Your Opportunity as the Vice President, Coffee Operations & Operational Excellence
The Vice President, Coffee Operations & Operational Excellence is accountable for leading the Coffee manufacturing network and advancing the Company’s enterprise Operational Excellence system to deliver safety, quality, service, cost, cash, sustainability, and organizational capability objectives. This leader will partner across the Coffee SBA, Supply Chain & Operations, Commercial, R&D, Engineering, Quality, Procurement, Finance, IS, and external partners to deliver the Coffee growth agenda, accelerate productivity, improve reliability and yield, strengthen food safety and quality systems, optimize capital and working capital, and build durable OpEx capability across the enterprise.
LOCATION: Orrville, Ohio
Work Arrangements: hybrid, 30% in office expectation (open to an Extended Commuter)
In this role you will:
- Responsible for Coffee Operations in accordance with SBA objectives for absorption, manufacturing variances, working capital, safety, quality, sustainability, cost center budgets, and capital project management
- Ensure a strong culture supporting personnel safety and food safety
- Implementation and advancement of Operational Excellence work system and practices across the enterprise
- Lead enterprise-wide operations transformation by translating business priorities into operating improvements, accelerating loss elimination, standardization, technology adoption, and capability-building.
- Lead technology vision and masterplan within Coffee Operations and contribute to overall vision and masterplan for Operations
- Staffing and professional development of leadership across the Coffee Operations & Operational Excellence Team
- Development and advancement of culture across the organization
- Partner with corporate services, marketing, research and development, engineering, and our external suppliers and vendors to deliver the Coffee growth plan
- Develop and execute a capital plan to support Coffee growth and infrastructure enhancement
- Manage cash flow including inventory reduction targets across the Coffee network
What we are looking for:
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Food Science, Business, or a related field.
- 15+ years of progressive operations leadership experience in CPG, food or beverage manufacturing environments.
- Proven multi-site manufacturing leadership with accountability for safety, food safety, quality, service, cost, cash, working capital, capital, and organizational capability.
- Demonstrated experience implementing and sustaining Operational Excellence / TPM / Lean / Six Sigma / High Performing Work Systems at scale.
- Experience leading large-scale productivity, reliability, yield, cost-reduction, and network transformation efforts.
- Experience with digital manufacturing, smart factory tools, predictive maintenance, manufacturing data systems, or technology-enabled loss reduction.
- Experience translating commercial, innovation, customer, and supply chain strategies into operational plans that improve revenue, margin, service, and resilience.
- Ability to travel approximately 50% as business needs require
Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:
- Advanced degree or executive education preferred but not required.
- Transformation leader with the ability to deliver near-term results while building long-term operating-system capability.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen across COGS, manufacturing variance, conversion cost, inventory, working capital, capital, and productivity.
- Effective cross-functional partner with Commercial, R&D, Engineering, Quality, Procurement, Finance, IS, HR, and external suppliers / vendors.
- Proven experience delivering results leveraging Operational Excellence tools
- Able to coach and develop staff and get work done through others
- Proven ability developing a strategic plan and delivering it
- Able to prioritize work in high demand environment
- Able to communicate to all levels and areas of the organization
The Right Place for You
We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.
Stay connected with us on LinkedIn®
We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree, preferably in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Food Science, or Business
- 15+ years of progressive operations leadership experience in CPG, food or beverage manufacturing environments
- Proven multi-site manufacturing leadership
- Experience implementing Operational Excellence / TPM / Lean / Six Sigma at scale
- Experience with digital manufacturing and technology-enabled loss reduction
- Ability to travel approximately 50%
The J.M. Smucker Co. Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about The J.M. Smucker Co. and has not been reviewed or approved by The J.M. Smucker Co..
-
Retirement Support — Retirement programs are described as strong, with a company 401(k) match, immediate vesting in some materials, and access to an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. These elements contribute to a favorable view of total compensation value.
-
Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave for all parents and on-site childcare at key locations signal a family-forward approach. Additional supports such as adoption assistance and pet-related leave reinforce this emphasis.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off, seasonal compressed schedules, and flexibility options are highlighted across materials. The ability to start with substantial PTO and buy additional time enhances perceived time-off breadth.
The J.M. Smucker Co. Insights
What We Do
Each generation of consumers leaves their mark on culture by establishing new expectations for food and the companies that make it. At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to be at the heart of this dynamic with a portfolio that appeals to each generation of people and pets with products found in 90 percent of U.S. homes and countless restaurants. This includes a mix of iconic brands consumers have always loved such as Folgers®, Jif® and Milk-Bone® and new favorites like Café Bustelo®, Smucker’s® Uncrustables® and Rachael Ray® Nutrish®. By continuing to immerse ourselves in consumer and pet parent preferences for food, how it’s purchased and how the companies that make it should operate, we will maintain the important role we play in their lives. This will allow us to continue growing our business and the positive impact we have on all of those who count on us.
