Director of Warehouse Operations

SUMMARY

Direct all warehouse and distribution operations to promote safe, efficient, and optimal utilization of our facilities, equipment, and personnel. Maintain the areas in a safe and sanitary condition to meet all federal, state and Company requirements and operate within the designated financial and productivity guidelines.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Oversee, observe and enforce all safety rules in an effort to eliminate accidents and injuries.
• Oversee, hire, train, develop, evaluate and ensure accountability of the warehouse management team and the warehouse associates.
• Serve as the role model of responsible, accountable and effective leadership for operations.
• Maintain a work environment that recruits, retains and supports all operations personnel.
• Execute processes for the selection, development, motivation and evaluation of staff.
• Maintain knowledge and effectively administer all Company policies and procedures including training, communication, interviewing, associate discipline and termination.
• Initiate and maintain sanitation program for responsible areas.
• Maintain updated knowledge of Company safety program and OSHA regulations and adherence.
• Maintain working knowledge of all warehouse related systems and processes.
• Maintain general knowledge of refrigeration systems.
• Collaborate with all RDC departments (Transportation, HR, Administration) and the opcos to achieve most efficient product flow and to continuously drive best cost and service.
• Responsible for proper receiving, slotting and shipping of products and the relationship to accuracy and product quality, as well as productivity.
• Work effectively with the Senior Manager, Warehouse Standards, Systems and Engineering to minimize warehouse shrink and to maximize productivity with WMS configuration and execution.
• Foster an environment that encourages associate involvement, commit to quality of work for self and others, and provide leadership for mutual benefit to Company, associates and customers.
• Ensure that all required associate records, evaluations, and related documentation are maintained in a timely, consistent, and accurate manner as well as ensuring the operations management team is fully trained and effective in these processes.
• Responsible for ensuring the appearance, maintenance and security of the warehouse and equipment are ongoing.
• Support the safety effort by working with the safety department to resolve safety issues.
• Send/receive positive communications to responsible associates.
• Communicate and reinforce policies and procedures (Coaching Maximizing Performance Program, Preferred Work Methods, and Best Business Practices) to ensure associates are trained in safety, job knowledge, and attainment of performance standards.
• Maintain effective working relationship between assigned management of all respective operations departments.
• Act as a problem solver for associate relations issues and department needs.
• Understand and comply with all applicable company policies (i.e. attendance, Code of Business Conduct & Ethics, Associate Handbook, etc.
• Understand and ensure compliance with all applicable State/Federal laws, regulations and policies (i.e. OSHA, HACCP, BRC, etc.).
• Supports food safety policies, standard operating procedures, and prerequisite food safety control programs that meet legal and quality requirements and industry best practices as defined in our Food Safety Commitment documentation.
• Accept additional responsibilities or special projects as requested.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide direction and leadership to subsidiary associates as well as ongoing communication of related status and issues to RDC management.
• Determines and provides training and development of staff members as needed.
• Identifies staffing requirements and assists in personnel recruitment to fulfill staffing requirements.
• Responsible for associate performance evaluations of immediate subordinates on an annual basis for the purpose of communicating and properly documenting expectations and evaluations to the staff.
• Provides ongoing feedback on the performance of subordinates and the department by monitoring activities and reports.
• Responsible for managing all warehouse operations staff including managers, supervisors, and non-exempt (hourly) associates.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill set, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. An individual should contact the Human Resource representative or hiring manager if he or she believes that an accommodation is needed.

• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills between associates, peers, and senior management.
• Must have ability to plan and organize work and time, analyze and disseminate numerical data, follow policies and procedures, possess basic math skills, and identify and solve problems.
• Must have basic knowledge of Microsoft suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
• Must have ability to handle departmental issues, mitigate differences, and support direct reports.
• Must have demonstrated ability to plan and organize work and time, follow policies and procedures, identify and solve problems.
• Must have ability to foster a cooperative work environment with business partners and collaborate with multiple teams at multiple levels within the organization to achieve Company objectives.
• Must have ability to plan, develop and coordinate multiple projects.
• Must be able to effectively perform in a multi-tasking environment with frequent interruptions.
• Must be able to effectively manage confidential information.
• Must pass a physical assessment test.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

High school diploma or General Education Degree (GED) is required. Bachelor’s Degree related to operations systems, business management or related field is preferred. Food service knowledge preferred. A minimum of the (10) years verifiable experience in various management/leadership roles in a distribution related industry or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. Must have working knowledge of warehouse management systems to include inbound, outbound and inventory management processes. Conceptual understanding of labor management systems for operations is required. Experience in labor relations relative to effective management of operations associates is required.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Must be articulate and possess effective written and verbal communication skills with individuals of broadly varying backgrounds and educational levels at all levels within the organization.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, percent, and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY

• It is expected that the incumbent will be able to work in a proactive manner, address issues, and solve problems by using previous education and experience in identifying appropriate actions. Problems will vary in complexity and there will not always be a clearly defined solution. Some solutions may require modifying past applications or creating a solution unique to the current situation but within the regulations that would apply.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

• Certification on material handling equipment is required, or the ability to become certified.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE POSITION

• The working conditions and physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. An individual should contact his or her supervisor or the Human Resources Department if he or she believes that an accommodation is needed.
• While performing the duties of this job, the associate is regularly required to talk and hear, and to use hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard and mouse. The associate frequently is required to sit. The associate is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The associate must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an associate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Job duties are performed in a warehouse/operations environment with frequent time spent in an office environment. While performing the duties of this job, the associate is frequently exposed to varying temperatures to include the freezer, cooler, and dry warehouse locations, and exposed to extreme cold or heat. The associate is regularly exposed to fast moving material handling equipment or other mechanical equipment. The associate may be exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, vehicle emissions, contained toxic or caustic chemicals, and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the warehouse work environment usually is loud.

WORK HOURS

This is a full-time position. The incumbent must have the ability to work a varying schedule which might include shift work (days or nights), weekdays or weekends, and some holidays. Work hours may vary or change based on departmental requirements.

TRAVEL

The position requires some travel to support the business needs of the RDCs and affiliate locations.

The above statement reflects the general details necessary to describe the principal functions of the occupation described and shall not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be inherent in the occupation.

• The position requires some travel to support the business needs of the RDCs and affiliate locations.

The above statement reflects the general details necessary to describe the principal functions of the occupation described and shall not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be inherent in the occupation.