Operations Manager

Custom Foods Inc.; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Custom Foods Inc. is seeking an Operations Manager to lead three production lines across two 10-hour shifts. The role focuses on meeting schedules, maintaining food safety, and driving continuous improvement in a fast-paced bakery/food-manufacturing environment.

You will coach supervisors and hourly staff, coordinate with planning, and ensure documentation and regulatory compliance across all production activities.

Qualifications

• Experience supervising employees in manufacturing or food-processing for at least five years.
• Experience managing day-to-day production priorities, staffing, and productivity.
• Ability to lead across multiple shifts and production areas.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Effective communication with hourly employees, supervisors, and leadership.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
• Commitment to workplace safety and food safety.
• Ability to read and follow production procedures and specs.
• Proficiency with Excel and Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily production activities across three lines and two 10-hour shifts.
• Ensure production aligns with the approved schedule and adapt to changes.
• Monitor performance, address safety, quality, productivity, or customer issues.
• Coordinate schedule changes with the Production Planner / Scheduler.
• Balance labor and resources across lines based on demand.
• Track output, yields, waste, downtime, and labor productivity.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement practical improvements.
• Maintain accurate production records and documentation.
• Develop production supervisors and hourly staff; set expectations for safety and quality.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Problem-solving

Adaptability

Team management

Excel

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Excel & MS Office

Production management systems

Job description

Schedule: Primarily Monday–Friday, occasionally on Saturdays dictated by business needs as operation is Monday-Saturday

POSITION SUMMARY

The facility operates three production lines across two 10-hour shifts, six days per week, and regularly introduces new customers, new products, product variations, R&D trials, line trials, and customer samples.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Production Operations

• Lead daily production activities across three manufacturing lines and two 10-hour shifts.
• Ensure production is executed according to the approved production schedule while responding appropriately to changing conditions.
• Monitor production performance throughout the shift and address issues that threaten safety, quality, productivity, or customer commitments.
• Coordinate with the Production Planner / Scheduler regarding schedule changes, production constraints, material shortages, and capacity issues.
• Balance labor and resources across production lines based on changing production requirements.
• Monitor production output, yields, waste, downtime, labor utilization, and other key operating measures.
• Identify bottlenecks and recurring production problems and implement practical solutions.
• Ensure production records and required documentation are completed accurately and on time.
• Maintain accountability for meeting production expectations without compromising food safety or product quality.
• Lead, coach, and develop production supervisors, leads, and hourly production employees.
• Establish clear expectations for safety, food safety, quality, productivity, attendance, housekeeping, and performance.
• Ensure employees are properly trained before performing assigned duties.
• Address performance and attendance issues consistently and in accordance with company policy.
• Develop a culture of accountability, teamwork, communication, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure adequate staffing across production shifts and communicate staffing concerns that may affect production.
• Support succession planning and development of production leaders.
• Maintain a professional, respectful, and productive work environment.

Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Compliance

• Make food safety a non-negotiable priority in all production decisions.
• Ensure production activities comply with applicable GMPs, food safety procedures, allergen controls, sanitation requirements, product specifications, and company policies.
• Work closely with Quality/Food Safety personnel to identify and correct conditions that could affect food safety or product quality.
• Ensure employees understand and follow required food safety and GMP practices.
• Immediately address and elevate potential food safety concerns, product contamination, allergen-control issues, foreign material concerns, process deviations, or other conditions that could compromise product safety.
• Participate in FDA, SQF, customer, and other regulatory or third-party audits.
• Ensure production areas are maintained in a condition that supports successful regulatory and customer audits.
• Participate in corrective actions and follow-up activities resulting from audits, inspections, quality incidents, or food safety findings.
• Reinforce accurate recordkeeping and documentation necessary to demonstrate compliance.

New Product & R&D Execution

• Partner with R&D and the Production Planner / Scheduler to execute new product trials, line trials, customer samples, and first production runs.
• Ensure production teams understand the specifications, process requirements, and expectations for trial products before beginning production.
• Provide practical production feedback to R&D regarding equipment capabilities, processing challenges, yields, labor requirements, waste, line speeds, and repeatability.
• Identify operational risks associated with new products and communicate them before commercialization.

