Responsibilities:

Leadership & People Management

• Lead and manage the heads of all Central Processing functions, including the packing house, central and hub kitchens, QA/QC, and related operational units.
• Build and mentor high-performing teams across functions, fostering a culture of accountability, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Set clear performance expectations, provide regular coaching and feedback, and develop succession pipelines for critical roles.

Operations Management

• Oversee smooth and efficient day-to-day operations across all processing units, ensuring adherence to production schedules, quality standards, and customer expectations.
• Monitor and improve operational KPIs including throughput, yield, waste reduction, downtime, and labor productivity.
• Champion continuous improvement across all units, promoting lean methodologies and structured problem-solving.

Quality Assurance, Quality Control & Technical Audit

• Oversee the development and enforcement of QA/QC systems, ensuring compliance with food safety standards
• Lead the implementation of rigorous quality control protocols throughout the production lifecycle—from raw material intake to final product dispatch.
• Manage and coordinate internal and external technical audits, including regulatory, customer, and third-party certifications.
• Identify and address root causes of quality deviations or non-conformances, and ensure corrective and preventive actions are executed effectively.
• Collaborate closely with R&D and Product Development to validate and scale up new formulations or processes while ensuring quality consistency.
• Establish and maintain a robust documentation and traceability system for all QA/QC and audit-related processes.

Strategic Alignment & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Partner with Commercial, Business & Category Development (BCD), and Supply Chain teams to align production capabilities with commercial strategies and volume forecasts.
• Translate category and product innovations into actionable processing and resource requirements.
• Serve as the central liaison between processing units and other business functions to ensure cohesive operational planning and execution.

Cost Optimization & Process Excellence

• Drive initiatives to improve cost efficiency through automation, technology integration, and optimized resource planning.
• Lead benchmarking and implementation of best practices in production, packaging, labor utilization, and workflow design.
• Monitor cost drivers and initiate continuous improvement programs to enhance unit economics without compromising quality or compliance.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Explore and adopt advanced processing technologies and automation to increase speed, flexibility, and quality of output.
• Promote a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing, encouraging teams to identify new opportunities for efficiency and quality improvement.
• Pilot new processing or packaging methods that can enhance product value, shelf life, or customer experience.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field; MBA is a plus.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in manufacturing, food processing, or supply chain, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven track record in leading multi-functional teams and delivering operational efficiency at scale.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and align cross-functional partners.
• Experience in F&B, manufacturing or private label production is highly preferred.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.