Director of Operations, Southern Region

Management (Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics)

Americold is a global leader in temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics in the food industry. Our strong growth strategy for our region has taken off and we will continue to expand our global footprint throughout 2024. None of this growth, however, is possible without our people. 

Our core values have been written with our people in mind. We encourage our associates to drive the results they want to achieve, and we support this by providing comprehensive onboarding, ongoing training, and yearly development plans. 

Want to know the secret to our success? You’ll have to join us to find out

Primary Responsibility:

Responsible for managing general managers across multiple warehouses within the Southern Region. You will Partner with the Business Development organisation to maximise customer satisfaction while driving profitability and occupancy. Evaluate and achieve customer profitability and support the development and discussions on rate negotiations. You will complete these responsibilities whilst ensuring you are adhering to the Americold values.

What You'll Do:

• Drive the implementation of the Americold Operating System.
• Execution of lean-based continuous improvement efforts and 5-habits labour optimisation.
• Help team oversee SQF based product quality and loss prevention.
• Ensure energy and refrigeration excellence for sites.
• Work closely with Regional Support team to drive Corporate Objectives in HR, Safety, FP&A, Procurement, Continuous Improvement, and all functional support teams. 
• Leading and developing their people and following the corporate initiatives that are set forth. 
• Establish clear strategies to accomplish expense goals. 
• Establish and achieve specific expense goals and metrics with/for teams. 
• Leverage technology and other resources to reduce or eliminate costs. 
• Provide support and remove roadblocks to expense goal attainment.
• Create and sustain a focus on profitable sales within the business and recognise the issues and actions that affect profitability most. 
• Help team determine and understand operations role in supporting customers. 
• Recognise the issues and actions that affect profitability most. 
• Maintain visibility within the customer base and assist in serving as company’s Operational Leader in customer dealings. 
• Establish clear operational tools that will insure transparency of performance through Scorecards, KPI’s, Metrics, Order Profile, and other relevant customer performance management.
• Respond effectively to customer needs, interests, and concerns. 
• Maintain the proper balance between providing the best possible customer service and the cost of delivering that service.
• Understand the needs, interests, and objectives unique to different stakeholder groups, and create solutions appropriate for those stakeholders. 
• Anticipate future needs, outcomes, and constraints (e.g., the impact of current and future contracts) for different stakeholder groups.
• Maintain strategic relationships with labour leaders on key issues (e.g., during contract negotiations). 
• Ensure consistency and equity in work conditions and employment concerns.
• Create or identify solutions for stakeholders with very different objectives. 
• Foster healthy relationships with the union via Joint Consultative Committee Meetings.
• Advocate for employees or employee concerns or issues. 
• Continuously promote and support diversity (e.g., in hiring, placement, task teams, special assignments or other decisions and plans).
• Solicit employee involvement in and support for important decisions and initiatives 
• Communicate expectations and support for ongoing, individual development 
• Train and develop robust facility management and operations teams 
• Appraise and management team, develop training plans to maximise talents and skill areas, develop weaknesses 
• Provide and maintain a safe work environment and support a “Safety Awareness” culture. Ensure compliance with all safety and loss prevention policies; all in partnership with Risk Management 
• Ensure facilities are operated in accordance with company guidelines and policies
• Visit facilities to ensure company policies and standard operating procedures are being observed and properly executed. These facility visits must be in depth and include a review of labour hours, operating costs, customer issues, and employee matters. 
• Perform internal audits, document findings. Recognise jobs well done, and act on areas of deficiency 
• Review Key Performance Indicators and utilise other measurement tools on a daily/weekly basis to ensure that operational, financial, employee and service controls are in place 
• Be familiar with and comply with applicable employment laws, as well as all other municipal, state and federal regulations 

What Experience and Education You Need :

Ideally you are someone who has exceptional attention to detail and who prides themselves on being deadline oriented and can maintain a high level of productivity. In this role, you will engage with a variety of operations and corporate staff and therefore will be expected to communicate appropriately with staff at all levels and work as a team player.

• Degree in Business, logistics, management or equivalent preferred; an equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered 
• 7-10 years in warehousing and/or logistics management experience 
• 5 years general supervisory/management experience 
• Experience within a cold storage environment would be highly advantageous 
• Understanding and knowledge of transport industry would be highly advantageous 

What Could Set You Apart:

• Ability to manage supervisors and employees 
• Ability to work in fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment 
• Ability to communicate effectively with variety of individuals 
• Ability to pay close attention to detail 
• Strong interpersonal skills and judgment in communicating with staff 
• Willingness to develop a mentoring relationship in order to contribute experience, skills, and wisdom to subordinate employees for their development 
• Receptive to management development suggestions and willing to seek additional knowledge to facilitate job growth 
• Must have strong relationship skills, be able to provide and model leadership behaviours including the ability to defuse conflict. Relate to other people beyond giving and receiving instructions: they must get along with others without exhibiting behavioural extremes; perform work activities requiring reasoning, negotiating, instructing, persuading, or speaking with others; and respond appropriately to criticism
• Possess Knowledge of Regulatory Agency Food Safety Guidelines and ability to communicate to facility team to ensure compliance with all Food Safety Guidelines 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. 
• Proven ability to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously 
• Ability to interpret HR regulations, safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedures manuals 
• Ability to solve complex problems 
• Must have very strong customer service orientation with high sense of urgency in meeting objectives and deadlines 

Physical Requirements & Abilities:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential functions for this position and meet the physical requirements needed to perform them. Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals with disabilities.

The role requires the individual to be a self-starter, be able to work independently, and be able to travel during when required. The individual may be required to work outside of regular work hours to meet the requirements of the business and be comfortable being in cold/freezer work environments. 

How to Apply:

Apply now and ensure your current resume is submitted. Want to stand out? Include a cover letter detailing how your experiences fit the brief. 

Americold is committed to fair and equitable merit-based recruiting practices. 

Americold is one of the world’s largest owners and operators of temperature-controlled infrastructure. Americold owns and operates 155 temperature-controlled warehouses in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Argentina.

Americold’s facilities are an integral component of the temperature-controlled supply chain connecting food producers, processors, distributors, quick-serve restaurants and retailers to consumers.

Americold has over 11,000 associates globally and offers a wide variety of employment opportunities across Australia and New Zealand - from warehouse forklift operators and supervisors to accounting, customer support, engineering, transportation, and technology solutions positions.

Americold is one of the world’s largest owners and operators of temperature-controlled infrastructure. Americold owns and operates 155 temperature-controlled warehouses in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Argentina.

Americold’s facilities are an integral component of the temperature-controlled supply chain connecting food producers, processors, distributors, quick-serve restaurants and retailers to consumers.

Americold has over 11,000 associates globally and offers a wide variety of employment opportunities across Australia and New Zealand - from warehouse forklift operators and supervisors to accounting, customer support, engineering, transportation, and technology solutions positions.

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What can I earn as an Operations Director