Vice President, Operations

DESCRIPTION

Position Overview

The Vice President, Operations is the senior executive responsible for Ready®'s operations, overseeing manufacturing performance across our third-party co-manufacturer network along with the Production Planning, Quality & Regulatory, and Procurement functions, for both the branded Ready® portfolio and the private label business. This position will be responsible for building strong co-manufacturer and supplier partnerships and holding those partners accountable for cost, quality, service, and capacity. This position will also own the cost drivers of gross margin, lead the development and delivery of cost savings and efficiency initiatives, and implement the scalable processes required to support the Company's continued growth.

Responsibilities

Operations Leadership & Strategy

• Lead, develop, and grow the Production Planning, Quality & Regulatory, and Procurement Teams, setting clear goals and building a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Develop and execute an operations strategy that supports the growth of both the branded Ready® portfolio and the private label business, recognizing their different customer, cost, and service requirements.
• Serve as a key member of the leadership team, partnering with Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Product Development to align operational capabilities with commercial plans.
• Build and manage the annual operations plan and budget, and report regularly on performance against plan.

Manufacturing Operations & Co-Manufacturer Performance
• Own the operational performance of the co-manufacturer network, including partner selection, onboarding, capacity, and day-to-day production performance.
• Bring a hands-on manufacturing perspective to every partner relationship, using knowledge of line efficiency, yield, waste, changeovers, and run strategy to identify improvements and challenge partner cost structures.
• Establish co-manufacturer scorecards and a regular business review cadence covering cost, quality, service, and capacity, and drive corrective action when performance falls short.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives with partners to reduce waste, improve throughput, and increase production efficiency.
• Lead the operational side of new product commercialization, including scale-up, plant trials, and first production runs, with clear launch gates (such as specifications, stability, and packaging readiness) before committing to materials and production.
• Build contingency and secondary-sourcing plans to protect supply continuity as the business grows.

Financial Performance & Cost Savings

• Own the cost of goods sold (COGS) for the branded and private label portfolios and drive gross margin improvement.
• Build, prioritize, and deliver a pipeline of cost savings and efficiency initiatives across sourcing, packaging and specifications, co-manufacturer pricing, waste reduction, and process improvements, with clear targets and tracking.
• Partner closely with the CFO and Finance team on standard costs, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and cost inputs for private label pricing and quoting.
• Establish operational KPIs and reporting (for example, cost per unit, on-time in-full, forecast accuracy, inventory days, and quality metrics) and use data to drive decisions.
• Develop business cases for major operational decisions, such as adding or changing co-manufacturers, renegotiating contracts, or investing in capacity.

Quality & Regulatory
• Oversee the Quality & Regulatory function to ensure all branded and private label products meet food safety, regulatory, labeling, and customer requirements.
• Ensure co-manufacturers and suppliers maintain required certifications and audit standards, and lead the supplier quality program, including audits, specifications, and corrective actions.
• Close the loop between consumer and customer complaints, quality, and manufacturing: escalate issues quickly, trace them to the lot level, and drive root-cause fixes with partners.
• Maintain strong recall readiness and product hold processes, and meet customer-specific quality and audit requirements for private label partners.

Production Planning & Sourcing
• Oversee the production planning and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, connecting sales forecasts to production schedules, materials planning, and inventory targets.
• Balance service levels, inventory investment, minimum order quantities, and production efficiency, and manage inventory health, including aging and obsolescence risk.
• Set the sourcing strategy for ingredients, packaging, and co-manufacturing services, and oversee supplier and co-manufacturer contract negotiations, including pricing, payment terms, lead times, service levels, and change control.
• Monitor commodity and packaging markets and develop strategies to reduce cost volatility.

Qualifications
• Education: Bachelor's degree in operations management, supply chain, engineering, business administration, or a related field. MBA or advanced degree a plus.
• Experience: 10 - 15 years of progressive operations experience in the food and/or beverage industry, including at least 5 years in a leadership role overseeing multiple operations functions.
• Direct, hands-on manufacturing operations experience is required, such as operations management or production leadership. Candidates whose background is primarily in procurement, supply chain management, or logistics will not be a fit for this role.
• Experience managing third-party co-manufacturers in an asset-light model. Experience with both branded and private label products is strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of delivering measurable cost savings, efficiency gains, and margin improvement, with the ability to quantify results.
• Strong financial acumen, including COGS management, standard costing, budgeting, variance analysis, and building business cases.
• Working knowledge of food safety and regulatory requirements, including FDA regulations, FSMA, and GFSI-recognized standards.
• Demonstrated success negotiating supplier and co-manufacturer agreements.
• Experience overseeing S&OP and production planning, with proficiency in ERP systems, data, and analytics tools.
• Strong executive presence, with the ability to manage up and down in a lean, fast-moving, founder-led organization.
• Comfortable being both strategic and hands-on. Candidates from larger companies who have also succeeded in entrepreneurial, hands-on environments are welcome.
• Ability to travel to co-manufacturer and supplier sites as needed.

REQUIREMENTS