New Wave Foods is looking for a
Chief Operating Officer - Food Industry and Growth Specialist
New Wave Foods has been growing steadily and is now seeking to dramatically accelerate growth. The board and founders are looking for a mission-focused, seasoned, strategic, and process-minded leader with experience scaling a food business, leading an executive management team, and developing a performance culture among a group of diverse, talented individuals. The COO must be a leader who is able to help others at marketing, branding, and scaling a cutting edge food product, deliver measurable, cost-effective results that make the vision a reality. Importantly, the successful COO will have the skills, sensitivity, and personal confidence to tap into the power that each member of the team brings to this mission. While it is essential that the COO bring efficient and effective systems to increase the productivity of the organization, is it also critical that the team retain the creative spark that drives the New Wave Foods concept.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Reporting to the Founders and Board of New Wave foods, the COO will lead all internal operations and will have the following responsibilities:
- Working in partnership with the Founders and Board, create the strategic five-year plan and implement new processes and approaches to achieve it.
- Serve as the internal leader of the organization:
- Coordinate the annual operations plan and budget
- Lead the performance management process that measures and evaluates progress against goals for the organization
- Provide for all staff a strong day-to-day leadership presence
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
As a prerequisite, the successful candidate must believe in the core values of New Wave Foods and be driven by the mission. The candidate should demonstrate a passion for breaking new ground to lead industry change. Beyond that, we are seeking a candidate that has proven experience in scaling a food company and a demonstrated ability to both lead and build the capabilities of a driven, bright, diverse team.
The successful candidate will most likely have had management experience with start up companies, and/or rapid growth food companies. This is an organization driven by the values of its people, so experience in managing a “values-driven” organization will be highly prized. Additional requirements are:
Results - proven track record of exceeding goals and a bottom-line orientation; evidence of the ability to consistently make good decisions through a combination of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; high level of business acumen including successful P&L management; the ability to balance the delivery of programs against the realities of a budget; and problem solving, project management, and creative resourcefulness
Strategic Vision and Agility - ability to think strategically, anticipate future consequences and trends, and incorporate them into the organizational plan
Capacity Building - ability to effectively build organization and staff capacity, developing a top-notch workforce and the processes that ensure the organization runs smoothly
Leadership and Organization - exceptional capacity for managing and leading people; a team builder who has experience in scaling up food companies; ability to connect staff both on an individual level and in large groups; capacity to enforce accountability, develop and empower top-notch leaders from the bottom up, lead from the top down, cultivate entrepreneurship, and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the team so as to put people in a position to succeed
Action Oriented - enjoys working hard and looks for challenges; able to act and react as necessary, even if limited information is available; not afraid to take charge of a situation; can overcome resistance to leadership and take unpopular stands when necessary
General Management - thorough understanding of finance, systems, and HR; broad experience with the full range of food business functions and systems, including strategic development and planning, budgeting, business analysis, finance, information systems, human resources, and marketing
Business Acumen and Sales Savvy - Displays a high degree of customer and market intelligence. A successful candidate should be able to anticipate market trends/demands and customer needs translating these insights into actionable and profitable solutions. Has the ability to identify key drivers for efficiencies and increase profitability by leveraging what is already in place.
Regulatory Compliance - Previous experience with third party regulatory compliance including (but not limited to) AIB, BRC, HACCP, FDA and OSHA. A focus on excellence as it relates to quality, sanitation and safety standards in accordance with state and federal law.
Solid Educational Background - undergraduate degree required; MBA or similar advanced degree highly desired
Required Experience:
Executive Management: 5 years
Bachelor’s Degree
COMPENSATION
This is an outstanding opportunity for a highly motivated professional to assume a pivotal role in the evolution of a fast-growing, highly respected organization. We are seeking an individual of outstanding quality with a respected track record. New Wave Foods is prepared to offer a very attractive compensation package, including a competitive base salary as well as health, 401(k), and vacation benefits.