Director of Supply Chain & Operations

Job Description

Job Description

Position Summary

The Director of Supply Chain & Operations provides strategic and operational leadership across manufacturing, production, procurement, materials management, inventory, production planning, warehousing, and logistics. This position is accountable for aligning people, materials, equipment, systems, and production capacity to meet customer demand, quality expectations, service requirements, and company financial objectives.

The Director develops the people, processes, systems, and performance standards needed to improve safety, production efficiency, labor productivity, inventory performance, cost, quality, and scalability. As a member of the leadership team, this position partners with Quality, R&D, Sales, Finance, Customer Service, and executive leadership to support business growth and operational excellence.

Essential Functions Operations & Manufacturing Leadership

• Provide leadership and direction for manufacturing, production, warehouse, shipping, and receiving operations, ensuring work is performed safely, efficiently, on schedule, and in accordance with quality and foodsafety standards.
• Lead operational managers and supervisors in improving labor productivity, throughput, schedule attainment, capacity utilization, downtime, waste, and overall plant performance.
• Evaluate capacity, labor, equipment, maintenance needs, and operational constraints; resolve bottlenecks and recurring issues through rootcause analysis.
• Establish standardized processes, work instructions, operating procedures, and performance expectations.
• Ensure operational readiness for new products, volume growth, process changes, equipment additions, and other business requirements.
• Partner with Quality and Food Safety to ensure operations comply with applicable quality, regulatory, foodsafety, and company requirements.

Supply Chain, Planning & Procurement

• Lead purchasing, strategic procurement, materials planning, demand planning, inventory management, production scheduling, and logistics activities.
• Own material and production planning decisions, aligning forecasts, customer demand, rawmaterial availability, production capacity, labor, and finishedgoods requirements.
• Adjust forecasts, purchasing plans, inventory targets, and production schedules as requirements change.
• Maintain inventory that supports production and service while minimizing excess, obsolete, and slowmoving materials.
• Lead supplier sourcing, negotiations, cost management, supplier performance, and strategic procurement initiatives.
• Strengthen supplier relationships, mitigate supply risks, and establish contingency and dualsourcing plans where appropriate.
Warehousing & Logistics
• Provide oversight for warehousing, material flow, shipping, receiving, and logistics to support accurate, timely, and efficient movement of materials and finished goods.
• Improve warehouse organization, inventory accuracy, space utilization, material handling, and shipping and receiving processes.
• Evaluate transportation and logistics requirements and implement improvements that strengthen service, cost control, visibility, and reliability.

Performance Management & Continuous Improvement

• Define, track, and report key performance indicators for safety, production, labor, capacity, scheduling, inventory, supplier performance, cost, quality, and customer service.
• Establish accountability and corrective action plans when expectations are not met.
• Lead continuousimprovement initiatives that produce measurable gains in productivity, service, capacity, inventory, cost, and quality.
• Use operational data, analytics, and trend analysis to support factbased decisions and prioritize improvement opportunities.
Strategy & Financial Impact
• Develop and communicate a longterm supply chain and operations strategy aligned with company growth, customer needs, manufacturing capabilities, service expectations, and margin goals.
• Translate business objectives into operating plans, capacity plans, budgets, and improvement priorities.
• Partner with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, workingcapital management, and costofgoodssold improvement initiatives.
• Evaluate makeversusbuy decisions, outsourcing, capacity expansion, equipment, facilities, and manufacturing capabilities.
• Provide executive leadership with clear analysis of operational tradeoffs, risks, recommendations, and anticipated business impact.
Systems, Data & Technology
• Lead the effective adoption and optimization of ERP, MRP, inventory, productionplanning, scheduling, warehouse, and transportationmanagement systems.
• Improve data accuracy, reporting, visibility, and decisionmaking across all assigned functions.
Cross-Functional Leadership
• Serve as the primary operational link among Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Sales, Quality, R&D, Finance, Customer Service, and executive leadership.
• Align sales forecasts and customer requirements with supply availability, production capacity, inventory, labor, and service expectations.
• Support newproduct introductions by ensuring material, supplier, capacity, scheduling, production, and operational readiness.
• Lead change management related to new systems, processes, suppliers, equipment, capabilities, and organizational changes.
Leadership & Supervisory Responsibilities
• Supervise assigned operations, supply chain, procurement, planning, warehouse, and logistics leaders and team members.
• Recruit, hire, onboard, coach, and develop employees; build succession plans and strengthen leadership capability.
• Set goals, manage performance, and provide timely feedback, recognition, coaching, and corrective action.
• Develop staffing and coverage plans that support safety, service, efficiency, and growth.
• Approve time, schedules, and PTO for assigned employees in accordance with company policy.
• Address employeerelations matters in partnership with Human Resources and promote a culture of safety, ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

Experience
• At least 10 years of progressive experience in manufacturing operations, supply chain, procurement, planning, or a related field.
• At least five years of leadership experience managing operational teams, managers, supervisors, or crossfunctional functions.
• Demonstrated success leading manufacturing and supply chain functions in a production environment.
• Experience with production and capacity planning, inventory, sourcing, supplier management, cost reduction, and process improvement.
• Experience using ERP, MRP, productionplanning, inventory, warehouse, and related operational systems.
• Experience in food, ingredient, seasoning, or a comparable regulated manufacturing environment preferred.
• Transportationmanagement system implementation and import/export experience preferred.
Education & Knowledge
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, Manufacturing, Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing operations, supply chain planning, procurement, inventory management, production planning, warehousing, logistics, and continuousimprovement principles.
• Knowledge of food manufacturing, food safety, quality systems, and applicable regulatory requirements preferred.
Work Environment & Hours
• Typical office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with additional hours as business needs require.
• The position requires regular presence in warehouse and production environments, which may include noise, temperature variation, industrial equipment, and uneven surfaces.
• Required safety, foodsafety, and PPE standards must be followed.
• Approximately 10% travel may be required for company locations, supplier visits, industry events, or customerrelated activities.
Physical Requirements
• Ability to sit, stand, and walk throughout the workday; use standard office equipment; review operational data; and communicate effectively.
• Ability to observe warehouse and production operations, wear required PPE, and travel occasionally.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Food Source International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.