Vice President Operations

Our client is looking for an experienced Senior Vice President of Operations to lead manufacturing operations across a growing food and beverage manufacturing platform. In this role, you will own manufacturing across the network, drive operational improvements, lead capital programs, and support acquisition integration. The role also includes an explicitly communicated succession path to the COO seat within 24 to 36 months.ResponsibilitiesDirect manufacturing across six facilities and 2,300 employees, owning performance against an $81M EBITDA plan, OEE improvement from 69% toward a board target of 79%, and fill rates above 97% with the two national private-label accountsOwn the $26M operations bridge: yield programs across protein and grain-intensive lines, labor productivity against engineered standards, and the network optimization study evaluating consolidation of the two lowest-utilization plantsLead food safety and quality across SQF Level 3 certified sites, including supplier quality for 400+ ingredient and packaging suppliers and an unbroken recall-free record the retail relationships depend onDirect the $45M capital program: line additions at two sites, automation deployment on high-labor packing operations, and the commissioning of a funded seventh-facility expansionOwn the integration playbook for the acquisition pipeline, with two targets currently in diligence, from operational assessment through systems cutover and synergy captureBuild the S&OP maturity connecting four channels with distinct demand patterns to a constrained network, partnering with supply chain on co-pack versus owned-capacity economicsDevelop the plant leadership bench across six sites and the incoming seventh, including two plant manager successions and a manufacturing excellence organization to be builtRequirements18+ years of progressive manufacturing operations leadership in food, beverage, or CPG, including a prior SVP, VP, or multi-site director seat with full network accountabilityA record of measurable OEE, yield, and margin improvement at $400M+ revenue scaleDeep food safety credentials: SQF, HACCP, and FSMA fluency with an incident-free operating recordPrivate equity-backed experience strongly preferred, including integration accountability and board exposureDemonstrated capital program leadership, including line installation and facility startupUndergraduate degree in engineering, food science, or operations required; MBA preferredCompensationBase Salary: $300,000 – $450,00040% annual incentiveMeaningful equity participationSuccession path to the COO seat inside 24 to 36 months