Director of Operations

The Director of Operations serves as a strategic and tactical business partner to the President/CEO and executive leadership team, providing leadership, direction, and operational oversight for the company’s multi-site third-party logistics (3PL) operations in California and Ohio.

This position has overall responsibility for driving operational excellence, financial performance, customer satisfaction, workforce productivity, safety, quality, and continuous improvement across multiple warehouse and distribution locations. The role provides leadership to site management teams while establishing consistent operating standards, performance expectations, accountability systems, and best practices across the organization.

The position works closely with executive leadership, customers, Human Resources, Finance, Sales/Business Development, Information Technology, Safety, and other support functions to ensure operational strategies align with the company’s financial and business objectives.

This role requires a leader who can operate effectively at both the strategic and tactical levels. The individual must be comfortable developing long-term operational strategies while maintaining a hands-on understanding of day-to-day warehouse activities, customer requirements, labor needs, financial performance, and operational challenges.

Responsibilities include oversight of complex customer planning and forecasting, labor and workforce planning, warehouse operations, new customer implementations, facility launches, process improvement initiatives, and the development of high-performing management teams across multiple locations.

The position requires frequent travel between company locations and customer sites in California and Ohio, as well as other locations as business needs require.

Essential Duties:

Strategic Leadership & Business Planning

• Execute and operationalize strategic business plans established by the President/CEO and Board of Directors.

• Translate company objectives into clear operational goals, initiatives, timelines, and measurable performance expectations for each site.

• Develop and recommend operational strategies that support revenue growth, profitability, customer retention, cost reduction, productivity, quality, safety, and scalability.

• Partner with executive leadership in developing short- and long-term operational plans based on business forecasts, customer requirements, market conditions, labor availability, facility capacity, and financial objectives.

• Identify operational opportunities and risks that may impact the company’s financial performance, customer relationships, workforce, or ability to meet business objectives.

• Provide executive leadership with timely information, analysis, recommendations, and escalation of significant operational issues.

• Participate in strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, business reviews, and organizational planning.

• Evaluate current operating models and recommend changes necessary to support growth, new business, customer requirements, and changing market conditions.

• Assist executive leadership with strategic business development opportunities that may affect operational capacity, facility requirements, labor requirements, technology, and profitability.

Multi-Site, Multi-State, Operations Management

• Provide direct operational oversight and leadership for multiple warehouse and distribution facilities across California and Ohio.

• Establish consistent operational standards, expectations, and accountability across all locations while recognizing customer-specific and site-specific requirements.

• Provide direction, coaching, and support to General Managers, Site Managers, Operations Managers, and other operational leaders.

• Hold site leadership accountable for achieving established operational, financial, safety, quality, productivity, and customer service objectives.

• Regularly visit operating locations to evaluate performance, observe processes, identify opportunities, and provide leadership support.

• Maintain a hands-on understanding of warehouse activities, customer requirements, staffing levels, labor utilization, equipment, inventory flow, productivity, and operational constraints.

• Establish appropriate management structures, staffing models, reporting relationships, and accountability systems for each facility.

• Ensure appropriate operational coverage and leadership succession plans are maintained at each location.

• Standardize operating practices and identify opportunities to leverage successful processes from one facility across the broader organization.

• Must maintain a clean driving record, valid drivers license and proof of current insurance at all times throughout the course of employment.

Financial & Operational Performance

• Take ownership of operational performance against established financial and business objectives.

• Partner with Finance and site leadership to develop annual budgets, labor budgets, operating forecasts, and financial projections.

• Review and analyze facility-level financial performance, including labor costs, overtime, productivity, operating expenses, revenue, margins, and other key performance indicators.

• Monitor actual performance against budget and forecast and develop corrective action plans when performance is outside established targets.

• Identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary costs while maintaining customer service, quality, safety, and operational performance.

• Analyze labor utilization and workforce costs to ensure staffing levels are aligned with customer volume and operational requirements.

• Review overtime, temporary labor, absenteeism, turnover, productivity, and other workforce-related expenses.

• Develop and implement cost-reduction initiatives with measurable financial results.

• Ensure operational decisions consider both customer requirements and the financial impact to the company.

• Prepare and present operational and financial reports, forecasts, budgets, and performance updates to executive leadership.

Labor & Workforce Management

• Provide strategic direction for workforce planning across all assigned facilities.

• Develop labor strategies based on customer forecasts, volume fluctuations, seasonality, staffing requirements, productivity expectations, and facility capacity.

• Partner with Human Resources and staffing providers, including Staffmark, Voyage, and other workforce partners, to ensure appropriate staffing levels and workforce availability.

• Establish appropriate staffing models and labor plans for new and existing customers.

• Monitor employee and associate attendance, turnover, retention, productivity, overtime, and staffing levels.

• Identify labor trends and implement corrective action when workforce performance or staffing levels do not meet operational requirements.

• Establish expectations for workforce accountability, attendance, productivity, safety, conduct, and adherence to company policies.

• Ensure management teams effectively communicate expectations to employees and temporary associates.

