Operations & Quality Manager - Oak Essentials

Oak Essentials is an elevated apothecary brand that values the ritual of everyday living. We believe in creating products that are equally indulgent and effective—staples that bring a touch of luxury to every routine. As we continue to grow our team, our aim is to create a workplace that’s built on diversity and inclusion, and where the varied voices and viewpoints of our community pave the way.

Role and Responsibilities

As the Operations & Quality Manager, your primary responsibilities include the following:

Product Development Support

• Assist in conducting all scale-ups and line trials to vet final formula and package pre-launch
  • Create and manage retains of finished goods and fill and assembly specifications
  • Review all first production run components (first off-line) to ensure quality standards for packaging and formula are met

Launch Execution + Go-To-Market Support

• Oversight and/or lead commercialization portion of project timeline to manage internal and external partners to execute on-time launches
  • Assign tasks for each milestone within operations and quality teams
  • Ensure key milestones are being met
  • Accountable to track due dates with each team member task
• Bill of Materials
  • Collaboration with PD Manager to create all working BOMs
  • Creation of all part number and communicate those with appropriate cross functional team `members
• Purchase Orders
  • Create all purchase orders for components, fill & assembly and kit assembly components
  • Tracking of all due dates with suppliers; communicate with cross functional team members
• Logistics Lead
  • Work with suppliers to ensure PO readiness, release dates, micro clearance timing and arrange shipments/confirm delivery appointments as needed
• Receiving
  • Serve as lead in auditing receipts of POs, creation and assignment of location codes
  • Serve as lead to create lot code receiving process in ERP

Contract Manufacturing Partnerships

• New CM support
  • Collaborate with product development team on vetting new vendor relationships, conducting appropriate audits and establishing new vendor guidelines
• Ensure on-time production
  • Oversight of all packaging and contract manufacturing partners to ensure on-time arrival of all packaging (primary and secondary), raw materials and fragrance
  • Troubleshooting and cross-functional collaboration for material and packaging delays

Quality Control

• Conduct all AQL audits and document results
  • Collaborate with cross functional teams and execute next steps for resolution
• Creation and execution of nonconformance reports
  • Oversight and audit of all AQL nonconformance issues
  • Communication with supplier to execute resolutions
  • Cross-team communication on issues that affect other teams
• Partner with new product development team to provide formula and packaging assistance and insight for any quality issues
  • Develop packaging retains/color standard boards with creative team for quality checks of incoming components at contract manufacturing partners, warehouse/3PL and brand retains
• Creation and Oversight of FIFO inventory process
  • Manage process for warehouse location codes and process for first-in-first-out procedures
• Monitor of expiration codes
  • Quarterly audit to ensure product shelf life is appropriate for current customers
  • Partnership with VP of PD & Commercialization to create plan for expiration extensions
  • Work directly with external testing partners to provide documents, product and packaging and execute tests
    • Review all testing reports to validate extensions
    • File testing reports for future reference
    • Communicate updates to cross functional team members

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
• 5+ years working in consumer goods / beauty industry preferred
• Strong knowledge of Product Development, Operations and QA standards
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Extremely organized and detail-oriented
• Exhibited critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Ability to communicate effectively across teams
• Time management with ability to manage multiple priorities
• Eager, can-do positive attitude and a self-starter—willing and able to execute multiple projects against tight deadlines
• Strong computer skills (i.e. Outlook, Excel, NetSuite, etc.)