Job Description

Director of Operations
The Opportunity

Founded over 20 years ago, this company has become a leading source in wholesale and distribution, providing baby and maternity products to retailers of Canada. Their mission is to have their products in every home by focusing on high quality and innovative products that young children and their parents trust.

This is a great opportunity for the right candidate to flex their strategic ability and deliver results through our operations team. This Canadian-owned business has experienced steady growth. You\xe2\x80\x99ll have the opportunity to shape how the business scales, provide mentorship, and continue to develop professionally as a member of a diverse, skilled, and successful leadership team.

Design, implement, monitor, and measure core operational functions from end-to-end. The Director of Operations is a critical voice for our operational strategy, leveraging results through other leaders, and overseeing the day-to-day operation of an 85,000 sq ft facility (offices and distribution centre) in Toronto.

What You\xe2\x80\x99ll Be Doing

Fundamental to the organization\xe2\x80\x99s success is building scalable processes. Reporting to the President, the Director of Operations understands the levers and impacts of the business on a macro and micro level.

You love data - it will ultimately be up to the successful candidate to optimize our operational processes by establishing KPIs that detect inefficiencies, optimize cost, and find solutions to streamline our overall operations. You love people \xe2\x80\x93 you are collaborative and enjoy building high-performing teams.

You will need to communicate effectively, translating strategic themes into concrete action plans, and provide consistent feedback to identify, prioritize, resource, and operationalize projects. This role is key to ensuring accurate, consistent, and rapid transactions for the company\xe2\x80\x99s customers.

Responsibilities

Build Safe and Effective Teams:

• Source, recruit, hire, and onboard top talent
• Lead, develop, coach, and motivate high-performing teams
• Cultivate a culture of leadership and team excellence by emphasizing training standards, succession planning, talent acquisition, and employee retention
• Directly manage a team of people-leaders across operations (planning, fulfillment, warehousing, facilities management)
• Set clear team targets and individual goals, holding teams accountable by driving performance
• Foster a culture of employee engagement and recognition
• Partner with 3rd party Human Resources service providers to ensure disciplinary action is applied fairly and consistently and OHSA, ESA, and AODA regulations are adhered to

Drive Team Performance:

• Establish clear targets and plans to support growth; lead responsibly through effective communication, coaching, identifying and removing roadblocks, and accountability
• Utilize reports and dashboards to make actionable business recommendations to stakeholders
• Proactively mediate and resolve customer concerns or escalations requiring additional leadership support
• Develop and execute daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly strategies to achieve targets and drive profitability

Reinforce Operational Standards:

• Direct all aspects of warehousing and shipping functions as well as the coordination of facility maintenance activities
• When appropriate, guide the negotiation of contracts with warehouse partners and relationship management
• Support the identification of opportunities for cost savings through managed transportation solutions provided by 3PL partners.
• Make recommendations for appropriate inventory levels and transfers amongst multiple warehouse locations
• Analyze warehouse and shipping patterns and recommend cost-saving opportunities
• Work with other senior leadership to ensure a smooth flow of inventory
• Contribute to the development of the operational budget and monitor spending
• Develop and reinforce high operational standards through coaching and target reinforcement
• Encourage a continuous improvement culture

Strategic Business Planning:

• Actively contribute to the strategic planning process through project proposals, reporting, and business process reengineering and optimization
• Lead the development of a framework for scaling the business in pace with growth

Requirements

• Bachelor\'s Degree or equivalent required, with a minimum of 10 years of experience leading large teams in a high-growth, service-focused warehouse and distribution environment(s)
• Experience using WMS and/or ERP systems; exposure to Blue Link ERP is an asset
• Appropriate level of financial literacy and P&L reporting experience
• Knowledge of supply chain and operations management best practices and processes
• Well-versed in vendor management and negotiation
• Strong leadership and management skills, and demonstrated ability to inspire, influence, and manage a team of professionals
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact with all levels of the organization and external stakeholders
• Value both personal and team ownership and accountability
• Ability to prioritize, manage multiple projects, and adhere to business-critical deadlines
• Innovative \xe2\x80\x93 adaptable to change, eager to learn, and resourceful
• Performance driven \xe2\x80\x93 effective at utilizing data, tools, and other resources to identify gaps in processes, implement solutions, and measure success
• Other responsibilities as required

Reports: 3 direct; 25 indirect
Job Type: Full-time, Permanent

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