Head of Operations

The Opportunity: We are seeking a Head of Operations to run the end-to-end supply chain: productionpurchasing, demand forecasting, inventory management across all locations, and fulfillment forboth retail and wholesale. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will own end-to-end execution of the supply chain: purchase orders for ingredients and packaging, production POs with co-manufacturers built against a CEO-aligned forecast, inventory levels across 3PLs and Amazon, freight coordination across the network, and day-to-day 3PL communication and fulfillment.

Your Responsibilities: Production Purchasing: Own purchasing for all production inputs. Ingredients, flavorand extract components, cans, bottles, labels, cartons, trays, can holders, boxes, inserts, and all other packaging. Place POs, track lead times and inbound freight, andkeep production runs from being held up by a missing component.- Co-Manufacturer Management: Work with co-manufacturers to build productionpurchase orders against inventory position and forecast. Manage run scheduling, ingredient staging, MOQs and order increments, yield and buffer assumptions, and post-run reconciliation, with production volumes confirmed alongside the CEO.- Forecasting: Build and maintain the demand forecast across channels and SKUs, andtranslate it into the inventory, ingredient, and packaging quantities needed to support it. Forecasting is a collaborative exercise with the CEO and the commercial team. You willown the model, the inputs, and the recommendation, and you must be able to walkanyone through how you got to a number.- Inventory Management: Manage inventory levels at all locations including; every 3PL, Amazon, and co-manufacturer/warehouse. Transfers between 3PLs, allocation betweenDTC and wholesale, weeks-on-hand tracking, FIFO/LIFO rules, and management ofexpiration and best-by dates- Freight & Logistics: Handle freight logistics across the network. Including inbound fromingredient and packaging suppliers to co-manufacturers, outbound from co-mans to 3PLs, transfers between 3PLs, and outbound freight on wholesale and distributor orders. Book and coordinate LTL, FTL, and parcel freight with carriers and brokers, schedulepickups and delivery appointments, manage prepaid vs. collect terms, build and confirmpallet configurations, track shipments and chase exceptions, and manage claims fordamaged or short freight.- Freight Cost Management: Quote and compare carrier rates, run freight and FOBanalysis across warehouse locations, and make routing decisions that protect marginwithout missing delivery windows.- Retail & Wholesale Fulfillment: Run fulfillment end to end. Manage the wholesale POpipeline from receipt through routing and invoicing, and hold to distributor and retailerdelivery requirements including MABD windows and on-time-in-full performance.- Retail & Distributor Operations: Support and manage the operational side of retail anddistributor relationships, new item setup, vendor portals and EDI, product spec with QAdocumentation, UPC/GS1 and barcode compliance, shelf-life and best-by requirements, labeling and routing guides, and chargeback prevention.- 3PL Management: Serve as the day-to-day point of contact for all 3PLs. Manage ASNsand receiving, unfulfilled and errored orders, SKU and BOM setup, rate and invoicereview, and SLA accountability.- Systems & Reporting: Maintain the operational source of truth for inventory, POs, packaging specs, and SKU/BOM data. Build and maintain the reporting the businessruns on; inventory position, weeks on hand, sell-through, and production status.- Strategic Projects: Contribute to and lead the initiatives that move the supply chainforward including new product and SKU launches, formula and packaging changes, shelf-life and QA workstreams, backup and alternate supplier qualification, EDI go-lives, warehouse and 3PL network changes, and inventory system implementation. Keepprojects moving on schedule and pivot when the situation changes.- Process Optimization: Analyze current workflows to find friction points and implementefficient, scalable solutions. Much of this function runs on spreadsheets and inheritedprocess today. Able to take a process that is manual, fragile, or living in one person'shead, turn it into a documented system.

What You Bring: Operational Expertise: 7+ years in operations, supply chain, or production planning, with a record of running these processes in a high-growth environment producing through co-manufacturers. Food production experience is required; beverage industry experience isstrongly preferred.- Purchasing Experience: Buys ingredients and packaging against a productionschedule, manages supplier lead times, and holds suppliers to dates.- Forecasting Capability: Builds a demand forecast and converts it into raw material, packaging, and finished-goods requirements.- Analytical Proficiency: Strong data analysis and visualization skills, backed by thereporting that decisions actually get made from — inventory position and weeks on hand, sell-through by SKU and channel, production and inbound status, and freight cost per case. Worksfrom sales, inventory, and channel data, not intuition.- Project Management: Owns and drives projects from concept through executionwithout requiring constant oversight.- Retail & Distributor Experience: Has served distributor and retail accounts directly, including new item setup and vendor compliance. Prior KeHE experience is strongly preferred; familiarity with other natural and grocery distributors, EDI/SPS, and retailer routing complianceis a plus.- Systems Competency: Shopify experience is a plus, alongside inventory or ERPtooling and 3PL warehouse management systems. Able to navigate complex systems and dataquickly and pick up new ones fast.- Freight & Logistics Experience: Hands-on with LTL and FTL freight — booking andmanaging carriers and brokers, scheduling pickups and deliveries, prepaid vs. collect terms, pallet building, BOLs and rate quotes, and freight claims. Has moved real pallets, not justapproved invoices.- 3PL Communication: Manages 3PL relationships directly and daily — running them, not just escalating to them.- Working Style: Proactive, detail-obsessed, and self-directed on execution whilecollaborative on decisions — chases loose ends without being asked, brings options and arecommendation rather than open questions, communicates clearly across suppliers, co-mans, warehouses, and internal stakeholders, and stays organized when several production runs andPO cycles are live at once.- Work Authorization: Must have current work authorization in the United States. Role Details- Location: Remote - East Coast or Midwest preferred- Travel: Occasional travel to production runs and 3PL locations as needed- Hours: Full-time, with flexibility during production runs and peak season Compensation and Benefits- Pay: Flexible based on skills, experience, and qualifications- Bonus: Eligible- PTO: 3 weeks + holidays- Benefits: Insurance support About our Values Little Saints is a values-based company committed to serving our community with integrity andan open mind. We strongly encourage under-represented minorities to apply, and we welcomeeveryone to our team. It has been and will continue to be a fundamental policy of Little Saintsnot to discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, marital status, partnership status, domestic violence victim status, sexualorientation, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, veteran or military status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, caregiver status, unemployment status or anyother characteristic prohibited by federal, state and/or local laws. This policy applies to allaspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation, training, workingconditions, transfer, job assignment, benefits, layoff, and termination.