Vice President, Customer Operations & Excellence

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

At izzio Artisan Bakery, we believe great bread starts with great ingredients and great people. As the #1 selling and fastest-growing sourdough brand, we craft our bread in small batches using time-honored techniques, simple ingredients, and a passion for quality. Naturally fermented and incredibly delicious, izzio is real artisan sourdough. Our team is at the heart of everything we do and a key ingredient in our success. 

Position Summary

The Vice President of Customer Operations & Excellence is responsible for leading and transforming izzio’s business – to – business customer experience, ensuring customers receive exceptional service, reliable execution, timely communication, and proactive problem resolution. This role provides operational management and support of izzio’s business – to – business customer relationships, including major retail, distribution, foodservice, and other commercial accounts.

This leader will have accountability for the customer journey, from initial onboarding and pricing inquiries through order execution, inventory management, freight coordination, customer portals, quality issue resolution, and ongoing account support.

This role requires a highly collaborative, operationally disciplined leader who can identify issues before they impact the customer, establish clear ownership and accountability, and build scalable processes that support profitable growth.

The ideal candidate is a strategic, customer-focused operational leader with experience supporting large, complex B2B retail and commercial customers within food manufacturing, CPG, or a similar environment. They bring strong process discipline, cross-functional leadership, and a sense of urgency to ensure customer requirements are effectively translated into consistent operational execution.

Essential Responsibilities

Customer Operations & Service

• Lead the B2B customer operations function and establish service standards, KPIs, response expectations, and escalation processes.
• Ensure proactive and accurate customer communication regarding orders, inventory, product availability, pricing, shipping, service disruptions, quality concerns, and other operational matters.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for significant customer operational issues.
• Monitor customer service performance and identify opportunities to improve responsiveness, execution, and customer confidence.

Customer Onboarding & Commercial Support

• Own the operational onboarding of new customers, including customer setup, pricing, product and packaging requirements, forecasts, EDI/system requirements, portals, logistics, and quality/food-safety documentation.
• Coordinate cross-functional readiness to ensure production, inventory, shipping, and customer-specific requirements are in place prior to launch.
• Partners with Sales and Finance to ensure customer pricing, programs, freight arrangements, and commercial requirements are accurately implemented.

Inventory, Logistics & Order Execution

• Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, and Logistics to align customer demand, forecasts, inventory availability, production capacity, and shipping requirements.
• Identify potential shortages, service issues, or delivery risks and ensure customers receive timely communication.
• Drive accountability for OTIF, fill rates, delivery performance, freight exceptions, claims, and other customer service metrics.

Quality & Customer Complaints

• Lead the customer-facing complaint process from notification through resolution.
• Partner with Quality, Operations, Production, and R&D on investigation, root cause, corrective action, and customer communication.
• Monitor complaint trends and ensure recurring issues are identified and addressed.

Customer Systems & Process Improve ment

• Oversee customer portals, EDI requirements, CRM/ERP coordination, and other customer-facing systems and data.
• Establish standardized processes for customer onboarding, orders, pricing, inventory, logistics, communication, and complaints.
• Identify opportunities for automation, improved reporting, and elimination of unnecessary manual processes.
• Develop dashboards and KPIs that provide visibility into customer service and operational performance.

Cross-Functional & Team Leadership

• Serve as the central cross-functional leader and advocate for the customer operations function, creating alignment across Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, Quality Assurance, R&D, IT, and other functional teams.
• Build, lead, and develop the Customer Operations team with clear responsibilities, performance expectations, and accountability.
• Create a culture of urgency, problem ownership, proactive communication, and continuous improvement.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in business or related field, is required. 
• A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in customer experience/service, supply chain, customer operations, account management, or related functions.
• A minimum of 5 years of senior leadership experience managing teams and cross-functional organizations.
• Experience in food, CPG, manufacturing, distribution, or another complex supply-chain environment required.
• Demonstrated experience leading customer operations or service functions in a B2B environment supporting complex retail, foodservice, distribution, or commercial accounts. Experience should include managing operational customer requirements, order execution, onboarding, systems and data coordination, and cross-functional issue resolution; Experience limited primarily to direct-to-consumer customer service is not sufficient for this role.
• Strong understanding of inventory management, logistics, freight, pricing, quality, and order fulfillment.
• Experience implementing scalable processes, systems, and KPIs.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, and executive communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and create accountability across functional teams.
• Experience with ERP, CRM, EDI, customer portals, and customer-service technologies preferred.

Direct Reports: Director of Customer Excellence

Reports to: SVP, Sales Operations

Location: Hybrid – Louisville CO 

Position Closing Date: 9/22/2026

Compensation Range: $175,000 to $225,000 plus 20% annual bonus

Compensation is based on level of experience, other relevant experience, and requirements of the position . The range provided serves only as a guideline and does not automatically qualify all candidates (internal or external) for the high end of the range.

At izzio, we believe great work starts with happy, supported people. That’s why we offer a comprehensive and thoughtful benefits package designed to help you thrive inside and outside of work. From competitive pay to career growth opportunities, we’re committed to supporting you.

Our Benefits Include:

• Compensation: Competitive base salaries (commensurate with experience) along with potential bonus program and other recognitions dependent upon role. 
• Health & Wellbeing: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance options to keep you and your family covered.
• Financial Security: 401(k) with company match, life insurance, and long-term disability. 
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off, paid holidays, and flexible scheduling where possible.
• Growth & Development: We are committed to the growth of our employees by providing ongoing training, professional development opportunities, and pathways to advance your career.
• Breadquarters Perks: Weekly take-home bread, because real sourdough bread is part of your life, not just your job. You’ll also enjoy the occasional team meal, first tastes of our innovation, and coffee is provided at the office.
• Recognition: izzio encourages a recognition culture and offers opportunities to recognize peers via our Employee Portal Recognition & Rewards. 

At izzio, you’re more than just an employee, you’re a key ingredient in our success. We value craftsmanship, teamwork, and innovation, and we’re proud to create breads that bring joy to our customers every day. When you join our team, you become part of a community that respects your contributions, supports your growth, and celebrates the art of baking together.