Operations Manager

Job Description

Job Description

OPERATIONS MANAGERAbout O'Neill's Inflight Catering

O'Neill's Inflight Catering provides high-quality inflight catering and aviation support services to commercial, private, charter, military, and corporate aviation customers. Our operations require precision, food safety, security, consistency, and strict adherence to customer specifications and flight schedules.

Our teams operate in a fast-paced, time-sensitive environment where production, assembly, logistics, dispatch, food safety, and customer service must work together seamlessly to ensure every order is produced accurately and delivered safely and on time.

Position Summary

The Operations Manager is a key member of the facility leadership team and serves directly below the General Manager and Assistant General Manager in the operational chain of command.

The Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing day-to-day facility operations, including food production, cold food preparation, order assembly, tray setup, warehousing, dishwashing, dispatch, transportation, inventory, sanitation, and operational staffing.

This position is expected to take ownership of the operation during assigned shifts and, when necessary, assume operational leadership of the facility in the absence of the General Manager and Assistant General Manager.

The Operations Manager must ensure that customer orders are produced accurately, safely, and on schedule while maintaining company food safety, security, quality, documentation, and operational standards.

This is a hands-on leadership position requiring strong decision-making, organization, accountability, and the ability to manage multiple operational priorities simultaneously in a deadline-driven aviation environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct and oversee daily kitchen, production, warehouse, assembly, dishwashing, dispatch, and delivery operations.
• Ensure all customer and flight orders are produced, checked, staged, dispatched, and delivered on time and to specification .
• Act as the senior operational leader on duty when the GM or Assistant GM is unavailable.
• Coordinate staffing and workflow across production areas based on workload, flight schedules, customer requirements, and operational priorities.
• Conduct shift briefings and ensure supervisors and employees understand workload, priorities, special orders, customer requirements, and potential operational challenges.
• Monitor flight schedules, order changes, delays, cancellations, additions, and last-minute customer requests and adjust production and dispatch accordingly.
• Maintain effective communication between the kitchen, assembly teams, dispatch, drivers, management, and customers.
• Ensure proper order verification before dispatch, including quantities, specifications, labeling, packaging, special requests, and required supporting documentation.
• Oversee dispatch and delivery activity and ensure drivers are assigned appropriately based on airport, FBO, aircraft, customer, and required delivery time.
• Ensure proof-of-delivery and other required delivery documentation or photographs are completed correctly.
• Monitor inventory levels and coordinate with purchasing/procurement to prevent shortages, excessive inventory, or unnecessary waste.
• Assist with receiving and ensure products are received, stored, rotated, labeled, and handled according to company procedures.
• Ensure FIFO/FEFO principles and proper date labeling are consistently followed.
• Monitor operational waste, overtime, labor utilization, food costs, productivity, delivery performance, and other key operational metrics.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and implement corrective actions and continuous-improvement initiatives.

Food Safety, Quality & Compliance

The Operations Manager is responsible for actively enforcing the company's food safety and operational compliance programs during their shift.

Responsibilities include:

• Ensure compliance with company HACCP programs, FDA Food Safety Plan requirements, GMPs, SOPs, local health regulations, and customer-specific food safety requirements.
• Ensure employees complete required food safety and operational records accurately and at the required frequency.
• Verify proper temperature control throughout receiving, storage, production, assembly, holding, dispatch, and transportation.
• Ensure employees follow company requirements for handwashing, glove use, cross-contamination prevention, allergen controls, sanitation, chemical handling, and personal hygiene.
• Ensure refrigeration and temperature-monitoring procedures are followed, including appropriate response to temperature excursions.
• Ensure corrective actions are taken and documented whenever food safety, quality, or operational standards are not met.
• Maintain readiness for internal audits, regulatory inspections, customer audits, and other compliance reviews.
• Work closely with the GM, Assistant GM, and Compliance Director to address deficiencies and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure food defense, facility security, chain-of-custody, and other applicable security procedures are followed.
• Ensure any applicable military/DoD production and handling requirements are followed when assigned to the facility.

Dispatch, Transportation & Ramp Operations