VP of Operations: Manufacturing & Co-Manufacturers

Ready ®; Wexford (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 230,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

Ready is seeking a senior executive to lead manufacturing and supply chain operations across our co-manufacturer network. The VP Operations will oversee Production Planning, Quality & Regulatory, and Procurement, driving performance, cost improvements, and scalable processes to support growth.

The role requires extensive manufacturing leadership, strong financial acumen, and proven ability to partner with cross-functional teams to meet ambitious business goals.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in operations management, engineering, business administration, or related field.
• Experience: 10–15 years in food/beverage operations, with at least 5 years in leadership overseeing multiple functions.
• Direct manufacturing operations experience required; not suited for procurement/logistics focused backgrounds.
• Experience managing third-party co-manufacturers in asset-light model; branded and private label experience preferred.
• Proven track record of delivering cost savings, efficiency gains, and margin improvement.
• Strong financial acumen, including COGS, costing, budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Familiarity with FDA FSMA, GFSI standards and recall readiness.
• Willingness to travel to partner sites as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and grow Production Planning, Quality & Regulatory, and Procurement teams.
• Develop and execute an operations strategy for both branded and private label portfolios.
• Own co-manufacturer performance, including onboarding, capacity, and day-to-day production.
• Establish co-manufacturer scorecards and regular business reviews.
• Drive continuous improvement to reduce waste and increase throughput.
• Lead the operational side of new product commercialization with scale-up and launch gates.
• Build contingency and secondary-sourcing plans to protect supply continuity.
• Partner with CFO on costing, budgeting, and cost inputs for private label pricing.
• Set and monitor operational KPIs and report performance against plan.

Skills

Operations leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Cost optimization

Supply chain management

Vendor management

Strategic planning

Data-driven decision making

Manufacturing experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in operations management

MBA

Tools

ERP systems

Data analytics tools

Job description

Ready is seeking a senior executive to lead manufacturing and supply chain operations across our co-manufacturer network. The VP Operations will oversee Production Planning, Quality & Regulatory, and Procurement, driving performance, cost improvements, and scalable processes to support growth.

The role requires extensive manufacturing leadership, strong financial acumen, and proven ability to partner with cross-functional teams to meet ambitious business goals.