Vice President of Operations

The Jay Group; Lancaster (Lancaster County); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

The Jay Group seeks a Vice President of Operations to own performance across its fulfillment network, spanning several facilities and time zones. You will set operating strategy, standards, and rhythms, and lead Site Directors to run day-to-day with accountability for service, cost, safety, and scalability.

This role requires building the leadership bench, deploying playbooks and engineered standards, and ensuring launches such as new facilities meet schedule and budget while preserving service.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive fulfillment, distribution, or 3PL operations leadership.
• 5+ years leading multi-site operations at a senior level.
• Proven P&L or gross-margin ownership in a high-volume, WMS-driven fulfillment environment (Manhattan WMS experience a strong plus).
• Experienced launching or expanding facilities — greenfield startup experience strongly preferred.
• Deep working knowledge of engineered labor standards, labor management, and industrial engineering principles.
• Track record of building leadership benches and running disciplined operating cadences (EOS experience a plus).
• Ability to travel 25–40% across the network, heavier during launches.

Responsibilities

• Own the operating plan for the full fulfillment network: capacity, labor, service standards, and cost targets by site.
• Translate growth plans into operational readiness: space, staffing, equipment, and process capacity ahead of demand.
• Serve on the Executive Leadership team; own operations rocks, scorecard measures, and cross-functional issue resolution.
• Lead Site Directors through a KPI framework: on-time shipping, dock-to-stock, inventory accuracy, units-per-hour, quality, and safety.
• Run a disciplined operating cadence — daily network pulse, weekly site reviews, monthly performance deep dives.
• Balance workload, headcount, and overtime across sites; plan peak-season readiness end-to-end.
• Own launch delivery of any greenfield: layout, systems readiness, leadership hiring, workforce ramp, and client go-lives.
• Deliver launches on schedule and on budget with service levels protected across the network.
• Sponsor engineered-standards programs and ensure pricing inputs reflect true effort.
• Direct Process Engineering: standards, layout, dock-to-stock design, and continuous improvement.
• Own quality and claims performance, corrective-action discipline, and a safety-first culture.
• Partner with Client Services and Sales on business reviews and client go-lives.

Skills

Operations leadership

P&L ownership

WMS expertise

Multi-site management

Strategic planning

Cost control

Travel readiness

Tools

Manhattan WMS

Job description

Job DetailsJob Location: Corporate Headquarters - Lancaster, PA 17601The Vice President of Operations owns operational performance across Jay Group's entire fulfillment network — more than 770,000 square feet across Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Texas, including the launch of our newest 250,000 sq ft Houston facility. This is a network-level executive role: the VP sets the operating strategy, standards, and rhythms that make four buildings in three time zones perform as one system, and leads the Site Directors who own each building day to day.

The role carries full accountability for service (on-time shipping, dock-to-stock, inventory integrity in partnership with Finance), cost (labor productivity, engineered standards, gross margin contribution), safety, and scalability. The VP is a builder as much as an operator — the mandate is to install the playbooks, engineering discipline, and leadership bench that let the network double without doubling its problems.

Key Responsibilities

Network Leadership & Strategy

• Own the operating plan for the full fulfillment network: capacity, labor, service standards, and cost targets by site.
• Translate company growth plans into operational readiness — space, staffing, equipment, and process capacity ahead of demand.
• Serve on the Executive Leadership (EOS) team; own operations rocks, scorecard measures, and cross-functional issue resolution.

Site Performance Management

• Lead, develop, and hold accountable the Site Directors at every facility through a consistent KPI framework: on-time shipping, dock-to-stock cycle time, inventory accuracy, units-per-hour, quality, and safety.
• Run a disciplined operating cadence — daily network pulse, weekly site reviews, monthly performance deep dives.
• Balance workload, headcount, and overtime across sites; own peak-season readiness planning end to end.

New Facility Launch

• Own operational delivery of any greenfield: layout and flow (with Process Engineering), systems readiness (with IT/WMS Systems), leadership hiring, workforce ramp, and client go-lives.
• Deliver the launch on schedule and on budget with service levels protected across the existing network throughout the ramp.

Margin & Cost Discipline

• Own labor planning and productivity against engineered standards; drive gross-margin performance at the site and client level in partnership with Finance.
• Sponsor the engineered-standards program and ensure operational pricing inputs (VAS, kitting, special projects) reflect true effort.

Process, Quality & Safety

• Direct the Process Engineering function: standards, layout, dock-to-stock design, and continuous improvement.
• Own quality and claims performance, corrective-action discipline, and a safety-first culture across all facilities.

Client & Commercial Partnership

• Partner with Client Services and Sales on business reviews, facility tours, new-client solutioning, and operational commitments — and ensure the floor delivers what the front of the house sells.

Working Relationships

• Executive Team – will contribute at an Executive Level and participate in Strategic Planning.
• Site Directors — direct reports; owns their development, accountability, and succession bench.
• Process Engineering & Operational Wave Planning — direct reports; the engineering and daily flow-planning engine of the network.
• IT / WMS Systems Team — partners on waving logic, WMS configuration, and systems changes that drive floor performance.
• Finance, HR & Client Services — partners on margin performance, workforce planning, and the client experience.

QualificationsRequired Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive fulfillment, distribution, or 3PL operations leadership, including 5+ years leading multi-site operations at a senior level.
• Proven P&L or gross-margin ownership in a high-volume, WMS-driven fulfillment environment (Manhattan WMS experience a strong plus).
• Demonstrated success launching or expanding facilities — greenfield startup experience strongly preferred.
• Deep working knowledge of engineered labor standards, labor management, and industrial engineering principles.
• Track record of building leadership benches and running disciplined operating cadences (EOS experience a plus).
• Ability to travel 25–40% across the network, heavier during the Houston launch.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in multi-client 3PL / omnichannel fulfillment with B2B (retail routing guide) and D2C parcel operations.
• Exposure to automation evaluation and deployment (conveyance, print-and-apply, goods-to-person, robotics).
• Familiarity with BI-driven operations management (Qlik, Power BI, or similar).

What Success Looks Like

• Network on-time shipping performance climbs and holds at target, with variance between sites narrowing.
• Houston launches on time and on budget, with client go-lives met and no service degradation elsewhere.
• Gross-margin targets are met through productivity, standards coverage, and cost discipline — not price alone.
• Every site has a capable Director and a named successor; safety performance leads the industry.

Jay Group is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.