Employee-Owned Operations Leader: Scale & Systems

Worthingtonchamber; Worthington, Northern (OH, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP

Job summary

Sports Imports, Inc. seeks a Director of Operations to build and lead a company-wide operations function, overseeing warehouse and supply chain while owning global process architecture and cross-department workflows.

This role translates strategic vision into executable processes with authority over budgets, headcount, and capital plans for warehouse, logistics, and product development. You will drive KPI dashboards, cross-functional alignment, and scalable systems to support growth, high

Qualifications

• 7-12+ years of operational leadership experience
• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or related field. MBA preferred.
• Experience in manufacturing, distribution, or product-based businesses
• Demonstrated ability to build systems and processes from scratch
• Strong cross-functional leadership experience
• Proven track record of improving operational efficiency and scalability
• Financial acumen (inventory, margin, cash flow awareness)
• Experience leading warehouse or supply chain operations preferred
• Demonstrated people-leadership experience, including hiring, developing, and managing a team of direct reports
• Experience with product quality systems, vendor scorecards, or warranty/CAPA processes preferred
• Familiarity with warehouse safety and regulatory compliance (OSHA) preferred

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain cross-functional workflows from order acquisition through fulfillment
• Establish and enforce company-wide process clarity and accountability
• Lead weekly operational cadence, KPI tracking, and performance dashboards
• Drive alignment between strategic objectives and day-to-day execution
• Oversee warehouse operations, fulfillment accuracy, and inventory integrity
• Lead purchasing and domestic/overseas sourcing strategy
• Improve inventory planning and production scheduling processes
• Implement cost-control measures to protect margin and cash flow
• Develop scalable systems as volume and product lines expand
• Set vendor strategy and own final decisions on major contracts and pricing structures
• Ownership over vendor KPIs
• Oversee vendor escalated issues
• Own the decision to diversify or qualify new vendors to reduce single-source risk as volume grows
• Ensure build and assembly targets are met through process and inventory efficiencies
• Set freight and carrier strategy and approve carrier changes or major contracts
• Own shipping cost optimization initiatives and sign off on packaging or freight changes with material cost impact
• Set product quality standards and specifications in partnership with product development and assembly team
• Establish incoming and outgoing inspection protocols
• Own warranty claim root-cause analysis and feedback to vendor scorecards
• Own corrective and preventative action decisions for recurring quality issues
• Design, document, and implement SOPs across all departments
• Improve CRM, ERP, and internal systems utilization
• Optimize handoffs between Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Finance
• Build operational dashboards and reporting structures
• Identify bottlenecks and proactively solve process inefficiencies
• Champion operational discipline and continuous improvement
• Oversee operational execution of new product initiatives
• Coordinate sourcing, cost modelling, vendor relationships, and production readiness
• Implement stage-gate product launch processes
• Ensure alignment between product design, supply chain, and commercialization
• Support growth targets tied to new product revenue
• Directly manage the mid-level management of the Operations team
• Hold final hiring authority for operations roles; partner with mid-level managers on frontline recruiting and onboarding
• Own performance management for direct reports, including goal-setting, coaching, and succession planning
• Build a scalable team structure that reduces reliance on any single individual and meets the needs of the growing business
• Set safety program standards and OSHA compliance requirements; the Warehouse Operations Manager owns day-to-day safety training and incident reporting
• Lead manufacturing capacity planning and facility investment recommendations as volume and product lines expand

Job description

Sports Imports, Inc. seeks a Director of Operations to build and lead a company-wide operations function, overseeing warehouse and supply chain while owning global process architecture and cross-department workflows.

This role translates strategic vision into executable processes with authority over budgets, headcount, and capital plans for warehouse, logistics, and product development. You will drive KPI dashboards, cross-functional alignment, and scalable systems to support growth, high