Plant Operations Director

SUMMARY Direct all warehouse and distribution operations to promote safe, efficient, and optimal utilization of our facilities, equipment, and personnel. Maintain the areas in a safe and sanitary condition to meet all federal, state and Company requirements and operate within the designated financial and productivity guidelines.
Oversee, hire, train, develop, evaluate and ensure accountability of the warehouse management team and the warehouse associates.
Serve as the role model of responsible, accountable and effective leadership for operations.
Maintain a work environment that recruits, retains and supports all operations personnel.
Execute processes for the selection, development, motivation and evaluation of staff.
Maintain knowledge and effectively administer all Company policies and procedures including training, communication, interviewing, associate discipline and termination.
Initiate and maintain sanitation program for responsible areas.
Maintain working knowledge of all warehouse related systems and processes.
Collaborate with all RDC departments (Transportation, HR, Administration) and the opcos to achieve most efficient product flow and to continuously drive best cost and service.
Responsible for proper receiving, slotting and shipping of products and the relationship to accuracy and product quality, as well as productivity.
Work effectively with the Senior Manager, Warehouse Standards, Systems and Engineering to minimize warehouse shrink and to maximize productivity with WMS configuration and execution.
Foster an environment that encourages associate involvement, commit to quality of work for self and others, and provide leadership for mutual benefit to Company, associates and customers.
Ensure that all required associate records, evaluations, and related documentation are maintained in a timely, consistent, and accurate manner as well as ensuring the operations management team is fully trained and effective in these processes.
Responsible for ensuring the appearance, maintenance and security of the warehouse and equipment are ongoing.
Communicate and reinforce policies and procedures (Coaching Maximizing Performance Program, Preferred Work Methods, and Best Business Practices) to ensure associates are trained in safety, job knowledge, and attainment of performance standards.
Maintain effective working relationship between assigned management of all respective operations departments.
Understand and comply with all applicable company policies (i.e. attendance, Code of Business Conduct & Ethics, Associate Handbook, etc.
Understand and ensure compliance with all applicable State/Federal laws, regulations and policies (i.e. Supports food safety policies, standard operating procedures, and prerequisite food safety control programs that meet legal and quality requirements and industry best practices as defined in our Food Safety Commitment documentation.
Accept additional responsibilities or special projects as requested.
Provide direction and leadership to subsidiary associates as well as ongoing communication of related status and issues to RDC management.
Determines and provides training and development of staff members as needed.
Responsible for associate performance evaluations of immediate subordinates on an annual basis for the purpose of communicating and properly documenting expectations and evaluations to the staff.
Provides ongoing feedback on the performance of subordinates and the department by monitoring activities and reports.
Responsible for managing all warehouse operations staff including managers, supervisors, and non-exempt (hourly) associates.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. An individual should contact the Human Resource representative or hiring manager if he or she believes that an accommodation is needed.
Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills between associates, peers, and senior management.
Must have ability to plan and organize work and time, analyze and disseminate numerical data, follow policies and procedures, possess basic math skills, and identify and solve problems.
Must have basic knowledge of Microsoft suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
Must have demonstrated ability to plan and organize work and time, follow policies and procedures, identify and solve problems.
Must have ability to foster a cooperative work environment with business partners and collaborate with multiple teams at multiple levels within the organization to achieve Company objectives.
Must have ability to plan, develop and coordinate multiple projects.
Must be able to effectively manage confidential information.
High school diploma or General Education Degree (GED) is required. Bachelor’s Degree related to operations systems, business management or related field is preferred. Food service knowledge preferred. A minimum of the (10) years verifiable experience in various management/leadership roles in a distribution related industry or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. Must have working knowledge of warehouse management systems to include inbound, outbound and inventory management processes. Conceptual understanding of labor management systems for operations is required. Experience in labor relations relative to effective management of operations associates is required.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, percent, and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
Some solutions may require modifying past applications or creating a solution unique to the current situation but within the regulations that would apply.


CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS
~ Certification on material handling equipment is required, or the ability to become certified.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. An individual should contact his or her supervisor or the Human Resources Department if he or she believes that an accommodation is needed.
While performing the duties of this job, the associate is regularly required to talk and hear, and to use hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard and mouse. Job duties are performed in a warehouse/operations environment with frequent time spent in an office environment. While performing the duties of this job, the associate is frequently exposed to varying temperatures to include the freezer, cooler, and dry warehouse locations, and exposed to extreme cold or heat. The associate is regularly exposed to fast moving material handling equipment or other mechanical equipment. The associate may be exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, vehicle emissions, contained toxic or caustic chemicals, and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the warehouse work environment usually is loud.
This is a full-time position. The incumbent must have the ability to work a varying schedule which might include shift work (days or nights), weekdays or weekends, and some holidays. Work hours may vary or change based on departmental requirements.
TRAVEL
The position requires some travel to support the business needs of the RDCs and affiliate locations.
The position requires some travel to support the business needs of the RDCs and affiliate locations.