Senior Director, Operations

Job summary

The Senior Director, Operations – is responsible for running a multidisciplinary site including cultivation, processing, packaging, warehousing and maintenance. This role will oversee the daily operations of Aurora’s flagship facility through leading the safe execution of activities while ensuring quality and consistency of the product. The Senior Director, Operations will contribute to strategic planning, forecasting, team leadership, and collaboration across the organization to enhance overall business operations. This leader will ensure compliance with regulatory requirements including GMP, HACCP, GPP and Health Canada regulations and is responsible for developing and adhering to performance and quality KPIs as well as budgets and other measures of success.

Duties and Responsibilities:

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

• Develop and implement strategic plans for the site operations, aligning with the company’s goals and vision
• Lead cross-functional initiatives to improve productivity, reduce costs, and enhance service delivery
• Establish short term and long-term strategic goals

TEAM LEADERSHIP

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and professional development
• Lead initiatives to enhance employee engagement
• Act as a mentor, coach, and motivator for the site leadership team, site managers, and employees at all levels
• Drive succession planning and leadership development to ensure a strong talent pipeline
• Foster an inclusive and diverse workplace that encourages innovation and continuous learning

HEALTH, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENT

• Champion a culture of safety across the site and organization
• Ensure compliance with all health, safety, and environmental regulations
• Partner with HSE to monitor and improve the safety culture and KPIs

QUALITY, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

• Responsible for maintaining compliance with regulatory and quality requirements, including, but not limited to effective investigations, change controls, process SOPs/work instruction updates
• Ensure adherence to procedures to comply with regulatory standards such as Health Canada’s Cannabis Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, GMP, HACCP, GPP, etc.
• Ensure all operations, documentation, and reporting meet regulatory and industry standards.
• Work closely with legal teams to address compliance risks and audits.
• Promote a strong corporate governance structure, ensuring all ethical, legal, and environmental requirements are met

RISK MANAGEMENT

• Lead response efforts during operational crises, ensuring business continuity.
• Implement risk management strategies to address labour shortages and global supply chain challenges.
• Establish emergency preparedness plans to minimize disruptions from natural disasters, cyber threats, and regulatory changes

PROCESS OPTIMIZATION

• Identify and/or enhance KPIs with a robust continuous monitoring program
• Identify opportunities for process improvement and implement initiatives to enhance efficiency and productivity

FINANCIAL AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

• Manage operational budgets, ensuring cost-effective resource allocation
• Partner with finance and procurement to optimize spending

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

• Collaborate with senior leadership across the organization to align strategic priorities
• Foster strong partnerships within the organization, including, QA, Engineering, Production Planning, HSE, Finance, Supply Chain, IT, and Regulatory Affairs
• Collaborate with external partners, regulatory agencies, and suppliers/vendors, as required
• Other duties as assigned and required
  
  

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• In-depth knowledge of operational best practices, process optimization, and supply chain management
• Strong strategic thinking abilities to align operational initiatives with organizational objectives
• Ability to engage and excite diverse teams to identify common goals, drive consensus and change
• Ability to think strategically while balancing tactical challenges
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate with cross functional teams
• Ability to quickly adapt, maintain focus and a high degree of accuracy while working with complex data in an environment of ever-changing deadlines, priorities and requirements.
• Able to develop a highly capable team, processes and tools
• Accountable for results, strives to meet and exceed expectations.
  
  

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in Engineering or Science required
• Previous experience in a leadership role within manufacturing or relevant industry, including CPG, pharmaceutical, etc
• Minimum of 8-10 years of experience leading in a manufacturing environment with teams of 100+ employees
• 5+ years’ experience in a GMP environment is preferred
• Demonstrated success in implementing process improvements and driving operational excellence
• Experience in budget management and financial oversight
• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams

Working Conditions:

• Lifting & Carrying: Regular lifting of packages/materials, typically within a weight range of 50 lbs
• Standing & Walking: Prolonged periods of standing and walking on hard surfaces.
• Bending: Frequent bending, kneeling, or reaching for materials.
• Noise Levels: Moderate to high noise from forklifts, and machinery.
• Temperature Variability: Can be hot, cold, or subject to seasonal changes, depending on ventilation and insulation.
• Air Quality: Potential exposure to dust, fumes, cannabis or airborne particles.
• Work Surface: Concrete floors; may involve standing/walking for extended periods.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Safety glasses, gloves, steel-toe boots, hearing protection, and respirators may be required.
• Chemical Exposure: Potential exposure to chemicals, oils, or cleaning agents
• Weekend & Holiday Work: May be required depending on production needs.

Why you’ll love working at Aurora
Our people are at the heart of everything we do here at Aurora, and we take pride in fostering an inclusive space that inspires our team to love where they work! From rewarding career opportunities to flexible work environments to team activities, we go above and beyond to prioritize your success and here’s how we do it…

• Flexibility: you will enjoy a flexible work environment that is the perfect blend of work and fun! With flexible working hours to compressed work weeks to paid sick and vacation time, you will be empowered to achieve work-life balance.
• Total rewards: we will motivate you to go above and beyond with a competitive salary or hourly wage (with shift premiums), stock options, an RRSP program, annual bonuses, and a health and personal care spending account for you to use for gym memberships, ski passes or staycations.
• Benefits: we will foster your health and wellness (and your dependents) with our employee benefits package including, employer-paid health and dentalcare premiums, life insurance and LTD policies and a medical cannabis coverage program, designed exclusively for our A-Team, that will provide you with $1500 of coverage each year (because we truly believe cannabis is the best medicine).
• Life-long learning: we’re lifelong learners here at Aurora and will invest in your professional development throughout all aspects of your career! You will have access to a tuition assistance program, virtual learning activities and annual performance reviews, to ensure you are provided with the toolkit and support you need to succeed.
• Perks: we love to celebrate our people by providing corporate perks including employee discounts, perkopolis memberships, company SWAG, paid volunteer time, modern technology and snacks and beverages at all our office locations.
• Team: we are a diverse and global team of cannabis enthusiasts, energetic innovators, fitness gurus, caring parents, foodies and more, with a collective passion to nurture an inclusive environment that helps you grow and provide people better days with medical cannabis.

Next Steps

Apply today by submitting your resume through our website. You can expect your application to be reviewed by our Talent Acquisition Team and not an AI software/system. The we will contact you if we see a fit via email.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Accessibility

At Aurora, we are proud to foster and celebrate a diverse community of professionals! We take pride in nurturing an inclusive culture that empowers our people to be their authentic selves, celebrate their differences and love where they work.

Our diverse community combined with our inclusive culture, is what sets us apart in the industry and equips our A-Team with superpowers – and this is why, we encourage all candidates to apply for job opportunities regardless of race, national origin, colour, religion, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital and family status, disability, or any other identifying characteristic.

We value the unique skills and experience each person brings to Aurora and are committed to creating and maintaining an accessible environment. We are committed to the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act so if you require accommodation during the hiring process, please let our Human Resources team know by contacting us at