Job Detail
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Job ID 38512
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Experience An experienced leader with a minimum of 10 – 15 years of agricultural operations including time as an individual contributor as well as managing diverse operations.
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Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in business administration, agricultural economics or operational management or related degree; MBA is highly desired. Requires continuing education in management, operations and personal development.
Job Description
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) provides the leadership and vision necessary to ensure that the company has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems in place to effectively grow the organization and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency. The COO will accomplish this through a respectful, productive and energetic style, as guided by company objectives.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide day-to-day leadership and management to a product and service organization that mirrors the Company’s mission and values. Bottom line: Continue to add innovation, operational excellence and build upon the Ocean Mist legacy
- Provides timely, accurate and complete reporting on the operating condition of the company.
- Spearhead the development, communication and implementation of effective growth strategies and processes.
- Collaborate with the management team to develop and implement plans for the operational infrastructure of systems, processes, and personnel designed to accommodate the growth objectives of our organization.
- Motivate and lead a high-performance management team; collaborate with Talent Manager to attract, recruit and retain required members of the operations team not currently in place; provide mentoring as a cornerstone to the management career development program.
- Assist, as required, in customer meetings and visits to enable the company to meet sales, growth, and market share objectives.
- Foster a success-oriented, accountable environment within the company.
- Represent the company with clients and business partners
- Review and approve Journal Entries as assigned
Direct/Manage the following areas:
Cooler Facilities and Office Buildings
- Ensure through staff accurate and efficient receiving, cooling and shipping of Ocean Mist products and services.
- Facilitate and participate in cooling contracts.
- Guide the facility/plant managers in the preparation of annual facility budgets and spending.
- Oversee packaging yard and ensure through staff accurate count and availability of inventory supplies.
- Technical Services
Food Safety
- Champion and advocate for practical, pragmatic food safety systems to protect the company, employees, customers and consumers of Ocean Mist Farms products.
- Continue to implement an effective food safety program.
Quality Assurance
- Work to create a system for tracking and reducing product rejections.
- Establish and achieve realistic rejections benchmarks.
- Continue to implement and improve upon an industry leading quality assurance program, with quality always forefront.
Sustainability
- Oversee the development and implementation of a meaningful sustainability program which captures existing stewardship metrics and works to create other baselines. Establish a program which meets and exceeds customer expectations and promotes the organization in the best light.
Value Added Operations
- Continue to create operational efficiencies and cost reductions through automation and system integration.
- Promote value added product development and processing efficiencies.
- Lead the value-added team across functional lines.
- Participate in New Product Development initiatives
- New Product & Service Innovation
- Work with CEO, Sales & Marketing, and Strategic Planning Committee to facilitate the profitable development of new products and services to meet Ocean Mist Farms strategies.
- Facilitate a team approach among departments to meet evolving markets and customer demands in the most cost-effective way possible, always enhancing quality.
- Work with CEO to champion projects to improve internal efficiencies and provide direct benefits to our customers.
Engineering and Projects
- Work with Strategic Planning Committee to plan, organize and execute construction projects and develop equipment as necessary by operations.
- Strategic Planning
- Participate in the development of our 3 – 5-year strategies to drive our business.
Harvesting Operations
- Partner with the Director of Harvesting to ensure accurate reporting of weekly and monthly harvest volume, facilitating timely variance analysis between actual, estimated, and budgeted projections.
- Implement processes to minimize quality adjustments and address product quality concerns prior to or during harvest operations.
- Identify cost reduction opportunities in labor, mechanization, crew sizes, internal management, and partnerships with Farm Labor Contractor Companies in collaboration with the Director of Harvesting.
- Utilize Business Intelligence (BI) tools to develop real-time competitive harvesting cost metrics in partnership with the Director of Harvesting.
Job Requirements and Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration, agricultural economics or operational management or related degree; MBA is highly desired. Requires continuing education in management, operations and personal development.
- An experienced leader with a minimum of 10 – 15 years of agricultural operations including time as an individual contributor as well as managing diverse operations.
- Strategic visionary with sound technical skills, good judgment and strong operational focus.
- Strong analytical and interpersonal skills must exercise a high degree of initiative, discipline, judgment, discretion and decision-making.
- Energetic forward-thinking individual with high ethical standards and an appropriate professional image.
- Ability to maintain effective working relationships within all levels of the organization.
- Bilingual fluency in English/Spanish preferred.
- Proficient software skills are required, including working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite applications, (i.e., Excel and Word) is required; prior Famous experience is highly desired.
- High level of attention to detail as well as superior organizational skills.
- Keep projects on schedule; able to work well under stress or pressure.
- Ability to travel to all locations and be able to obtain a passport.
- Valid class “C” California Driver’s license and must be insurable is required.