Vice President Operations

Responsibilities

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Strategy and planning

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• Set strategy, KPIs, and deliverables for continuous improvement in safety, customer experience and quality, food safety, production, reliability, and profitability.
• Develop and execute strategic plans and long-range goals that grow the business and enhance profitability, productivity, and efficiency across the company’s operations.
• Participate in formulating and administering company policies.
• Continually investigate and introduce process improvement measures and present suggestions to the COO for consideration.

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Operations and performance

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• Provide day-to-day operational leadership across all enterprises.
• Plan, schedule, and review workload to ensure production output and on-time delivery targets are achieved cost effectively.
• Oversee key projects, processes, and performance reports, and review production costs, unit costs, and forecast data against plan to determine progress toward stated goals and ensure profits meet or exceed expectations.
• Participate in vendor negotiations to ensure product relevance and cost efficiency.

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People and culture

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• Provide leadership for employee relations through effective communication, coaching, training, and development.
• Promote an open and inclusive work environment where employees are engaged and involved in developing the operational plans for the enterprises.
• Interact regularly with the executive team and individual department heads to ensure the company’s operational priorities are aligned with its goals and objectives.

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Quality and food safety responsibilities

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• Oversee the company’s corporate quality department, ensuring all enterprises comply with the company’s quality, sanitation, and food safety policies.
• Direct, implement, and support quality and safety initiatives for all enterprises, and provide backup coverage as needed.

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Qualifications

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Required: Bachelor’s degree and 15+ years of manufacturing experience, including 10+ years in a leadership role.

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Preferred: MBA or other advanced degree; demonstrated experience in a food manufacturing or food production environment.

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Skills and competencies

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• Leadership and motivating others: Demonstrated skill in establishing and maintaining a motivated work environment.
• Communication and presentation: Excellent communication skills, including active listening, effective speaking, and presentation skills.
• Collaboration and teamwork: Strong teamwork orientation and a collaborative approach across departments and enterprises.
• Conflict management: Ability to mediate conflicts.
• Ethics and integrity: Demonstrated ability to maintain the highest ethical standards and the integrity of plant security, quality, safety, and production.
• Organization: Demonstrated skill in organizing work, setting priorities, and planning.
• Operational management: Experience with operational management tools and techniques.
• Project management: Ability to plan, manage, and deliver key projects.
• Technical capacity and business acumen: Technical knowledge of manufacturing operations and sound business judgment.
• Perseverance: Demonstrated skill in working toward goals despite obstacles.
• Drive for results: Focus and commitment to achieving stated productivity goals.

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Travel, physical requirements, and work environment

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Travel: This position requires up to 35% travel.

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Physical requirements: While performing the duties of this job, physical requirements may include standing, walking, and sitting; seeing; hearing and listening; clear speech; and dexterity and use of hands and fingers. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

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Work environment: The work environment may include working alone and working with others, including verbal and face-to-face contact.

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AAP/EEO statement

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Indiana Sugars is an equal opportunity organization. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.