We’re searching for a leader with relentless enthusiasm for operational excellence to join us in a newly created role of Vice President of Manufacturing Operations. Our ongoing growth requires a new level of sophistication in our Manufacturing practices, and your expertise, fresh thinking, and leadership will help lay the foundation of our success! In this role you will cultivate relationships, champion collaboration, and introduce new ways to nurture a culture of operational excellence, while demonstrating an unwavering commitment to our values – always with people first.
As our Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, you will collaborate to develop breakthrough long-range and annual plans, while leading the strategic initiatives aimed at elevating our company’s manufacturing capabilities and driving growth. You will be accountable for all end-to-end manufacturing processes and will set priorities for skills and process improvement, technological innovation, and sustainability practices – all critical to enabling continued success. You will role model our core values, demonstrate your passion for people development, and place safety, quality, and customer service at the heart of every operational decision.
If you are a leader with deep experience in manufacturing and a knack for innovative thinking, orchestrating impactful change, and fostering collaboration, we’d love to talk to you!
SUCCESS FACTORS (first 12-18 months)

• Manufacturing Strategy Guru: Through your deep understanding of manufacturing and breadth of supply chain knowledge, you’ll have elevated our strategic thinking and collaborated to develop a 5-year plan that balances a relentless focus on mastering the basics (safety, quality, service, and efficiency) with innovation and scalability. You’ll have learned about the history and ongoing growth of our manufacturing operations and created a clear vision of the long-term manufacturing footprint necessary to meet growth demands. We will be amazed by your learning mindset as you consider new ways of working, with a continual focus on people, organization, and community!
• People & Team Champion: As a people-centric leader, you’ll have enthusiastically shared your manufacturing knowledge with team members across the organization. You’ll have spent meaningful time engaging with, coaching, and mentoring team members, while creating cross functional learning opportunities. You’ll have identified the unique capabilities of your team and developed the perfect mix of skills to maximize success. As a result, you’ll have helped to create great bench strength and meaningful career opportunities across the organization.
• Quality Partner: You’ll have shown your devotion to doing what is right, always. Partnering across Flavor Operations, you’ll have championed rigorous quality control processes that ensure our products meet Torani’s quality standards and regulatory requirements. You’ll have highlighted your commitment to compliance and integrated food safety regulations and industry standards into all of our practices, including HACCP, GMP, and FSMA.
• Continuous Improvement Evangelist: You’ll have taken us to the next level as a continuous improvement organization, ensuring ongoing engagement of our talented team. You’ll have demonstrated your passion for change management through your approach to guiding and coaching team members to new ways of working. You’ll have helped to deepen our thinking on how to best leverage talent as we implement new processes and technology. You’ll have used and deployed key performance indicators and benchmarking that provides a scalable framework for our ongoing journey in operational excellence.
• Collaboration Ambassador. With a focus on shared success, you’ll have demonstrated your ability to foster a culture of collaboration and built positive relationships with key internal and external stakeholders. You’ll have helped us successfully navigate complex opportunities, encouraged open dialog across all functions, facilitated collective problem solving, and left your ego at the door.
• Innovation and Growth Strategist: You’ll have successfully advanced our manufacturing technologies, expanded automation, and improved production reliability, enabling us to expand our manufacturing capability and footprint. In collaboration with our product development team, you’ll have supported new product innovation, ensuring efficient and cost-effective production methods are deployed.
• Have Fun! You’ll have exemplified your understanding that having fun at work is a vital component of engagement. You’ll have embraced our warm and lighthearted culture and actively contributed to creating a fun and inclusive environment.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in food science, mechanical or industrial engineering, or a related field. MBA Preferred.
• Minimum of twenty years of experience leading food and/or beverage manufacturing operations in a variety of roles.
• Experience managing multiple facilities in the food processing industry.
• Experience integrating and managing food manufacturing technologies, automation, and quality control systems.
• Experience in applying Lean Six Sigma.
• Project management experience is strongly preferred