Senior Vice President of Operations – Food Manufacturing

Senior Vice President, Operations

A rapidly growing, industry leading food manufacturer is seeking an accomplished Senior Vice President of Operations to join its executive leadership team. This role offers the opportunity to shape the operational strategy of a large scale manufacturing organization while leading a high performing operations team in a complex, high volume production environment.

This executive will play a critical role in driving operational excellence, supporting continued growth, and developing the next generation of manufacturing leaders. The ideal candidate is a strategic executive who also enjoys being highly engaged with plant operations and partnering closely with leadership on the manufacturing floor.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the company's manufacturing strategy in alignment with overall business objectives and long term growth plans.
• Provide executive leadership for all manufacturing operations, ensuring world class performance in safety, quality, customer service, productivity, and cost.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives utilizing Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and KPI driven performance management.
• Drive operational excellence through improvements in throughput, yield, labor efficiency, OEE, and overall manufacturing performance.
• Partner closely with Engineering and Maintenance to maximize equipment reliability, production capacity, and capital effectiveness.
• Collaborate cross functionally with Quality, Food Safety, Supply Chain, Finance, Human Resources, Sales, and R&D to support customer requirements and new product commercialization.
• Build, coach, and develop high performing operations leaders while strengthening succession planning and employee engagement.
• Participate as a key member of the executive leadership team in strategic planning, capital investment decisions, and organizational growth initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Business, or a related discipline. MBA preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including executive level responsibility.
• Significant experience leading complex, high volume manufacturing operations within an FDA regulated food manufacturing environment.
• Experience with shelf stable food manufacturing and commercial thermal processing is highly preferred.
• Demonstrated success improving safety, quality, productivity, customer service, and financial performance.
• Deep knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement methodologies, Six Sigma, and operational KPIs.
• Strong understanding of HACCP, FSMA, GMPs, SQF or BRC, OSHA, and food manufacturing regulatory requirements.
• Proven ability to lead large organizations, influence executive stakeholders, and drive organizational change.

What We're Looking For

The successful candidate will be a visible, hands on executive who balances strategic leadership with operational engagement. This individual will be passionate about developing people, creating accountability, improving manufacturing performance, and building a culture of operational excellence.

If you have successfully led large scale food manufacturing operations and are looking for an opportunity to make a significant impact within a growing organization, we would welcome a confidential conversation.

JOB ID: 179081

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Sarah Rowland-Varner