Director of Operations

Director of Operations

Naiad Beer / Mainescape

Blue Hill & Orland, Maine

Full-time, year-round | $75,000 - $95,000 salary significant performance-based profit participation

About Naiad

Naiad is building a distinctive destination on the threshold of Downeast Maine that brings together craft brewing, horticulture, hospitality, food, retail, gardens and community.

Our growing business includes Naiad brewery production, Mainescape Garden Center, taprooms in Orland and Blue Hill, the Naiad Garden Truck, retail operations, gardens and grounds, events and community programming, and additional hospitality and educational offerings planned for the future. Our goal is not to operate these as separate businesses, but to create one cohesive organization, culture and guest experience.

We are looking for an exceptional Director of Operations to help us build that organization.

The Role

The Director of Operations will be the senior operational leader of Naiad and will have responsibility for the day-to-day performance of the business across its locations and operating channels.

This is not simply a role supervising employees or keeping the doors open. We are looking for someone who can take a creative, founder-led organization and help build the people, systems, financial discipline and operating rhythm necessary for it to perform at a high level as it continues to grow.

The Director of Operations will have full P&L responsibility. This person is not expected to function as a bookkeeper but is expected to make decisions and take responsibility for revenue, gross margin, labor, operating expenses and overall profitability. The role will manage and coordinate current and future leaders across retail, horticulture, hospitality, facilities, food operations and administration while working closely with the Founder on the company's vision and direction.

A central measure of success will be creating an organization in which people understand what they own, decisions are made at the appropriate level, problems are identified and resolved quickly, and the business operates reliably without depending on the Founder to manage routine operations.

What You'll Do

You will own the overall operating performance of the business, lead and develop managers and staff, oversee hiring and labor planning, establish budgets and operating metrics, improve purchasing and inventory discipline, coordinate operations across locations and departments, and build practical systems and SOPs that make the organization more effective.

You'll also be responsible for the quality and consistency of the guest experience. That means being equally comfortable reviewing financial results, running a leadership meeting and walking the property to notice something that isn't being done to the standard we expect.

This is not a desk-only position. The right person will be visible throughout the operation and comfortable moving between financial analysis, people management, planning and the practical realities of a busy seasonal business.

Who We're Looking For

The strongest candidates will have significant leadership experience in a complex, customer-facing business such as hospitality, breweries, restaurants, hotels, specialty retail, garden centers, multi-location retail, destination businesses or other entrepreneurial small-to-midsized companies.

We are particularly interested in candidates with experience managing teams, hiring and performance management, labor and scheduling, budgeting, purchasing or inventory, vendors and multiple operating functions simultaneously. Direct responsibility for the profitability of a business, location or division is strongly preferred.

The right person will be organized, practical, financially literate and systems-minded; comfortable making decisions and holding people accountable; calm under pressure; low-ego and collaborative; and capable of bringing structure to a growing multifaceted business without making it bureaucratic.

Why This Role Is Different

This is an opportunity to help shape a business rather than simply inherit an established operating system.

Naiad is at a point where its existing brewery, nursery, retail, hospitality, food, and property operations are becoming one larger enterprise. The person who takes this role will have meaningful authority and responsibility for building the operating organization that supports that growth.

Success means creating a business that is profitable, well staffed, accountable, welcoming, calm even when busy, and capable of operating at a high level without losing the character that makes Naiad distinctive.

Compensation: $75,000 - $95,000 annual base salary depending on experience, plus the opportunity for significant performance-based profit participation tied to the successful management and financial performance of the business.

Schedule: Full-time, year-round. Because the business is seasonal, the role requires meaningful presence during peak periods, including weekends and major events.

Location: The role is based primarily on our six-acre property in the town of Blue Hill, on Maine's Blue Hill Peninsula. For the right person, it offers the unusual opportunity to be a key part of an ambitious business in a place with a strong sense of community, extraordinary natural surroundings and a quality of life very different from a conventional corporate environment.

Pay: $75,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Employee discount
• Paid time off

Application Question(s):

• Are you able to work full-time on-site in Blue Hill, Maine, or willing to relocate?
• How many years of experience do you have managing a complex customer-facing business or operating unit?
• Have you had direct responsibility for the financial performance or profitability of a business, location, or division?

Work Location: In person

Salary : $75,000 - $95,000