Vice President of Operations #ESF

Job Type: Full Time

Location: Hanford, California

Pay: Competitive Pay & Benefits!

Job Description

• Drive strategic growth, profitability, and operational excellence as a hands‑on executive leader.
• Oversee a team of five direct reports across Operations, Quality/Food Safety, and EH&S.
• Develop and monitor annual goals, KPIs, and operational strategies that support the company’s financial and growth objectives.
• Manage cost centers (labor, inputs, overhead), oversee the operations budget, and execute a cost‑reduction roadmap.
• Lead capacity planning and capital investment projects to maximize product yield and ROI.
• Implement Lean Manufacturing principles to reduce waste, improve workflows, and maximize labor/material efficiency.
• Establish and enforce metrics for food safety, product quality, order fulfillment, and plant performance.
• Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies to leverage automation and drive continuous improvement.
• Direct production, packaging, QA, and hulling plant activities.
• Champion a 'zero‑loss' safety culture through high operator awareness and strict adherence to personnel safety standards.
• Foster a high‑performance culture through mentorship, professional development, and strategic workforce planning with HR.
• Collaborate with Sales, Grower Relations, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure a seamless product flow from harvest to shipping.

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, operations management, or a related field is desirable and/or equivalent experience.
• A minimum of 15 years of experience within the food or beverage manufacturing industry and a minimum of 7 years in an operations leadership role.
• Previous leadership of Environmental, Health, and Safety teams is highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of FDA, USDA, and OSHA guidelines.
• A comprehensive knowledge of a grower, packer, shipper, processor business model is preferred.
• Proven track record in driving operational excellence and process improvement.
• Sound knowledge of operational processes, methodologies, and best practices.
• Excellent financial acumen and budget management skills.
• Exceptional ability to conceptualize large‑picture projects and foresee challenges and needs to be addressed.
• Strong problem‑solving skills; analytical and data‑driven; able to come up with creative solutions to unique challenges.
• Excellent organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks and meet constant deadlines with strong attention to detail and quality control.
• Strong organization skills with the ability to execute multiple parallel projects.