Senior Vice President, Operations - Food Manufacturing
About the Company
Our client is a fast-growing, multi-facility food manufacturer headquartered in Ontario. The company produces a wide range of branded, custom manufactured and private labeled food products for distribution across a variety of retail, industrial and institutional markets. The company boasts a dominant market position in several of its product categories. With a rich tradition of innovation and an impeccable track record of long-term profitability, our client has launched an exciting strategy of accelerated growth. Realizing this potential, while concurrently enhancing the company’s current capabilities, will be a key mandate of the new Senior Vice-President Operations.
Scope of the Position
Reporting to the company’s President and CEO, the SVP Operations will be responsible for all matters relating to the company’s production processes from the ordering of goods and raw materials through to ensuring the efficient production of sufficient product quantities to keep pace with market demand. In achieving this, the SVP Operations will evaluate all existing systems, processes and metrics with a view to recommending and then implementing continuous improvements mechanisms and disciplines which will minimize production costs and waste while maximizing production outputs. No less important, the SVP Operations will achieve these results by cultivating positive relationships across the organization while nurturing a culture of excellence.
Functional Tasks
The SVP Operations will provide strong leadership to the above functional areas and ensure that all the organization’s people are encouraged and feel free to contribute and implement ideas that will improve the business. The areas of leadership include:
In light of the identified responsibilities, the following are specific deliverables that the position is designed to achieve.
The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables.
Please email Robert Hebert at StoneWood Group
Our client is a fast-growing, multi-facility food manufacturer headquartered in Ontario. The company produces a wide range of branded, custom manufactured and private labeled food products for distribution across a variety of retail, industrial and institutional markets. The company boasts a dominant market position in several of its product categories. With a rich tradition of innovation and an impeccable track record of long-term profitability, our client has launched an exciting strategy of accelerated growth. Realizing this potential, while concurrently enhancing the company’s current capabilities, will be a key mandate of the new Senior Vice-President Operations.
Scope of the Position
Reporting to the company’s President and CEO, the SVP Operations will be responsible for all matters relating to the company’s production processes from the ordering of goods and raw materials through to ensuring the efficient production of sufficient product quantities to keep pace with market demand. In achieving this, the SVP Operations will evaluate all existing systems, processes and metrics with a view to recommending and then implementing continuous improvements mechanisms and disciplines which will minimize production costs and waste while maximizing production outputs. No less important, the SVP Operations will achieve these results by cultivating positive relationships across the organization while nurturing a culture of excellence.
Functional Tasks
The SVP Operations will provide strong leadership to the above functional areas and ensure that all the organization’s people are encouraged and feel free to contribute and implement ideas that will improve the business. The areas of leadership include:
- Align and execute operational plans to strategic plans.
- Assess and evaluate all current production processes, make recommendations and execute ongoing changes that improve efficiencies and cost effectiveness.
- Develop meaningful key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics by which to better monitor, manage and improve operations.
- Develop strategic projects to identify and deliver key business improvements throughout operations from identifying initial potential opportunity, delivering the business case, gaining approval and delivering to agreed scope, budget and timescale.
- Cultivate a continuous improvement or related lean manufacturing culture across the organization.
- Play a hands-on role in managing all day to day operations working closely with key managers and team members.
- Supervise preparation of production schedules and plan ordering cycles to ensure production volumes can be met.
- Implement and manage systems for the ordering or goods and raw materials that minimizes stockholding quantities yet is suitably timed to ensure uninterrupted production of all of the company’s product lines in keeping with the market demand for each product.
- Continue evaluate costing and supply chain strategies and approaches against best practices.
- Strategic planning, budget preparation and accountability for operational matters within the budget process.
- Manage and oversee the maintenance and servicing of the company’s production equipment to minimize down times while maximizing the efficiency and working life of all production equipment and machinery.
- Set up working systems which minimize loss of packaging materials during the production process.
- Ensure that company remains compliant with all provincial and national regulatory standards.
- Ensure that quality processes and standards are compliant and continually enhanced.
- Evaluate staff related processes and procedures including work rules, position descriptions, responsibilities, training etc with a view to both optimizing productivity and enhancing employee relations. Gain alignment with needs of the business.
- Proactively pursue strong positive relationships with representatives of the employee group.
- Motivate staff through being a positive, encouraging champion for continual improvement.
- Contribute to the overall executive management of the firm, as part of the senior management team.
- Foster strong working relationship with executive team members as well as company owners.
In light of the identified responsibilities, the following are specific deliverables that the position is designed to achieve.
- Continuous improvement and service delivery excellence – Leadership or teamwork contribution in expenses, product cost, safety and client service.
- Team work – Effectiveness in working with the sales, finance and engineering teams to achieve the business objectives.
- Client satisfaction – delivery of a quality product that meets or exceeds client’s requirements.
- Expense control – Meet or exceed approved budgets or forecasts.
- Employee Relations – employee churn, grievances, productivity, satisfaction etc.
- Reporting – On-time accurate monthly reports and forecasts.
The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables.
- 10 to 15 years of broad based manufacturing, operations, engineering process management, process improvement and related experience within the food, beverage of pharmaceutical sector.
- Experience in implementing best practices in operations, quality systems, and engineering.
- Significant change management, business transformation experience within mid-sized and private businesses.
- Experience in striking a balance between substantive yet measured change that moves the organization forward without risking its future.
- Complementary business experience that can be leveraged in the current role and for future growth opportunities.
- A track record of success distinguished by having cultivated positive working relationships with staff, peers and superiors.
Please email Robert Hebert at StoneWood Group