Operations Manager

Sakataornamentals; California (MO); On-site; USD 115,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

401k with company match

Profit Sharing program

Paid Vacation

Sick Leave

Paid Family Leave

Company provided EAP

Health/fitness club subsidies

Job summary

A leading agricultural company in California is seeking a Manager of Operations to oversee the various functions of their warehouses. The role involves planning and directing operational activities, driving continuous improvement, and maintaining positive employee relations. Candidates should have a strong background in operations and management within the seed industry and possess excellent communication and analytical skills. Competitive salary and benefits offered.

Qualifications

• Strong character traits required include emotional stability and adaptability.
• Managerial experience in Seed Industry or related fields.
• Proven ability to recruit, train and motivate personnel.

Responsibilities

• Plans, organizes, directs, and controls the operations of the warehouses.
• Drives continuous improvement within the department.
• Reviews and approves plans for the control of all areas of operations.
• Coordinates and collaborates with other departments.
• Assures a positive employee relations position is maintained.

Skills

Broad background in Operations

Excellent communication skills

Strong analytical and reasoning abilities

Ability to train, supervise and evaluate subordinates

Results oriented

Education

B.S. degree in Agri. Business or related plant biological sciences

MBA preferred

Job description

JOB SUMMARY: Plans, organizes, directs and controls the operating functions of the Operational warehouses of both Woodland and Marina, California. Responsible for the performance of Reception, Conditioning, Inventory, Seed Enhancement, Packaging and Shipping. Responsible for the coordination and control of operations and capacities to support company objectives. Aligns the sales and production requirements with departmental capabilities to ensure maximum customer service.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES*:

• Plans, executes, directs, and controls performance. Review’s organizational structure and recommends improvements or changes to meet business needs. Prepares annual people development plan and performance guidelines by function.
• Establishes major objectives and policies for the Operations department. Creates a strategy document and road maps for each department and/or function and updates annually. Communicates and manages company directional objectives and policies to each function. Each department completes a road map based on the strategy provided.
• Drives continuous improvement within department and across organization. Participates in charting the course of the company in response to internal and external developments in the industry. Recommends and establishes initiatives to investigate, implement and execute innovation related to new technologies and other improvements. Receives business approvals from upper management.
• Provides internal and external reports as required for the smooth operation of the company. Establishes capacity planning for the region and addresses bottlenecks to ensure department performance contributes to the smooth operation of the company. Provides dashboard reporting with root cause and mitigation to resolve leading issues. Takes proactive action to address major issues. Provides a high-level report either verbally or written of major issues impacting each function’s performance.
• Reviews and approves plans for the control of all areas of Woodland and Marina Operations including budget spending, labor efficiency, material efficiency, departmental effectiveness and human utilization. Provides a high-level monthly report of each area and delivers to upper management.
• Defines, recommends, and adheres to policies and objectives in each area of Operations. Develops and recommends specific short-term and long-term plans and programs, together with supporting budget requests and financial estimates to improve efficiency and maintain up-to-date departmental practices.
• Coordinates and collaborates with other departments of the corporation in establishing and carrying out responsibilities. Challenges the norm and influences other departments to implement new innovative technologies and drives continuous improvement. Stays abreast of new technologies and innovations and recommends exploratory opportunities.
• Reviews and approval for major projects within the department’s functional areas. Keeps team informed of company direction and objectives. Encourages employees to conduct investigative research and propose solutions to address company direction.
• Assures a positive employee relations position is maintained. Ensure the company’s management principles, policies and programs are consistently practiced. Provides specific and constructive feedback when issues arise. Addresses issues in a timely and positive manner.
• Help coordinate efforts in Operations to optimize on-time delivery for all products. Establish objectives and a process to review and analyze workload and make on-time deliveries. Works with other departments to define responsibilities to review inventory and propose solutions for marketability. Take proactive action to address major inventory and delivery issues. Supports data analysis to determine root causes for variances or late or missed deliveries.
• Assumes other special activities and responsibilities as directed. Receives special assignments as opportunities for personal development.
• Ensures that duties, responsibilities, authority and accountability of all direct subordinates are defined and understood. Provides specific and constructive feedback when issues arise. Addresses any issues in a timely and positive manner. Consults with upper management.
• Keep employees informed as to company/department plans and progress. Holds regular informative meetings with employees. Assures department performance contributes to the smooth operation of the company.

