Vice President of Operations

Saval Foodservice; Elkridge (MD); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Saval Foods, a 94-year-old family-owned foodservice company, is seeking a Vice President of Operations to lead our multi-site warehouse and distribution operations and shape the next chapter of growth. As a member of the senior leadership team, you will oversee safety, service, productivity, inventory integrity, and operating costs across the operation, including receiving, putaway, picking, and shipping.

This role blends on-the-floor leadership with strategic transformation as we move to a new

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree valued; demonstrated operating leadership and results matter most.
• Experience in broadline foodservice distribution or similar multi-site environments preferred.
• Strong track record of improving safety, service, productivity, and cost controls.

Responsibilities

• Lead safety, service, productivity, inventory integrity, people, and operating costs across warehouse operations.
• Oversee receiving, putaway, replenishment, order selection, loading, inventory control, sanitation, returns, will call, material handling, and related operations.
• Develop managers and supervisors across shifts and sites to build a high-performing organization.
• Partner with IT and the Chief Digital Officer to advance throughput, scanning, putaway, replenishment, and reporting.

Skills

Leadership

Operations management

Warehouse operations

Strategic planning

Cross-functional leadership

People development

Safety & compliance

Financial management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Lead the Next Generation of a 94-Year-Old Family-Owned Foodservice Company

Saval Foods is seeking an accomplished Vice President of Operations to lead our multi-site warehouse and distribution operations and help shape the next chapter of a 94-year-old, family-owned company.

Saval was recently named the #1 Best Place to Work among large companies in the Baltimore Area by the Baltimore Business Journal—recognition that reflects the culture, relationships, and commitment to our people that have defined our company for generations.

Now, we’re preparing for one of the most significant investments in Saval’s history.

We are breaking ground on a new facility just five miles from our current headquarters, with move-in targeted for December 2027. The new facility will consolidate our current warehouse, transportation, office support, Specialty Cut Steaks, and Produce operations, creating an integrated platform for Saval’s continued growth.

The VP of Operations will have a critical role in helping us get there—and in leading the operation that emerges.

What You’ll Lead

As a member of Saval’s senior leadership team, you’ll have executive responsibility for safety, service, productivity, inventory integrity, people, and operating costs across warehouse operations.

You’ll lead receiving, putaway, replenishment, order selection, loading, inventory control, sanitation, returns, will call, material handling, offsite produce operations, and surplus storage.

Your priorities will include:

• Operational Performance: Build the management routines, KPIs, standards, and accountability needed to improve safety, accuracy, service, productivity, labor performance, and cost.
• People & Leadership: Develop managers and supervisors across shifts and sites, build succession depth, and create an accountable, high-performing organization.
• Safety & Food Safety: Champion workplace safety and ensure compliance with OSHA/MOSH, food safety, sanitation, storage, handling, and traceability requirements.
• Inventory & Accuracy: Own warehouse error-rate performance and inventory integrity, including receiving, rotation, cycle counts, catch-weight reconciliation, shorts, mispicks, returns, and warehouse credits.
• Systems & Continuous Improvement: Partner with our Chief Digital Officer and IT team to advance throughput capabilities, scanning, directed putaway, replenishment, slotting, picking, shipping, reporting, and automation.
• Capacity, Facilities & Capital: Help define the operating model and requirements for our new facility while leading current capacity, equipment, layout, and capital decisions.
• Financial Performance: Own the warehouse operating budget and drive disciplined management of labor, overtime, inventory loss, equipment investments, and controllable expenses.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with Transportation, Purchasing, Sales, Food Safety, HR, Finance, IT, Production, and executive leadership.

This is not a desk-only executive position. We want a leader equally comfortable on the warehouse floor, developing managers, analyzing operating performance, evaluating technology, and helping the executive team make long-term growth decisions.

A Rare Opportunity to Build the Future Operation

The timing of this role matters.

With our new facility targeted for December 2027, the VP of Operations will have the opportunity to influence a major operational transition rather than simply inherit and maintain the status quo.

You’ll help translate decades of operating knowledge into the next generation of Saval’s distribution platform—considering workflow, material movement, technology, equipment, staffing, management structure, capacity, and customer-service continuity.

You’ll also help develop the transition and move strategy necessary to consolidate major parts of our business while maintaining high service levels to our customers.

For an operations leader who enjoys building as much as running, this is a significant opportunity.

Who We’re Looking For

Our strongest candidates will bring substantial leadership experience in broadline foodservice, grocery, cold-chain, or another high-volume, multi-temperature distribution environment.

You understand the realities of the business: overnight selection, inbound constraints, cold-chain requirements, labor management, inventory accuracy, catch-weight products, warehouse errors, service pressure, equipment, and capacity limitations.

A relevant bachelor’s degree is valued, but demonstrated operating leadership and results matter most.

Why Saval?

94 years of stability. A family-owned culture. Recognition as Baltimore’s #1 Large Company to Work For. And a major investment in what’s next.

If you’ve built your career within a national distributor, your next opportunity doesn’t necessarily need to be a larger version of the same job.

At Saval, you’ll have the opportunity to own the whole problem—people, process, systems, inventory, facilities, technology, capacity, capital, and cost.

You’ll work directly with senior company leadership. Your decisions will be visible. You’ll be close enough to the operation to see their impact. And you’ll arrive at a pivotal moment when we’re designing and building the physical and operational foundation for our next generation.

Regional doesn’t mean simple.

You’ll find the operational complexity and performance expectations of sophisticated foodservice distribution, combined with the agility, access, and influence that can be difficult to find in a national organization.

How You’ll Be Measured

Success will be defined by measurable improvement in employee safety, warehouse and produce accuracy, inventory integrity, productivity, labor efficiency, overtime, inventory loss, service performance, successful facility transition, and management bench strength.

Ultimately, we want you to build an operation that is safer, more accurate, more predictable, more scalable, and better led—and successfully position Saval for its next generation of growth.

Ready to Build What’s Next?

If you’ve learned how excellent foodservice distribution operations run and are ready to apply that experience with broader responsibility, greater influence, and the opportunity to help build a new operation from the ground up, we’d like to talk.

Saval Foods is an equal opportunity employer.