Description
Position Summary
The Director of Production is responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of Little Leaf Farms’ production, ensuring safety, quality, and maximum productivity across all functional areas. This role drives operational excellence by aligning production, engineering, quality, and safety teams with the company’s strategic goals while fostering a high-performance culture.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Participate in the development and oversight of the strategic plan and operational vision for packaging, quality, and safety.
- Lead the execution of facility-wide initiatives by partnering with departmental managers to ensure operational objectives are achieved on time and within budget.
- Manage the production budget, including analysis of efficiency metrics, labor variances, defect rates, cost drivers, production volume, and capacity planning to optimize performance and propose capital investments.
- Develop, implement, and maintain reporting systems that clearly illustrate business trends and operational performance.
- Contribute to the creation and implementation of policies, procedures, and standards that support the company’s mission, vision, and goals.
- Continuously develop team capabilities by improving employee skills, knowledge, and morale, while fostering a culture of accountability and engagement.
- Stay current with industry trends and best practices in production management and operational excellence.
- Collaborate with the growing team to optimize crop yields and enhance overall facility performance.
- Drive consistency across operations by standardizing materials, processes, and training; refine procedures based on best crop management practices.
- Collaborate closely with maintenance department to ensure world-class preventive maintenance programs are implemented and sustained.
- Enforce adherence to SOPs and implement procedures to maintain optimal growing and harvesting conditions, including mitigation strategies as needed.
- Provide on-call support and respond to emergency situations, including staffing shortages, facility issues, or HR-related needs.
- Ensure compliance with safe work practices, GMP, and HACCP standards; maintain sanitary conditions and protect product quality.
- Report any conditions that may negatively impact food safety, product quality, or employee safety.
- Foster a positive work environment through effective communication and collaboration with employees, management, and external stakeholders.
The foregoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties that may be assigned or skills that may be required.
Requirements
Required Education, Experience, and Skills
- Bachelor’s degree in business management, Engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 10+ years of management experience, including direct oversight of 100+ employees in a manufacturing or production environment.
- Experience with change management and process improvement initiatives; Lean manufacturing experience preferred.
Preferred Education, Experience, and Skills
- In-depth knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles; certifications are a plus.
- Exposure to food & beverage manufacturing is strongly preferred.
- Comprehensive knowledge of business and management principles, including budgeting, strategic planning, resource allocation, and human resources.
- Understanding safety (OSHA), quality systems, productivity, inventory management, and operational best practices.
- Proven ability to create accountability and lead by example.
- Strong critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities.
- Excellent leadership and team-building skills.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with a flexible and proactive mindset.
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to build relationships at all levels internally and externally.
- Demonstrated professionalism, integrity, and ability to handle confidential information.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in business management, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience
- 10+ years of management experience, including direct oversight of 100+ employees in a manufacturing or production environment
- Experience with change management and process improvement initiatives
- Lean manufacturing experience
- In-depth knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles; certifications are a plus
- Exposure to food and beverage manufacturing
- Understanding of safety (OSHA), quality systems, productivity, inventory management, and operational best practices
- Strong leadership, team-building, communication, critical thinking, and decision-making skills
- Demonstrated professionalism, integrity, and ability to handle confidential information
What We Do
Little Leaf Farms is the country’s #1 brand of packaged lettuce sustainably grown through controlled environment agriculture. We are on a mission to transform the way food is grown through peri-urban agricultural practices that are rebuilt for the modern world. Using advanced greenhouse technologies, we grow fresh, sustainably farmed lettuce 365 days a year. We utilize captured rainwater, natural sunlight that shines through high transmission glass, and solar-powered energy in our precise, soil-less hydroponic farming. Our crispy, flavorful baby greens are harvested without ever touching human hands and are never treated with chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
