Job Title: VP of Operations

Job Level: Senior-Level, VP

Job Type: Full-Time, Exempt

Job Location: Cotopaxi HQ: Salt Lake City, UT. Eligible for remote work.

Job Compensation: $200-250k plus annual bonus potential.

About Cotopaxi:

Cotopaxi is a carbon neutral outdoor gear brand founded to create sustainably designed products that fight extreme poverty, inspire adventure, and move people to do good. As a certified B Corporation, we believe in using the power of business as a force for social, environmental, and economic good. Our creed, Gear for Good, touches every aspect of our company. Cotopaxi is committed to making all of our gear using repurposed, recycled, or responsible materials by 2025. We allocate 1% of our annual revenue to the Cotopaxi Foundation which awards grants to outstanding nonprofit partners carefully selected for their track records at improving the human condition and alleviating poverty. In 2021, we aided over 1 million people in extreme poverty through targeted grants to outstanding organizations with proven methodologies.

Cotopaxi is a company that values people, innovation, and adventure and our work environment reflects just that. Whether you are working from one of our retail stores, our headquarters, your couch at home, or even your van in the woods, you’ll feel the camaraderie of our amazing team of visionaries, builders and go-getters. We are a team of adventurous, mission-driven people looking to prove that business CAN be a force for good.

Job Overview (What You’ll Do):

We are looking for a consumer-focused, passionate and enthusiastic VP of Operations to lead our Distribution/Fulfillment, Global Logistics, PMO and Operational Excellence teams. For you, success in business is about more than profit. You have a vision for a world in which business positively impacts society, community, and environment.

This role sits on the senior leadership level, reporting directly to the company’s COO, and will help drive operational excellence throughout the organization.

Job Responsibilities (How You’ll Do It):

• Establishes, implements, and communicates the strategic direction of the organization’s operations division.
• Collaborates with executive leadership to develop and meet company goals while supplying expertise and guidance on operations projects and systems.
• Collaborates with other divisions and departments to carry out the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Identifies, recommends, and implements new processes, technologies, and systems to improve and streamline organizational processes and use of resources and materials.
• Ensures that departmental decisions and project plans such as those for staffing, development, organization, material efficiency, hardware acquisitions, and facilities are in line with the organizations business plan and vision.
• Establishes, communicates, and implements operations-related policies, practices, standards, and security measures to ensure effective and consistent support and execution.
• Reviews and approves cost-control reports, cost estimates, and staffing requirements for projects.
• Evolves and m​​​onitors weekly/monthly Key Performance Indicators and metrics measuring operational performance/excellence.
• Manages operations budget including investment of new tools, scope/level of newly added team members, and professional development expenses
• Maintains knowledge of emerging technologies and trends in operations management.
• Oversees execution together with respective Directors and their teams in the areas of 
  • Distribution / Fulfillment: 
    • Multi-location fulfillment footprint optimization, incl inbound/outbound operations, inventory/order management, in-house vs. 3PL consideration 
    • Parcel operations
  • Global Logistics:
    • International Origin Consolidation
    • International Inbound Freight Management (Ocean, Airfreight, Terminal Ops)
    • Domestic Freight Management (Transload Operations, Linehaul/Ground Operations, 3PL/ Store Delivery)
    • B2B Logistics, incl factory dropship to key retail and distributor accounts
  • Operational Excellence
    • Uplevel existing S&OP process to meeting needs of increasingly complex business operations
    • Establish continuous improvement methodology throughout the organization in close collaboration with respective department leads
    • Develop standardized framework to document / maintain SOPs (Standard Operation Procedures) for key cross functional and departmental processes.
       

Job Requirements (Who You Are):

• Technical Degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Information Technology, Supply Chain or equivalent related experience.
• 10+ years of experience in Operations Management, at least 5+ of which are of executive leadership stature.
• The ideal candidate is a positive communicator, goal oriented, has a great understanding of e-commerce fulfillment, supply chain, data analytics and vendor management.
• Experienced leading in-house and 3PL operations and fulfillment teams.
• Proven success in planning and delivering operations roadmap, managing budget, schedule and resources.
• Ability to attract, develop and retain diverse teams of operational talent, creating a collaborative, inclusive and supportive environment.
• Fostering an environment of continued improvement leading to higher quality of cross-functional processes and systems.
• Effective, solutions focused, and innovative operations style of leadership.
• Manage multiple operations vendor contracts and relationships and determine how and when to scale vendors versus internal staff to meet short and long-term company goals.
• Previous experience in building overall distribution/logistics/ops architecture and modern application stacks delivered with automation and high availability at top of mind.

Job Benefits (The Perks):

We deeply care about our employees and are proud of our commitment and investment in our team. We prioritize wages and benefits and always keep the employee experience in mind as we work to create a quality work-life balance for everyone.

The salary range for this position is $200-250k and will be based on the experience that you bring to the table. 

Here is a snapshot of the benefits we provide:

• Medical, dental and vision benefits.
• Company paid basic life insurance.
• Company paid short term disability coverage.
• Company paid life assistance program, with the election of medical coverage.
• 401(k) plan with employer match.
• Unlimited responsible PTO.
• In The Wild Time: Dedicated time out of your work week to spend outdoors or volunteering.
• 60% off Cotopaxi products.
• Additional outdoor gear discounts.
• Gym reimbursement stipend.
• $1,000 stipend after 18 months for bucket list adventure.
• $5,000 stipend after 5 years for bucket list adventure.
• Bi-annual company-wide outings and regular virtual/in-person celebrations.
• A fun, caring and empowering company culture!

As a mission-driven brand, Cotopaxi is not only hyper aware of but also deeply invested in putting people first and paving the way as a humanitarian brand. We welcome, embrace and celebrate all people regardless of gender, age, race, disability, nationality, ethnicity, faith, or sexual orientation. We believe in Doing Good, and how we’re involved with that has no limits.

No matter what experience you have within the outdoor industry we encourage you to apply. At Cotopaxi we believe that experience comes from a variety of places. We look for individuals who thrive on challenges, are passionate about doing good, and believe that collaboration and radical candor are necessary for success. Show us how your experiences have shaped you and how you can contribute to Cotopaxi in our mission to Do Good. We can’t wait for you to share with us your personal story!