Operations Manager (Meat)

The Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing day-to-day production, processing, and distribution activities within a USDA-inspected meat processing facility. This role ensures operational efficiency, food safety compliance, quality standards, and cost control while leading teams to meet production, safety, and customer requirements.

The Operations Manager plays a critical role in aligning plant operations with company goals, regulatory requirements, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Operations & Production

• Manage daily plant operations including slaughter, fabrication, processing, packaging, and cold storage (as applicable).

• Ensure production schedules are met while maintaining yield, throughput, and efficiency targets.

• Optimize labor utilization, equipment performance, and material flow.

• Coordinate closely with maintenance, quality assurance, supply chain, and logistics teams.

Food Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with USDA, FSIS, HACCP, SSOP, GMP, OSHA, and company food safety programs.

• Partner with QA to maintain audit readiness and successfully pass USDA inspections and third-party audits.

• Enforce strict adherence to sanitation, allergen control, and traceability requirements.

• Lead corrective actions for non-conformances and continuous improvement initiatives.

Leadership & People Management

• Lead, coach, and develop supervisors and frontline employees.

• Promote a strong culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Manage staffing levels, training programs, performance reviews, and disciplinary actions.

• Foster positive labor relations in both union and non-union environments.

Financial & Performance Management

• Manage operating budgets, labor costs, yields, shrink, and waste reduction.

• Track KPIs including safety, productivity, quality, downtime, and cost performance.

• Identify opportunities to improve margins through process optimization and efficiency gains.

• Support capital projects and equipment investments.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead Lean, Six Sigma, or other operational excellence initiatives.

• Implement process improvements to increase efficiency, reduce waste, and improve product consistency.

• Drive standardization and best practices across shifts and departments.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Food Science, Animal Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• 5+ years of progressive operations or production management experience in a meat processing or protein manufacturing environment.

• Strong knowledge of USDA/FSIS regulations, HACCP, and food safety systems.

• Proven experience managing large, hourly workforces in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

• Strong leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

Preferred

• Experience in beef, pork, poultry, or further-processed meats.

• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement certification.

• Experience with unionized labor environments.

• ERP or manufacturing systems experience (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Plex).