Director of Warehouse Operations Leadership

Mai Placement; New York (NY); On-site; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Mai Placement is looking for a Director of Warehouse Operations based in New York City. The ideal candidate will elevate performance through leadership and build a culture of accountability within the warehouse and distribution operation.

The role involves owning operational performance, ensuring high standards in inventory control, and developing a leadership team capable of supporting growth. A competitive salary of $250,000 per year is offered for the right candidate.

Qualifications

• Experience leading large-scale warehouse, distribution, or logistics environments.
• Proven experience leading managers in a multi-layer organization.
• Strong understanding of inventory control, fulfillment, and warehouse operations.

Responsibilities

• Own performance of warehouse leadership team.
• Develop future leaders and strengthen succession.
• Drive Lean thinking throughout the organization.

Skills

Leadership development

Operational decision-making

Accountability systems

Lean concepts

Data-driven leadership

Job description

Director of Warehouse Operations & Leadership

Location: NYC Metropolitan Area, Onsite, Full Time

Estimated Salary: $250,000 (Compensation commensurate with experience)

The company has built a substantial warehouse and distribution operation and now needs a strong operational leader to elevate performance through leadership, accountability, and execution.

This role is not about personally solving warehouse problems.

It is about building leaders who solve warehouse problems.

The Director of Warehouse Operations & Leadership will own the performance of the entire operation through managers and supervisors, creating a culture of accountability, operational discipline, safety, continuous improvement, and forward planning.

Success will come from building a leadership team that consistently delivers inventory accuracy, fulfillment performance, labor productivity, safety excellence, and operational scalability with minimal executive involvement.

This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who knows how to lead leaders, hold people accountable, improve operations through structure, and build an organization capable of sustaining growth.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Accountability

• Own the performance of the warehouse leadership team
• Lead managers and supervisors through clear expectations, accountability, coaching, and performance management
• Build a culture where leaders take ownership of results rather than escalating problems
• Develop future leaders and strengthen succession throughout the operation
• Establish operational rhythms, scorecards, and accountability systems that drive execution

Operational Ownership

• Own end‑to‑end warehouse and distribution performance
• Ensure receiving, inventory control, storage, fulfillment, and shipping operations perform at a high level
• Drive consistency, reliability, and operational discipline across all functions
• Remove bottlenecks that impact customer service, productivity, safety, or operational performance

Planning & Execution

• Ensure operations are planned weeks, months, and quarters ahead
• Align labor, equipment, inventory, and facility capacity with business demand
• Build proactive operating plans that support growth without sacrificing execution

Continuous Improvement

• Drive Lean thinking throughout the organization
• Build a culture focused on waste reduction, process improvement, and operational excellence
• Improve productivity, throughput, and efficiency through structured improvement initiatives

Safety & Culture

• Own safety performance throughout the facility
• Ensure managers actively identify and eliminate operational risks
• Create a culture where safety, accountability, and execution are non‑negotiable

Financial Performance

• Own labor productivity and warehouse operating costs
• Drive efficiency improvements through better leadership, planning, and execution
• Use operational metrics to make decisions and improve performance

Success in This Role

• Leadership team consistently delivering results with minimal executive intervention
• Improved manager and supervisor performance
• Improved inventory accuracy
• Improved labor productivity
• Improved fulfillment performance
• Improved warehouse throughput
• Reduced safety incidents
• Improved operational planning and forecasting
• Sustainable culture of accountability and continuous improvement
• Leadership bench capable of supporting future growth

Requirements

• Experience leading large‑scale warehouse, distribution, logistics, manufacturing, or operational environments
• Proven experience leading managers and supervisors in a multi‑layer organization
• Strong understanding of inventory control, fulfillment, receiving, and warehouse operations
• Experience building accountability systems and performance‑driven cultures
• Strong forecasting, planning, and operational decision‑making capability
• Demonstrated ability to improve operational performance through leadership
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Ability to operate successfully in a fast‑paced, high‑accountability environment

Must‑Haves

• Proven experience leading managers, supervisors, and multi‑layer leadership teams
• Led leaders within a warehouse, distribution, manufacturing, logistics, or similar operational environment
• Proven track record improving operational performance through leadership rather than individual contribution
• Experience building accountability, ownership, and performance management systems
• Strong leadership development, coaching, and succession planning experience
• Good understanding of Lean concepts
• Experience improving warehouse KPIs, productivity, safety, throughput, inventory accuracy, or operational efficiency
• Strong planning and forecasting capability
• Data‑driven leadership style
• Ability to operate in a fast‑paced, high‑accountability environment

Compensation

$250,000 per year