Company Overview

The parent company operates two complementary food businesses in the New Orleans area:

A dried bean packaging and processing operation serving regional and national grocery retailers.
A foodservice-focused business supplying batters, coatings, and spice blends to restaurants and commercial kitchens.

With approximately 65 employees, the organization values practical leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and a strong connection between strategy and execution.

Position Summary

The Vice President of Operations is a senior executive role responsible for enterprise-wide operational leadership across the organization. This position provides both strategic direction and hands-on execution for all operations-related functions while influencing Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Human Resources to ensure alignment between commercial strategy and operational capability.

In a lean, entrepreneurial organization of approximately 65 employees, the VP of Operations plays a central role in shaping company culture, driving accountability, and translating business strategy into scalable, efficient, and compliant operations across two distinct food businesses.

Scope of Responsibility

The Vice President of Operations has leadership responsibility for the following functional areas:

Production and packaging operations
Supply and demand planning
Maintenance and reliability
Warehouse, logistics, and inventory control
Quality assurance and food safety
Procurement and vendor management
Customer service and order fulfillment
E-commerce website replenishment, order flow, and fulfillment execution

The role works closely with and influences:

Sales and Marketing to align demand generation, promotions, and customer commitments with operational capacity and service levels
Finance on budgeting, forecasting, cost controls, and capital planning
Human Resources on organizational design, leadership development, performance management, and workforce planning

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Leadership & Strategy

Partner with the CEO and executive team to define and execute company-wide strategy, ensuring operational readiness supports revenue growth and customer expectations.
Act as an enterprise leader influencing decisions across Sales, Marketing, Finance, and HR.
Build a performance-driven culture emphasizing accountability, safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
Lead annual operating plans, capital planning, and long-range capacity planning.

Operational Execution

Ensure efficient daily operations across both manufacturing businesses, with active involvement as needed to resolve issues and support teams.
Balance capacity, labor, materials, and inventory to meet retail, foodservice, and e-commerce demand.
Drive standardization of processes, metrics, and reporting across departments where appropriate.

Supply Chain & Planning

Oversee demand forecasting, production planning, and inventory management to support retail, foodservice, and direct-to-consumer channels.
Lead procurement strategy, supplier relationships, and cost management initiatives.
Ensure timely and accurate order fulfillment across all channels.

Quality, Food Safety & Compliance

Maintain robust quality and food safety systems consistent with regulatory, customer, and third-party audit requirements.
Promote a strong food safety culture across production, warehouse, and fulfillment operations.

Continuous Improvement

Champion continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, productivity, and cost reduction.
Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) across all operations functions.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, or a related field (MBA or advanced degree preferred).
10–15+ years of progressive leadership experience, with significant responsibility across manufacturing, supply chain, and cross-functional business operations.
Prior experience as a senior operations leader (Director or VP level) in food manufacturing, CPG, or foodservice environments.
Demonstrated ability to influence and partner with Sales, Marketing, Finance, and HR at an executive level.
Strong background in food safety, quality systems, and regulatory compliance.
Proven success leading both strategic initiatives and hands-on operational execution in a growth-oriented organization.

Skills & Competencies

Practical, hands-on leadership style with strong problem-solving ability
Strategic thinker with operational discipline
Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
Financial and cost management acumen
Comfort working in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment
Ability to manage complexity across multiple product lines and customer channels

Reporting Relationship

Reports to: President / Chief Executive Officer

Direct Reports

Functional managers and supervisors across operations, supply chain, quality, and customer fulfillment.

Onsite Location

This role is ideal for an operations leader who thrives in a hands-on environment and enjoys building scalable systems while staying closely connected to daily execution.

Salary Range - $155,000 - $185,000 DOE

L. H. Hayward & Co., LLC

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Vice President of Operations