Operations Manager

Description:Are you a manager who enjoys being involved in the day-to-day hands on activities and decisions of your team?Do you look forward to a new challenge each day? Are you flexible and able to shift focus as the day demands?

If you said yes, then our Operations Manager role at The Town Dock might be right for you!

For more than 40 years, The Town Dock has focused on offering both the highest quality wild-caught calamari and the very best service. A market leader in wholesale calamari for foodservice and retail, we are located on the docks in Point Judith, Rhode Island. We offer a full suite of calamari, from certified sustainable local squid to the best imports from around the globe.

The Town Dock is a family-owned company who focuses on our core values, including doing the right thing every day. We are one of Rhode Island’s Best Places to Work, receiving awards in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023! We’ve also received PBN awards for Fastest Growing Private Company, Lean Management, and Overall Excellence.

The Operations Manager is responsible for the efficient and cost-effective running and staffing of three distinct Operations areas: Dock Operations, Production Operations, and Chef Ready Operations. The Operations Manager is responsible for plant and team scheduling, timely and accurate execution of work orders, developing, implementing, and achieving operations metrics, leading a culture of customer service and safety, and developing and adhering to a robust training program to ensure a safe and effective work environment. Additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to, plant sanitation, waste reduction and removal, inventory reporting, and cooler, blast freezer, and holding freezer operation.

Principal Duties:

Overall

· Plans, organizes, and manages the day-to-day Dock Operations, Production Operations, and Chef Ready

· Develops and implements plans for increased production and reduced waste

· Identifies and leads initiatives for cost efficiencies, quality, and process improvement

· Defines all workflows, ensures established processes are followed, and works to refine and improve them

· Leads performance management including setting goals, expectations, and performance reviews

· Fosters continuous learning and training to allow for growth, development, and business continuity and collaborates with other departments, such as Safety and Quality, to ensure teams are trained to work safely

· Adheres to safety and food safety policies and procedures in compliance with OSHA, FDA, and other established company safety and food safety standards

· Monitors, tracks, and reports operations metrics and recommends and leads changes to ensure objectives are met

· Anticipates bottlenecks, clarifies project priorities, identifies risks, and escalates issues as necessary

· Performs other job-related duties as needed

Dock Operations

· Communicates operations plan daily based on anticipated boat landings, volume, species, and plant capacity

· Maximizes throughput and efficiency based on team and plant capacity, prioritizing customer service to the boats and quality and food safety of the product

· Coordinates co-packing at overflow plants with Logistics, Quality, and the overflow plant manager

· Oversees bait and fresh fish inventory

· Oversees fresh fish order fulfillment

· Oversees ice needs and ensures fulfillment

· Communicates proactively with all fishermen, vendors, boat captains, and crews and resolves conflicts calmly

· Maintains reporting, plant sanitation, food safety, and safety standards at all times

Production Operations

· Communicates production plan daily based on anticipated volume, species, plant capacity, and packaging configuration

· Maximizes throughput and efficiency based on team and plant capacity, prioritizing business needs for packaging configuration and quality and food safety of the product

· Collaborates with Logistics on movement of frozen inventory to cold storages

· Responsible for wastewater and other waste removal regularly

· Communicates proactively with internal teams and resolves conflicts calmly

· Completes all work orders in a timely and accurate manner

· Maintains reporting, plant sanitation, food safety, and safety standards at all times

Chef Ready Operations

· Communicates production plan daily based on anticipated volume, order cut offs, and special projects

· Maximizes throughput and efficiency based on team and plant capacity, prioritizing business needs for order fulfillment and quality and food safety of the product

· Communicates proactively with internal teams and resolves conflicts calmly

· Completes all work orders and production packets in a timely and accurate manner

· Maintains reporting, plant sanitation, food safety, and safety standards at all times

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in business or other relevant field preferred
• Minimum 5 years of experience in manufacturing management role, food manufacturing preferred
• Demonstrated experience in operations metrics development, budget management, and team leadership
• Self-starter with organized and detailed work habits and excellent time management skills
• Ability to work calmly and decisively in ambiguous and rapidly changing conditions
• Ability to set, communicate, and execute clear priorities and operations plans under unpredictable, rapidly changing, and demanding last-minute changes, business needs, and time constraints
• Experience working on manual lines without automation in a temperature variable, physically demanding, wet manufacturing environment
• Experience and ability to create and track operations metrics, conduct trend analysis, and recommend improvements
• Strong drive for accountability, ownership, and servant leadership with skills in conflict resolution and managing cross-culturally in a bilingual plant with a blend of contract and Town Dock employees
• Driven to work collaboratively and strategically with a customer service mindset internally and externally
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office and ability to learn ERP system
• Strong demonstrated math and analytical skills
• Ability to independently solve problems and work cross-culturally
• Ability to be Seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certified
• Ability to be ServSafe® Food Handler and Food Manager certified
• Ability to be Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) certified
• Ability to be certified to operate forklifts, pallet jacks, and scissor lifts and to train others
• Expected to travel to and work from the Narragansett facility 5 days a week with hours flexing with operations and leadership coverage needs, with weekend and holiday presence as needed
• Excellent professional communication skills in English required, Spanish a plus
• Physical demands including sitting, standing, walking, lifting up to 30 lbs., bending, climbing, and shoveling
• A strong belief and commitment to continuous learning and improvement, positive attitude, teamwork, accountability, and ethical behavior