Vice President - Operations

Company Overview
Wet Noses is a premier manufacturer and marketer of branded and private label pet treats in the US. We are a pioneer in the naturalization of pet consumables; our products are best-in-class, non-GMO, and human-grade without preservatives or artificial ingredients. We operate out of an 80,000 square foot, SQF Level III certified facility and produce USDA organic branded and private label pet treats for F50 clients.
Wet Noses was founded in 1998 around a simple concept: If you wouldn't eat it, don't feed it to your dog. So, when it comes to our food, we believe that less is more and fresh is best. We use incredible ingredients grown by great people, and we never let our food, our treats, our ideas, or our passion get stale. We are committed to continuously raising the bar in our mission to craft the best dog food on the planet.
Summary
We are seeking a passionate Vice Present of Operations (Production, Procurement, Quality, Supply Chain, Human Resources and Maintenance) to join the Wet Noses leadership team. As the executive overseeing planning and management of all activities involved in our manufacturing operations, the VP of Operations will be a key player in helping Wet Noses reach its next stage of growth.
The ideal candidate for the VP of Operations will be well-versed in established operational methodologies, but with the scrappiness and winning spirit to "roll up their sleeves" as needed to support the evolving needs of this rapidly growing business. This candidate should be open-minded and willing to try new things while being committed to continuous improvement across the business. While this candidate will lead all backend operations, they should also be comfortable contributing to enterprise-wide executive meetings and strategizing with cross-functional leadership on sales and business opportunities. Just as critical will be the candidate's ability to inspire morale across the operations team, reinforcing the spirit of this mission-driven organization.
Key Responsibilities

• Support new programs and projects by working with the Production Teams to ensure a smooth and complete implementation.
• Negotiate service and new equipment contracts within the operations budgets, capital plans and cost saving targets.
• Work closely with Human Resources to support policies and procedures along with investigations, employee concerns, terminations, and employee recognition programs.
• Lead KPI program, ensuring achievement of company operational and performance targets such as product cost, gross margin, yield, fill rate, quality, safety, and on time shipments.
• Partner with the Shipping manager to maintain shipping standards, including maintaining our 98% on-time and in-full ship record.
• Continually evaluate overall company performance and recommend and implement strategies for continuous long-term improvement.
• Forecast ingredient needs and oversee associated vendor contracts.
• Oversee and support all aspects of the quality function to maintain certification in SQF, FDA, USDA, and USDA Organic Programs.
• Responsible for health and safety risks and hazards in the workplace; providing guidance to management teams to ensure compliance with industry, local, state, and federal guidelines, and regulations.
• Plan, organize, direct, and run optimum day-to-day manufacturing operations, providing leadership over production, procurement, quality, supply chain, research and development, and maintenance teams (70+ Direct and Indirect Reports).
• Work with cross-functional leadership to ensure strategic business objectives are understood and delivered through the broader operations team.
• Oversee day to day operational planning programs along with developing long term capital purchase programs in addition to yearly operational budget requirements.
• Partners with HR to ensure that all employees are aware of and comply with company, government and customer policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Support and manage hourly staffing (Recruitment) plans to ensure the correct allocation of human resources to effectively produce optimal production results.
• Consistently assessing operational performance to implement and improve process and procedures which enhance operational efficiencies.
• Mentor and develop all levels of the organization as needed to develop and maintain a high caliber team.
• Maintain safety programs to ensure no preventable injuries occur.
• Oversee R&D projects to ensure that R&D Team is meeting established deadlines.
• Work with leadership team peers to conceive, create, develop, implement, and monitor comprehensive and effective strategic plans.
• Drive and maintain an environment of continuous improvement, continually evaluating and monitoring changing business environment and changing processes accordingly.
• Partner cross-functionally on feasibility assessments, budget requests, and business case development to assess new business and innovation opportunities.
• Work closely with Finance and Accounting to identify areas of improvement in cost accounting.
• Available to work extended hours. This position may require activities outside of normal office hours that include checking cameras from home, being "on call" to answer questions & resolve issues that may arise during mid shift, night shift, and weekend shifts.
• Establish, develop, and grow new and existing relationships with key vendors.
• Partner with the sales team to meet customer demands.
• Responsible for engineering and operations to commercialize innovation, including oversight and implementation of capital projects.

Qualifications And Competencies

• Knowledge of food safety and sanitation processes, procedures, and regulatory standards such as SQF, HACCP and FSMA.
• Excellent communication skills - verbal, written and interpersonal.
• Superior influencing and negotiation skills and ability to work multidimensionally in a complex business environment.
• Food manufacturing experience is a plus, but not required.
• Strong mechanical background preferred.
• Baked goods experience preferred.
• Minimum 8-10 years of progressive operations experience involving manufacturing, planning, developing, and managing within a food processing environment.
• Experience with SQF, 3rd party Food Safety, Quality Audits
• HACCP certification will be required after hire.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent working experience

Job Posted by ApplicantPro