VP of Operations--Food Manufacturing

Taher is seeking a highly experienced food manufacturing leader to provide overall leadership and operational direction for our manufacturing operations in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Our manufacturing business produces high-volume fresh and prepared foods for major national retail, convenience and grocery customers, including burgers, sandwiches, bakery products and other ready-to-eat and prepared-food items. Current customer programs include products for 7-Eleven, Costco, Kroger and other customers.

This is a significant operating leadership role. The Vice President of Manufacturing Operations will be accountable for building the leadership, operating discipline, systems and execution necessary to safely and consistently deliver quality food to our customers while improving productivity, labor utilization, throughput, yield, reliability and financial performance.

We are looking for a leader who understands that manufacturing leadership happens where the work happens. This individual must be highly visible throughout the operation, routinely walking production and bakery floors, engaging employees, coaching supervisors and managers, reviewing performance at the point of work, identifying barriers and driving problems through to resolution.

Taher is in the business of finding solutions. We need a manufacturing leader who operates the same way.

• →Provide overall leadership and direction for Taher’s Plymouth manufacturing operations.
• →Translate customer demand, forecasts and business priorities into executable production strategies.
• →Ensure production plans are appropriately staffed, scheduled and executed across shifts.
• →Establish daily, weekly and monthly operating rhythms that create visibility and accountability for results.
• →Monitor operating performance and intervene quickly when safety, quality, labor, production, maintenance or customer-service performance falls outside expectations.
• →Ensure effective coordination across Culinary / Prepared Foods, Bakery, Production, Maintenance, Food Safety & Quality, Sanitation, Logistics, Supply Chain and supporting functions.
• →Identify operational constraints and lead initiatives to improve capacity, flow and manufacturing effectiveness.

• Create an operation capable of consistently executing against the expectations of sophisticated national customers.
• Ensure products are manufactured accurately and consistently to customer specifications.
• Partner with commercial, culinary, R&D, procurement and supply-chain teams on new products, customer programs, commercialization and changes in demand.
• Establish clear operational ownership for launches and customer commitments.
• Respond quickly to service, quality or operational concerns and ensure corrective actions are completed and sustained.
• Balance customer requirements with capacity, labor, equipment and cost realities.

• Build a capable, accountable and highly engaged manufacturing leadership team.
• Set clear expectations for leaders at every level.
• Coach managers and supervisors to lead their teams rather than simply manage schedules and production numbers.
• Establish leadership routines including floor presence, shift handoffs, daily accountability, escalation and problem-solving.
• Identify performance gaps quickly and address them through coaching, training, accountability or organizational change.
• Build succession plans and internal talent pipelines for critical manufacturing roles.
• Partner with Human Resources on workforce strategy, recruiting, retention, employee relations, performance management and organizational design.
• Partner with Training & Development to build effective onboarding, operator qualification, supervisor development and technical training systems.
• Promote a culture where employees are respected, expectations are clear and leaders are accountable for both results and how those results are achieved.

• Champion a culture in which employee safety and food safety are non-negotiable operating priorities.
• Ensure compliance with applicable USDA, FDA, FSMA, HACCP, GMP, sanitation, allergen, customer and certification requirements.
• Partner closely with Food Safety & Quality leadership while reinforcing that food safety and quality are operational responsibilities, not simply the responsibility of the quality department.
• Ensure corrective and preventive actions are addressed promptly and sustained.
• Maintain strong audit readiness and operational discipline.

• Create a disciplined continuous-improvement environment.
• Establish and monitor meaningful manufacturing KPIs including safety, food safety, quality, customer complaints, schedule attainment, service/order fulfillment, throughput, labor productivity, overtime, yield, waste/giveaway, downtime, equipment reliability, OEE or equivalent measures, cost per unit, rework, turnover and attendance.
• Use data to identify priorities while validating performance through direct observation of the work.
• Lead structured root-cause problem solving for significant or recurring operating failures.
• Eliminate unnecessary complexity and build processes that employees and leaders can consistently execute.

• Partner with Maintenance and technical leaders to improve preventive maintenance, reliability and equipment performance.
• Ensure Production and Maintenance operate as partners rather than separate functions.
• Establish appropriate escalation and prioritization for equipment downtime.
• Identify capacity constraints and capital requirements.
• Participate in equipment selection, capital planning, installation, startup and operational readiness.
• Ensure capital investments generate measurable operational value.