Production Scheduling & Material Coordination

• Work closely with the Production Planner / Scheduler to develop a production schedule that reflects actual plant capacity.
• Communicate changes in line availability, labor, equipment, production rates, downtime, and other constraints that may affect the schedule.
• Ensure required ingredients, packaging, and materials are available before production begins.
• Coordinate with the nearby warehouse when materials required for the following day's production have been identified and transferred.

Equipment, Maintenance & Facility Coordination

• Work closely with Maintenance to prioritize equipment repairs and preventative maintenance needs based on production requirements and food safety considerations.
• Communicate recurring equipment problems and their effect on production performance.
• Participate in decisions regarding equipment capability, line capacity, process improvements, and production constraints.

Performance Management & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and monitor meaningful production performance measures.
• Track production efficiency, yield, waste, downtime, labor productivity, schedule attainment, and other relevant metrics.
• Investigate significant performance gaps and implement corrective actions.
• Identify opportunities to improve line utilization, labor efficiency, production flow, changeovers, waste, and overall operating performance.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Demonstrated experience supervising or managing employees in a manufacturing, production, or food-processing environment for at least five years.
• Experience managing day-to-day production activities, including production priorities, staffing, productivity, quality, or operational issues.
• Ability to lead employees across multiple shifts and/or production areas.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with hourly employees, supervisors, maintenance, quality, warehouse, planning, and leadership.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment where priorities and production requirements can change quickly.
• Demonstrated commitment to workplace safety and food safety.
• Ability to read, understand, and follow production procedures, specifications, and food safety requirements.
• Computer proficiency, including the ability to use email, spreadsheets, production records, and other business systems.Proficient in Excel and Microsoft Office.

Preferred

• Experience in food manufacturing, bakery, frozen foods, dough production, or a similar high-volume food-processing environment.
• Experience managing multiple production lines.
• Experience working in a facility operating extended shifts or six-day production schedules.
• Experience with SQF, FDA, HACCP, GMP, FSMA, or customer food-safety audits.
• Experience with production metrics, yield improvement, waste reduction, downtime reduction, or other continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Experience working with an ERP, MES, or manufacturing management system.

Education: A high school diploma or equivalent is preferred. A bachelor's degree is not required if the candidate possesses substantial relevant manufacturing leadership experience.A bakery science degree would be a plus.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Regular work within an active frozen food manufacturing facility.
• Frequent exposure to manufacturing equipment, food ingredients, flour/dough dust, refrigeration/freezing conditions, noise, temperature variations, sanitation chemicals, and other normal food manufacturing conditions.
• Required to wear company-designated PPE and comply with GMP, hygiene, food safety, and sanitation requirements.
• Regular movement between production lines, production areas, offices, warehouse areas, and other facility locations.
• Must be available to work across both production shifts as operational needs require.
• May occasionally be required to work weekends, extended hours, holidays, or outside normal scheduled hours to address significant production, staffing, food safety, quality, or equipment issues.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to regularly walk and stand throughout a manufacturing facility for extended periods.
• Ability to safely navigate active production areas, including stairs and uneven or wet surfaces where applicable.
• Ability to bend, stoop, reach, and move throughout production areas.
• Ability to occasionally lift or carry materials, samples, documents, or other items associated with production activities.
• Ability to work in temperature-controlled and refrigerated/freezer environments when required.
• Must be able to safely perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE

Success in this position means the facility consistently produces safe, quality products, on schedule, at an appropriate cost, while developing people and improving the operation.

The successful Operations Manager does not view production volume, efficiency, food safety, quality, employee engagement, and customer service as competing priorities. Instead, the role is responsible for building an operating environment where these objectives support one another.

The Operations Manager must be willing to stop or alter production when necessary to protect food safety or product integrity, while also developing the systems, people, and processes necessary to prevent recurring problems.