promote a positive, professional, and solutions-oriented work environment.

Strategic Leadership

·      Support long-term operational planning and organizational growth initiatives.

·      Evaluate labor utilization, operational efficiency, and production scalability.

·      Identify opportunities for process improvement, technology integration, and systems development.

·      Participate in leadership discussions related to future operational growth and organizational planning.

·      Help position the company for long-term operational success and sustainability.

 Ideal Candidate Qualifications

Leadership-Focused

·      Strong communicator with calm, professional leadership presence.

·      Able to build trust while maintaining high performance standards.

·      Emotionally intelligent and solutions oriented.

·      Long-term mindset with strong commitment to leading the company.

·      Passion, motivation, and enthusiasm for leading teams in physically demanding roles and variables.

Operationally Strong

·      Value process improvement and operational consistency.

·      Strong understanding of labor management & efficiency.

·      Comfortable managing operational complexity and multiple departments.

·      Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.

·      Able to balance strategic thinking with operational excellence.

·      Comfortable operating in fast-paced seasonal production environments.

Preferred experience in:

·      Wholesale nursery production

·      Nursery or Greenhouse operations

·      Specialty crop agriculture

·      Multi-Department production environments

·      Plant Health/IMPA

·      ANCA Standard for Nursery Stock

Preferred qualifications:

·      10 years of leadership experience in nursery, greenhouse, or horticulture operations.

·      Proven experience leading large teams and production systems.

·      Knowledge of regionally appropriate cultural practices in plant production environment.

·      Strong organizational leadership.

·      Experience with labor planning, scheduling, SOPs, benchmarking, KPIs.

·      Strong understanding of P&L drivers and financial metrics, cost analysis, and budgeting.

Compensation & Benefits

Executive leadership package designed to attract and retain long-term operational leadership.

Benefits include:

·      Executive-level compensation

·      Performance-based bonus opportunity

·      Profit sharing opportunity

·      Relocation assistance

·      Company benefits 401k match, long-term disability insurance, Employer subsidized health insurance coverage through Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA).

·      Opportunity to help shape the future of a growing industry leader.

·      Market data supporting strong company financial position and performance.