Management Responsibilities:

• Acts within scope of authority and consistent with company objectives, guidelines, policies and practices. Establishes a business strategy document for the department that includes company objectives and is updated annually. Requests road maps from each functional area that aligns with the departmental strategy. Maintains a people development plan for each function within the department and includes succession planning. Knowledgeable of major areas impacting each function’s performance and takes proactive action to address major issues.
• Directs monitors and appraises the performance of units immediately reporting to them and provides the necessary coordination between activities. Establishes clear performance goals with each department with measurable metrics to achieve them. Proactively addresses performance issues in a timely and non-confrontational manner.
• Identifies training needs; initiates development of subordinates; recommends effective personnel action. Develops and directs training material for new and current employees. Establishes guidelines such as templates for departments to develop training materials.
• Keeps employees informed as to company/department plans and progress. Holds regular informative meetings with employees. Assures department performance contributes to the smooth operation of the company.
• Coordinates activities of assigned units with those of other company units. Seeks mutual agreement on problems involving coordination. Proactively coordinates with other departments to address any issues in a timely manner. Promotes a positive and professional environment within the department and the company.
• Consults with management and/or staff responsible for policy/action as necessary. Timely communication with upper management and departmental staff.
• Ensures that duties, responsibilities, authority and accountability of all direct subordinates are defined and understood. Ensure employees are trained and refresher training is conducted. Proactively addresses performance issues in a timely and non-confrontational manner.
• Participates in developing and implementing CAPEX projects alongside the Regional Sr Ops Manager.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• Broad background in Operations, Seed Industry and good business practices.
• Technical knowledge of Seed Conditioning, Inventory management, Seed Enhancement, Packaging and Shipping both domestic and overseas. Has a 5S background or similar regimen. Some mechanical knowledge would be a benefit.
• Managerial experience in Seed Industry or related fields.
• Excellent communication skills. Strong analytical and reasoning abilities.
• Ability to establish credibility and be decisive.
• Ability to handle stress especially when encountering necessary projects, deadlines and/or high workload.
• Must be able to work under strict time constraints and requirements.
• Strong character traits required include emotional stability, adaptability, ability to handle stress, cultural and gender sensitivity, and honesty.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills. Ability to get along with diverse personalities. Demonstrated participative management style advocates team concept.
• Ability to train, supervise and evaluate the performance of subordinates.
• Results oriented with the ability to balance other business considerations.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• B.S. degree in Agri. Business or related plant biological sciences
• MBA preferred
• Must be able to obtain a Dept of Pesticide Regulation Qualified Applicator Certificate.

EXPERIENCE AND BACKGROUND:

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience ideally gained through increasingly responsible management positions in the seed industry or related industries
• A minimum of 5 year’s upper management experience.
• Sound administrative skills and well-developed management skills.
• Proven ability to recruit, train and motivate personnel to balance staffing strength with profitability and growth

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Must be able to work long and irregular hours.
• Must be able to travel from time to time throughout the year.
• Must be able to sit for long periods of time.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

• Salary: $115,000-$130,000 per year
• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance coverage for employees and their families
• Basic Life & AD&D Insurance
• 401k program with company match
• Profit Sharing program (via 401k)
• Holiday & Performance Incentive Bonus program
• Paid Vacation: 10 days per year to start, increases with tenure
• Sick Leave: 1 hour accrued per 30 hours worked for first 30 days, 6.67 hours per month after.
• 14 paid company holidays, 2 floating holidays & birthday off
• Paid Family Leave: 15 days after 12 months of service for FMLA qualifying events
• Company provided EAP
• Company provided subsidy for health/fitness clubs & apps

*To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty (as described above) satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.