Operations Manager

Role overview

Factory and production operations

• Coordinate daily production, maintenance, sanitation, and warehouse activities with Quality Assurance and Supply Chain.
• Develop production plans using sales forecasts, customer orders, capacity, and inventory requirements.
• Oversee mixing, dough preparation, lamination, forming, proofing or baking where applicable, freezing, and packaging.
• Control dough temperature, fermentation, product weight, freezing conditions, and product consistency.
• Maintain frozen storage and handling practices that protect product quality and cold-chain integrity.

Performance, cost, and equipment

• Improve production line performance, labor utilization, material yield, and equipment availability; reduce waste, downtime, and changeover losses.
• Manage operating budgets and monitor labor, overtime, materials, utilities, and other controllable manufacturing costs.
• Prioritize preventive maintenance, resolve recurring breakdowns, and improve equipment reliability.

Safety, quality, and improvement

• Ensure compliance with HACCP, GMP, food safety, hygiene, allergen control, traceability, and occupational safety requirements with Quality Assurance.
• Support audits, investigations, and corrective actions related to operations, product quality, and food safety.
• Lead production trials, new product introductions, equipment commissioning, and capacity expansion.
• Drive continuous improvement through structured problem-solving, root-cause analysis, and Lean manufacturing.

People and reporting

• Recruit, coach, and develop supervisors and operational staff; set accountability, training plans, and performance expectations.
• Track and report production output, schedule adherence, OEE, waste, yield, labor productivity, and manufacturing cost.

Qualifications and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Engineering, Manufacturing Management, or related discipline; equivalent substantial industry experience may be considered.
• At least 8 years of relevant manufacturing experience, including 3–5 years in production or operations management in an industrial bakery environment.
• Hands-on frozen bakery manufacturing experience is essential; preferred product experience includes croissants, laminated dough, pastries, and other frozen dough or bakery products.
• Experience managing automated bakery production lines and multi-shift teams; strong knowledge of dough processing, lamination, freezing, packaging, and frozen storage.
• Demonstrated ability to improve productivity, reduce costs and waste, and maintain product quality.
• Practical knowledge of HACCP, GMP, food safety systems, and factory hygiene controls.
• Experience in production planning, budgeting, inventory control, and ERP or manufacturing systems.
• Rademaker, Lawrence, or comparable line experience is an advantage; factory start-ups, commissioning, or expansion experience is preferred.
• Strong English communication skills; Arabic is an advantage.

Key competencies

• Leadership and development of multicultural teams.
• Planning, analytical, problem-solving, and cross-department coordination skills.
• Commercial awareness, cost control, and commitment to food, product, and workplace safety.
• Ability to manage operational priorities and support shift or weekend requirements when necessary.