• Partner with Human Resources regarding employee relations, performance management, disciplinary matters, investigations, and policy interpretation.

• Support the development and implementation of workforce retention strategies and employee engagement initiatives.

• Ensure staffing agencies and temporary labor partners understand and adhere to established operational expectations and company requirements.

Customer Management & Account Performance

• Establish and maintain strong operational relationships with key customers.

• Partner with Sales and Business Development during customer acquisition, implementation, expansion, and renewal activities.

• Participate in customer business reviews and operational performance meetings as required.

• Ensure customer requirements, service-level agreements, key performance indicators, and contractual obligations are clearly understood and consistently executed.

• Review customer forecasts and volume projections to ensure operational readiness.

• Identify potential service issues before they become customer-impacting problems and establish appropriate corrective actions.

• Support the resolution of escalated customer issues and provide executive-level communication when necessary.

• Ensure site leadership maintains appropriate communication with customers regarding operational performance, staffing, capacity, quality, and service concerns.

• Identify opportunities to expand existing customer relationships through improved service, additional capabilities, operational efficiencies, or increased capacity.

New Customer & New Facility Implementation

• Partner with executive leadership and cross-functional departments in launching new customers, warehouse locations, vendors, and operational programs.

• Develop and oversee implementation plans, including staffing, training, equipment, systems, processes, facility readiness, and customer requirements.

• Establish implementation timelines, milestones, responsibilities, and performance expectations.

• Ensure operational readiness prior to customer launch or facility opening.

• Coordinate with Human Resources, Finance, IT, Safety, Procurement, Sales, and other departments during implementations.

• Identify implementation risks and develop contingency plans.

• Conduct post-launch reviews to evaluate performance, identify gaps, and implement corrective actions.

• Ensure lessons learned from implementations are documented and incorporated into future launches.

• Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Drive a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization.

• Continually evaluate warehouse processes, labor utilization, workflows, systems, and operating procedures to identify opportunities for improvement.

• Develop and implement process improvement initiatives focused on productivity, labor efficiency, quality, safety, cost reduction, and customer service.

• Establish measurable objectives and performance metrics for improvement initiatives.

• Utilize operational data and root-cause analysis to identify the underlying causes of performance issues.

• Develop corrective and preventive action plans and monitor results.

• Identify and implement best practices across multiple locations.

• Partner with site leadership to ensure new processes are properly implemented, documented, trained, and sustained.

• Challenge existing processes and procedures when better, safer, more efficient, or more cost-effective alternatives are available.

• Promote the use of data-driven decision-making throughout operations.

Safety, Compliance & Risk Management

• Promote and maintain a strong safety culture across all operating locations.

• Ensure management teams understand and consistently enforce company safety policies, procedures, and expectations.

• Ensure required safety documentation, training, inspections, incident reporting, and corrective actions are completed accurately and timely.

• Partner with Human Resources and Safety leadership to address workplace safety concerns and incidents.

• Ensure operations are conducted in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, as well as company policies.

• Ensure management teams maintain required documentation to support safety, compliance, employee accountability, and operational requirements.

• Identify operational risks and develop appropriate mitigation strategies.

• Ensure corrective actions resulting from audits, incidents, customer requirements, or internal reviews are implemented and sustained.

• Promote safe work practices while balancing productivity and customer service requirements.

Policies, Procedures & Operational Standards

• Review, develop, document, and implement operational policies, procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and best practices.

• Ensure site management teams understand and consistently follow company policies and customer-specific procedures.

• Maintain consistency in operating standards while allowing for documented customer-specific requirements.

• Ensure changes to processes and procedures are properly communicated and implemented.

• Regularly evaluate existing policies and procedures for effectiveness and recommend improvements.

• Ensure operational documentation is current, accessible, and properly maintained.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Develop a high-performing, accountable, and collaborative operations leadership team.

• Coach, mentor, and develop General Managers, Site Managers, Operations Managers, and other leaders.

• Identify high-potential employees and establish development opportunities to build the organization's future leadership bench.

• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability for direct reports.

• Conduct regular leadership meetings and business reviews.

• Promote a culture based on professionalism, accountability, transparency, respect, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

• Encourage open communication and timely escalation of operational concerns.

• Lead by example and demonstrate the company's values and expectations.

• Address performance concerns promptly and in partnership with Human Resources.

• Support succession planning for critical operational leadership positions.

Communication & Reporting

• Provide regular operational updates to the President/CEO and executive leadership.

• Prepare and present management reports, financial reports, forecasts, operational dashboards, and business reviews.

• Communicate significant operational risks, customer concerns, staffing challenges, safety issues, financial variances, and performance gaps in a timely manner.

• Maintain clear and professional communication with employees, associates, customers, vendors, and internal leadership.

• Ensure information is communicated consistently throughout the organization.

The duties and responsibilities described above may provide only a partial description of this position. This is not an exhaustive list of all aspects of the job. Other duties and responsibilities not outlined in this document may be added as necessary or desirable, with or without notice.