Vice President of Operations
We grow the world’s BEST Strawberries & our Farm Operations team is a major reason why!
Reporting to the CFO, you will be responsible for the end-to-end operation, including team development, health & safety, food safety & quality, cost, P&L, plant health, people development and service encompassing farm, packaging, maintenance and facilities. The Vice President of Operations is responsible for providing strategic and tactical leadership and oversight across three locations today in the NJ area with additional facilities anticipated in the future serving as a valued member of the senior leadership team.
What you’ll be responsible for:
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Lead the General Managers who oversee our farms and teams of farmers, packagers, facility techs and maintenance technician teams.
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Develop & build out a centralized command center for 24/7 oversight of all farm systems.
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Lead, manage, build, and execute to ensure successful day-to-day operations and efficient scaling of operations driving General Managers to own the P&L of each facility.
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Build and maintain frameworks for continuously identifying and prioritizing improvement opportunities across facilities
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Ensure facilities are meeting & driving all required KPI’s around safety, production, quality, and costs. This also includes adjusting appropriate targets to drive the business forward. Implement KPI’s along with ways of tracking where gaps exist.
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Execute operational planning processes in partnership with cross-functional stakeholders in Supply Chain Planning and Sales to drive customer fulfillment.
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Build standard ways of working in operations to ensure a smooth launch and ramp of new farms built.
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Leverage data to proactively identify production issues or develop plans to resolve existing issues implementing as needed across facilities.
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Maintain production areas to ensure compliance with company quality, sanitation and food safety standards.
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Implement and drive farm SOPs while identifying and implementing methods and practices to achieve operational improvements in efficiency, quality, delivery, and operating profits.
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Bring diverse approaches to problems, come up with creative solutions, follow through to implement change and create the frameworks to set new processes up for scale.
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Coach, develop, and train teams (farm operators, farm leadership) creating an environment that aligns with Oishii values, supports career development and adheres to company policies.
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Builds, manages, and leverages internal relationships to ensure collaboration, alignment, issue resolution, and overall improvements to maximize efficiencies and deliver results.
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Expected to understand, implement, and enforce food safety policies, including worker hygiene, sanitation, and maintaining proper documentation.
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Bring diverse approaches to problems, come up with creative solutions, follow through to implement change and create the frameworks to set new processes up for scale.
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Ensure employees have the right tools, knowledge, equipment and training to do their jobs effectively and safely. Be an advocate for people.
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Coach, develop, and train teams creating an environment that aligns with Oishii values, supports career development and adheres to company policies.
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Builds, manages, and leverages internal relationships to ensure collaboration, alignment, issue resolution, and overall improvements to maximize efficiencies and deliver results.
Physical Requirements & Working Conditions:
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MUST NOT be allergic to bees.
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The homebase location for this role is located in Philipsburg, NJ and requires weekly travel to Jersey City and Kearny, NJ. A vehicle will be required for this along with a valid driver’s license.
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Our facilities are 24/7/365 with live product requiring continuous monitoring.
Who will love this job: Individuals who identify with our Core Values and exhibit skills within those values will thrive at Oishii.
One Team, One Fight!
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Ability to quickly shift priorities to meet deadlines and effectively communicate, both verbally and in writing, clearly, concisely and with purpose.
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Ability to work cross functionally at all levels including across all locations, and collaborate at various levels of the organization with a focus on unifying all functions to deliver exceptional results.
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Ability to lead through others and develop teams with a diverse level of experience to succeed.
Focus.
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Willingness to be a student of the business taking time to learn about plants from our scientists & growers to best understand how to operationalize what we do.
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Ability to remove obstacles in order to prioritize which could include problem solving, working through ambiguity and using fact based or sound judgment.
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Ability to synthesize information quickly to aid in the troubleshooting process.
GSD (Get Sh** Done!)
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Possessing an entrepreneurial mindset with the tenacity to develop ideas, test and implement them rapidly.
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Capable of prioritizing tasks and considering the resources available when doing so.
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A bias for action! Ability to hold yourself accountable and take ownership of driving results that impact company outcomes.
What we’re looking for in a Vice President of Operations:
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Bachelor's degree in a related field; BS in Mechanical Engineering would be a plus.
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15+ years of warehouse operations, logistics, production, or manufacturing experience. Co-Manufacturing experience is a plus.
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8 to 10 years of senior leadership level experience (Director, VP or executive ownership level) running food operations, CPG operations or consumer goods operations with a focus on automation and conveyors. Experience at Robotics heavy sites is a plus!.
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Demonstrated ability leading and running complex 24/7 operations. Multisite experience is a plus!
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Tech-forward and data-centric (well versed in warehouse management systems and excel) with proven analytical thinking, project management skills, exceptional organizational abilities, as well as great attention to detail.
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Having an entrepreneurial mindset and a strong bias for action, with the tenacity to develop ideas, test and implement them rapidly. You have seen what good looks like in manufacturing, or production operations and are excited to be part of building it from the ground up!
Perks at Oishii:
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Compensation: $200 to $215K base depending on level & experience plus 20% performance bonus eligibility plus equity
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Medical, Dental, Vision and other ancillary benefits
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401(k) retirement plan
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Paid Parental leave
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Office social events including happy hours, parties, and community service projects
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Employee activity groups for basketball players, Yoga Enthusiasts, runners…
About Us:
At Oishii, we grow the best berries in the world by deploying ground-breaking vertical farming technology that pushes the boundaries of agriculture. We’re the first in the WORLD to grow fruit in an indoor vertical farm at commercial scale. Our proprietary technology enables us to grow the very best produce year-round, at the same high level of quality, all without using any pesticides.
Oishii has been profiled in Eater, NPR, Time Magazine, and Fortune. Oishi was also one of the Fast Companies Most Innovative Companies of 2022. https://www.fastcompany.com/90724410/most-innovative-companies-food-2022
At Oishii, everything we do works toward accomplishing our mission of transforming agriculture sustainably while bringing produce that truly delights people everywhere. This requires farmers, engineers, scientists, product managers, and members of many other backgrounds to work together day-in and day-out to innovate, while operating increasingly large farms. We have an amazing mission-driven team of highly motivated and engaged members.
Learn More https://oishii.com/.