• Own manufacturing performance against approved operating and financial plans.
• Understand and actively manage the primary drivers of manufacturing cost.
• Partner with Finance to establish accurate operating metrics, budgets, forecasts and variance reporting.
• Drive improvement in labor, overtime, waste, yield, downtime, purchasing utilization and other controllable manufacturing expenses.
• Evaluate operational decisions based on customer impact, employee impact, risk and financial return.

• Develop labor strategies aligned with production demand.
• Improve staffing predictability and reduce unnecessary reliance on overtime and reactive staffing.
• Evaluate the appropriate balance of regular employees, contingent labor and other staffing resources.
• Partner with HR and Operations leadership to improve retention, attendance and workforce stability.
• Ensure staffing models support both customer service and responsible cost management.

Taher’s manufacturing leader will have strong corporate resources available to support the operation, including Human Resources, Procurement and Strategic Sourcing, Training & Development, Finance, Information Technology, Risk & Safety, Culinary / Product Development and Executive Leadership.

The Vice President of Manufacturing Operations is not expected to independently recreate these functions within the plant. The expectation is to use these resources effectively while maintaining clear accountability for manufacturing execution. Corporate functions provide expertise, resources, governance and support. The manufacturing leader owns what happens in the operation.

Taher, Inc. is a family-owned and operated, chef-driven, food service management company. We specialize in providing K-12 school lunch management, campus dining, senior dining, catering, vending, and office beverage services to clients in our growing nationwide footprint.

Customers choose Taher for its chef-developed recipes created from natural and sustainable local sources, and for delivering the latest in culinary trends and operational resources to provide outstanding food options for our guests. Taher maintains a consistent presence in Food Service Management's Top 25 companies.

• • Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Food Science, Business, Supply Chain or a related discipline preferred; advanced degree preferred but not required.
  • Ten or more years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, with substantial experience in food manufacturing.
  • Seven or more years leading plant operations, manufacturing departments or significant multi-shift operations.
  • Experience leading a large hourly workforce and multiple levels of manufacturing leadership.
  • Demonstrated success improving underperforming manufacturing operations.
  • Strong knowledge of food safety, quality and regulatory requirements within USDA- and/or FDA-regulated food manufacturing environments.
  • Experience with high-volume prepared foods, ready-to-eat products, refrigerated foods, bakery, protein, commissary, co-manufacturing or similar manufacturing environments strongly preferred.
  • Experience supporting large retail, convenience, grocery or foodservice customers strongly preferred.
  • Demonstrated success improving labor productivity, throughput, waste, yield, reliability and operating cost.
  • Strong financial and business acumen.
  • Experience with Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, Six Sigma, TPM or other structured problem-solving methodologies preferred.
  • Experience leading capital projects, manufacturing technology implementation or automation preferred.
  • Strong communication and executive leadership skills.

The successful leader will be: Visible • Decisive • Accountable • Curious • Practical • Calm under pressure • Comfortable making difficult decisions • Strong at developing people • Data-informed without becoming desk-bound • Customer focused • Collaborative • Operationally disciplined • Willing to challenge the status quo • Focused on solutions rather than explanations.

• Establish credibility and a visible leadership presence throughout the operation.
• Build clear accountability across the manufacturing leadership team.
• Create reliable daily and weekly operating rhythms.
• Improve visibility to plant performance through meaningful KPIs.
• Strengthen production planning, staffing and shift execution.
• Reduce recurring operational disruptions.
• Improve labor productivity and overtime management.
• Improve throughput, yield, waste and equipment reliability.
• Strengthen partnership between Production, Maintenance, Food Safety & Quality, Supply Chain and corporate support teams.
• Improve frontline leadership capability and workforce stability.
• Strengthen execution for Taher’s customers.
• Establish a clear longer-term operational roadmap for capacity, equipment, people, technology and continuous improvement.

Taher is a family-owned company with a long history in food and food service. Our culture values accountability, creativity, entrepreneurship and the ability to find solutions. At Taher, leaders have the opportunity to influence the business, make decisions and see the impact of their work. For a manufacturing executive who wants to lead from the floor, develop people and build something better, this role offers the opportunity to make a significant and visible impact.