Operations Manager

Job Summary

Required Qualifications

• •extensive experience managing frozen food, protein, meat, poultry, or food distribution operations
• •strong understanding of cold chain logistics
• •food safety regulations
• •production
• •warehouse management
• •inventory control
• •transportation operations
• •hands-on leadership
• •operational performance
• •processing
• •sanitation
• •food safety
• •quality
• •service
• •profitability
• •Lead the overall day-to-day operations of the facility
• •ensuring production, warehouse, transportation, inventory, and sanitation functions operate efficiently and cohesively
• •Develop and implement operational processes that improve efficiency, accuracy, service, and profitability
• •Oversee the end-to-end distribution flow — receiving, put-away, slotting, replenishment, selection, staging, and loading — across cooler and freezer operations
• •fill rate
• •order accuracy
• •Ensure production schedules and customer commitments are met
• •maintaining product quality and food safety standards
• •Monitor operational KPIs, including order accuracy, on-time delivery, inventory accuracy, labor productivity, product yield, waste, and shrinkage
• •Coordinate closely with Sales, Procurement, Transportation, Customer Service, Food Safety/Quality Assurance, and other departments
• •meet customer and operational requirements
• •Identify operational challenges and implement continuous improvement initiatives
• •increase productivity
• •reduce downtime
• •improve overall performance
• •Oversee meat and protein processing operations, including cutting, portioning, trimming, grinding, packaging, labeling, and other value-added production
• •Manage production scheduling, line balancing, crew assignments, and daily output against customer commitments
• •Establish and maintain standard yields by cut
• •conduct and interpret yield tests
• •control giveaway and overfill on portion-cut items
• •Maintain product specification integrity
• •ensure finished products consistently meet customer requirements
• •Monitor production efficiencies, labor utilization, product yields, and waste reduction opportunities
• •Maintain rigorous sanitation and product-handling practices throughout processing and exposed-product areas
• •Maintain strict temperature-control standards for frozen and refrigerated inventory
• •Ensure compliance with cold chain procedures to protect product quality and food safety
• •Monitor freezer, cooler, and storage systems
• •ensure temperature deviations are addressed immediately
• •Ensure proper handling and storage practices for beef, chicken, pork, turkey, seafood, and other perishable products
• •Maintain accurate inventory through cycle counts, physical inventories, and effective inventory-control procedures
• •Minimize product loss, spoilage, shrinkage, and obsolete inventory
• •Ensure compliance with FIFO/FEFO, product rotation, and code-date management procedures
• •Reconcile catch-weight variances
• •drive root-cause analysis of material inventory discrepancies
• •Partner with Procurement to maintain appropriate stock levels
• •support efficient inventory turnover
• •Ensure operational compliance with USDA-FSIS, FDA, HACCP, GMP, SSOP, FSMA, OSHA, and Company food safety and sanitation requirements
• •Partner closely with Food Safety/Quality Assurance
• •maintain readiness for regulatory and third-party inspections
• •Ensure sanitation procedures for production rooms, equipment, coolers, freezers, and processing areas are consistently followed
• •Support environmental monitoring and Listeria-control practices in applicable exposed-product areas
• •Conduct routine operational inspections
• •address food safety, quality, or regulatory concerns
• •Maintain operational readiness for product traceability and recall requirements
• •including applicable FSMA 204 recordkeeping requirements
• •Provide direct leadership and accountability for warehouse, processing, transportation, inventory control, and sanitation functions
• •ensuring all departments work toward common service, safety, quality, and financial objectives
• •Lead, coach, and hold supervisors and department leads accountable for performance within their respective areas
• •Establish clear expectations for safety, quality, productivity, attendance, service, and overall performance
• •Develop staffing and labor plans based on production volumes, customer requirements, and operational needs
• •Train and develop employees on proper product handling, processing techniques, safety procedures, sanitation, and food safety protocols
• •Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, continuous improvement, and operational excellence
• •Address performance concerns promptly
• •partner with Human Resources when corrective action or additional employee support is required
• •Manage labor and operational expenses against established budgets and performance targets
• •Monitor labor utilization, overtime, yields, waste, shrinkage, and other key cost drivers
• •Identify cost-saving and efficiency opportunities
• •without compromising food safety, product quality, or customer service
• •Analyze operational results
• •take corrective action when performance falls outside established targets
• •Provide leadership with regular updates regarding operational performance, challenges, and improvement initiatives
• •This is a full-time, exempt leadership position
• •Verdi Fine Foods operates 365 days a year
• •this role requires flexibility based on operational needs
• •Occasional early starts
• •weekend availability
• •holiday coverage
• •Regular work is performed in refrigerated (34–38°F) and freezer (-10°F) environments
• •on an active processing floor
• •The position requires the ability to lift up to 50 pounds
• •remain on foot throughout the facility for extended periods

Desired Qualifications

• •HACCP Certification
• •Food Safety Certification
• •Lean, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement experience
• •Experience with USDA-inspected protein facilities
• •Bilingual English/Spanish