OPERATIONS MANAGER
Riega Foods
Fast Facts
· Company Snapshot: Riega Foods is a family-owned and operated organic herb, spice, and spice blend manufacturer in Kansas City, Missouri.
· Position: Operations Manager
· Reports To: COO
· Location: Kansas City, Missouri (in person)
· Time Commitment: Full-time, exempt
· Key Focus: Safe, efficient, and reliable operations across manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, distribution, maintenance and engineering, quality control, food safety, and human safety.
The Organization
Riega Foods, LLC is a fast-growing, family-owned and operated organic herb, spice, and spice blend manufacturer based in Kansas City, Missouri.
The company operates in a fast-paced food production environment where safety, food quality, operational reliability, and customer service are essential to continued growth. Its operations span food manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, distribution, maintenance and engineering, quality control, and safety.
Riega Foods is seeking an operations leader who can strengthen daily execution, build accountability across frontline teams, and help the organization scale with disciplined systems, strong cross-functional communication, and a continuous improvement mindset.
The Opportunity
This is a high-impact opportunity for a hands-on operations leader to help guide a fast-growing food manufacturer through its next stage of scale. The Operations Manager will have direct influence over daily execution, production reliability, safety performance, food quality, operational efficiency, and team development.
For a leader who enjoys being visible on the floor and close to the work, this role offers the chance to strengthen the operating rhythm of a growing organization while partnering closely with executive leadership, Quality Assurance, Supply Chain, Sales, and Customer Service.
The successful candidate will help ensure Riega Foods can continue meeting customer demand while improving throughput, reducing waste, optimizing labor and equipment utilization, and reinforcing a culture of safety, quality, and accountability.
The Position
Reporting to the COO, the Operations Manager oversees daily activities across manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, distribution, maintenance and engineering, quality control, food safety, and human safety.
This leader is responsible for ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable operations in a fast-paced food production environment. The role includes meeting production schedules, supporting capacity planning, allocating resources, improving operational performance, and coordinating closely with Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, Sales, and Customer Service.
The Operations Manager will lead supervisors and frontline teams, drive continuous improvement, support audit readiness, manage safety and compliance expectations, and provide operational visibility through KPIs, budgets, and performance reporting.
The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a safety-first, food-quality-minded operations leader with experience in FDA-regulated food production. This person is organized, decisive, collaborative, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.
A successful candidate will be hands-on and visible, actively engaged with supervisors and frontline teams across the production floor and warehouse. They will bring a practical leadership style, strong communication skills, and the ability to create structure while maintaining urgency and flexibility.
Just as important, this leader will be improvement-minded - someone who uses data, Lean or Six Sigma tools, root-cause analysis, and strong people leadership to streamline processes, strengthen accountability, and elevate performance across the operation.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Leadership
· Lead day-to-day operations across food manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, and distribution functions.
· Develop and execute operational strategies to improve throughput, reduce waste, and optimize labor and equipment utilization.
· Ensure production schedules are met while maintaining high standards of quality, safety, and efficiency.
· Oversee capacity planning, resource allocation, and long-term operational forecasting.
· Coordinate with Supply Chain on scheduling, raw material needs, and packaging planning.
· Coordinate with Sales and Customer Service on lead times, order fulfillment, and service issues.
Human Safety & OSHA Compliance
· Ensure full compliance with OSHA regulations and internal safety standards.
· Serve as the senior leader responsible for workspace safety programs, policies, and performance.
· Oversee safety training, hazard assessments, and continuous improvement of personal safety systems.
· Champion a culture where personal safety is prioritized in every operational decision.
Food Safety, Quality & Compliance
· Ensure full compliance with FDA, FSMA, GMP, and other food safety-related regulatory requirements.
· Collaborate with Quality Assurance to maintain audit readiness and drive continuous improvement in food safety programs.
· Oversee Quality Control activities and reinforce a culture of food safety and quality throughout the organization.
Warehousing & Distribution
· Oversee warehousing operations, including receiving, storage, inventory accuracy, and order fulfillment.
· Implement best practices in material handling, layout optimization, and warehouse efficiency.
· Collaborate with procurement and logistics teams to optimize vendor performance.
Maintenance & Engineering Oversight
· Lead maintenance and engineering teams to ensure equipment reliability, uptime, and safe operation.
· Oversee preventative and predictive maintenance programs to reduce unplanned downtime.
· Evaluate and implement capital improvements, automation, and technology upgrades that increase production asset capacity and flexibility while minimizing unnecessary costs.
People Leadership & Culture
· Lead, mentor, and develop supervisors and frontline teams across production, warehouse, maintenance and engineering, and quality control.
· Foster a culture of accountability, safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
· Drive employee engagement, training, retention, hiring, onboarding, and performance management initiatives.
Continuous Improvement
· Apply Lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement methodologies to reduce waste and improve process capability.
· Lead root-cause analysis and corrective action initiatives.
· Identify opportunities for workflow optimization, automation, and cost reduction.
Financial & Strategic Management
· Manage capital expenditure plans and operating budgets related to plant labor and operating expenses.
· Track and report on KPIs related to production, service, safety, and operational efficiency.
· Partner with executive leadership on long-term strategic planning and new product development activities.
Qualifications
Required Experience
· Minimum of 5 years of food industry experience, with 1-5 years of management or upper-level management experience.
· Experience managing FDA-regulated operations required; experience with third-party food safety audits such as BRC or SQF preferred.
· Strong understanding of OSHA requirements and experience leading safety programs.
· Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business Management, Food Science, or equivalent work experience.
· Demonstrated ability to implement and manage processes that support rapid growth.
· Track record of exceeding targets and goals in a fast-paced operating environment.
· Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present information to plant operations and executive leadership.
· Ability to extract, analyze, and apply data using production and inventory management systems, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
· Working knowledge of cost accounting, budgets, forecasting, metrics, and people management best practices.
Key Success Metrics
· Safety performance, OSHA compliance, hazard prevention, and strength of the personal safety culture.
· Food safety compliance, audit readiness, quality control performance, and adherence to FDA, FSMA, GMP, and related requirements.
· Production schedule attainment, throughput improvement, waste reduction, and labor and equipment utilization.
· Warehouse efficiency, inventory accuracy, receiving, storage, fulfillment, and material handling performance.
· Equipment uptime, preventative maintenance discipline, capital improvement execution, and reliability of production assets.
· Employee engagement, retention, supervisor development, training effectiveness, and accountability across frontline teams.
· Effective use of Lean, Six Sigma, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and continuous improvement tools.
· Clear KPI reporting, budget management, operating expense discipline, and contribution to long-term operational planning.
· Cross-functional communication with executive leadership, Quality Assurance, Supply Chain, Sales, Customer Service, procurement, and logistics.
Additional Expectations
· Be based in or near Kansas City, Missouri and work primarily on-site at Riega Foods during normal business hours.
· Serve as a hands-on, visible leader across the production floor and warehouse.
· Work flexible hours, including weekends, as dictated by customer demand and operational needs.
· Travel overnight approximately 2-4 times per year.
· Lead with integrity, accountability, urgency, collaboration, and a strong commitment to safety and food quality.
· Maintain professionalism, sound judgment, and clear communication in a fast-paced operating environment.
· Competitive salary and benefits package offered, including health insurance and 401(k).
Pay: $150,000.00 - $170,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
