DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS- WI & IL

Director of Operations – Wisconsin & Illinois

Department: Operations
Reports To: COO
Location: Wisconsin and Illinois; regular travel between assigned facilities
Direct Reports: Assigned General Managers, and Site Managers

Summary

The Director of Operations leads the operational and financial performance of the company’s Wisconsin and Illinois facilities. This position oversees conventional caged and cage-free layer production, pullet operations where assigned, shell egg grading and packing, egg breaking and liquid egg processing, feed mills, and supporting operational functions.

The Director translates company strategy into clear site-level priorities, develops strong leaders, and holds teams accountable for safe operations, animal welfare, food safety, customer service, and profitability. This role requires a visible, hands‑on leader who drives consistent execution, improves operating practices, and builds collaboration across locations and corporate functions.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Leadership and Accountability

• Lead regional operations to achieve production, processing, quality, service, and financial goals.
• Establish clear expectations, performance measures, and operating plans for each facility.
• Hold General Managers and operational leaders accountable for results, timely corrective actions, and follow-through.
• Maintain a regular presence at facilities to evaluate conditions, coach leaders, and address operational barriers.
• Standardize effective practices across locations while accounting for differences in housing systems, equipment, and customer requirements.
• Communicate performance, risks, resource needs, and recommendations to executive leadership.

Live Production and Animal Welfare

• Oversee conventional caged and cage‑free layer operations.
• Oversee pullet rearing and replacement flock readiness where assigned.
• Drive flock performance through effective management of production, mortality, livability, egg quality, feed conversion, body weight, and flock uniformity.
• Ensure consistent execution of ventilation, lighting, water, feeding, litter, and manure management programs.
• Partner with veterinary and nutrition teams on flock health, disease prevention, vaccination, pest control, and nutrition programs.
• Ensure compliance with company animal welfare standards and applicable certification and customer requirements.
• Enforce biosecurity expectations for employees, visitors, equipment, contractors, and transportation.

Shell Egg and Breaking Operations

• Oversee shell egg receiving, grading, packing, storage, and shipping.
• Oversee egg breaking and liquid egg processing, including pasteurization where applicable.
• Improve egg recovery, saleable yield, throughput, labor efficiency, equipment utilization, and product quality.
• Reduce checks, cracks, losses, rework, downtime, and customer complaints.
• Coordinate production and processing schedules with sales, planning, and logistics to meet customer commitments and manage inventory.
• Partner with Quality Assurance to maintain sanitation, traceability, food safety programs, audit readiness, and timely corrective actions.
• Ensure reported production, gradeout, yield, and inventory results are accurate and supported by operational records.

Feed Mill Operations

• Oversee assigned feed mills to ensure safe, reliable, and cost‑effective feed manufacturing and delivery.
• Align mill capacity, production schedules, and delivery plans with flock requirements.
• Partner with nutrition and procurement teams on ingredient quality, availability, formulation implementation, and inventory management.
• Ensure controls for batching accuracy, mixing consistency, ingredient receiving, storage, sanitation, and feed traceability.
• Monitor feed manufacturing costs, shrink, downtime, maintenance needs, and delivery performance.
• Address feed quality concerns promptly with appropriate technical and operational support.

Financial and Business Performance

• Own regional operating performance against approved budgets and business plans.
• Lead annual budgeting, forecasting, labor planning, and capital planning for assigned operations.
• Review site financial results and operating metrics to identify variances, determine root causes, and implement corrective actions.
• Improve cost per dozen, processing costs, feed manufacturing costs, asset utilization, and overall profitability.
• Ensure purchasing discipline, accurate inventory controls, and compliance with spending authority.
• Develop capital requests supported by operational need, expected benefits, financial justification, and implementation plans.

Maintenance and Supporting Operations

• Oversee maintenance, preventive maintenance, equipment reliability, utilities, and facility condition.
• Support transportation, egg movements, feed delivery, warehousing, and other assigned logistics activities.
• Ensure effective manure handling, storage, and removal, along with environmental stewardship and housekeeping.
• Coordinate contractors, construction, equipment installations, and facility improvement projects.
• Maintain emergency response and business continuity plans for disease events, fires, utility failures, severe weather, and equipment breakdowns.

People, Safety, and Culture

• Build and develop a capable regional leadership team through coaching, succession planning, and performance management.
• Partner with Human Resources on staffing, retention, training, employee relations, and leadership development.
• Set clear expectations for professional communication, teamwork, and respectful treatment of employees.
• Promote a culture in which employees raise concerns, leaders address issues promptly, and commitments are completed.
• Partner with EHS and site leadership to improve workplace safety, investigate incidents, and close corrective actions.
• Ensure employees receive appropriate training and have the resources needed to perform their work safely and effectively.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in poultry science, agriculture, operations management, business, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience considered.
• Typically 10 or more years of progressive agricultural or food manufacturing experience, including significant leadership responsibility across multiple facilities.
• Strong knowledge of commercial layer production, including conventional caged and cage‑free systems.
• Experience overseeing shell egg processing, egg breaking, and feed mill operations strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, interpret financial results, and improve operational performance.
• Working knowledge of animal welfare, biosecurity, food safety, employee safety, and environmental requirements.
• Proven ability to develop leaders, manage change, resolve problems, and hold teams accountable.
• Strong communication, planning, analytical, and decision‑making skills.

Measures of Success

Performance will be evaluated through a balanced set of regional and site‑level measures, including:

• Financial: Budget performance, controllable costs, and verified improvement results.
• Live production: Egg production, mortality, livability, feed conversion, and egg quality.
• Processing: Yield, recovery, throughput, labor efficiency, downtime, and order fulfillment.
• Feed mills: Feed quality, manufacturing cost, inventory accuracy, and delivery reliability.
• People and safety: Leadership development, retention, training completion, safety performance, and corrective action closure.
• Compliance and execution: Animal welfare and food safety results, data accuracy, audit readiness, and completion of operating and capital priorities.

Working Conditions

This position requires frequent travel between Wisconsin and Illinois facilities and availability to support operations outside normal business hours when necessary. Work includes time in poultry houses, processing plants, feed mills, and outdoor environments, with required adherence to site biosecurity, food safety, and personal protective equipment procedures.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.