Vice President Operations

Victoria Newitt Recruitment Inc has been retained by Kicking Horse Coffee to search for a Vice President of Operations.

THE MISSION

Buck the ordinary and take an unconventional approach to unlocking our growth potential. Your mission is to drive operational capacity while ensuring that Kicking Horse Coffee remains one of the of Best WorkplacesTM in Canada!

THE CONTEXT

This role involves leading an established and high-performing site with a strong culture and deep team engagement. Success will depend on the ability to build trust quickly, understand the existing dynamics, and preserve what makes the organization effective, while rapidly expanding our production capabilities.

WHO ARE YOU?

Lover of a good puzzle, you have an uncanny ability to see how all the pieces fit together. You care deeply. About people. About process. And about good coffee. You understand the connection between empowering a team and exceptional business performance. You’ve perfected the blend of strategic thinking, operational planning, and helping your teams thrive. Passionate, energetic, and focused, you gett’er done while having fun!

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

We’ve set the stage for exceptional growth, and you’ll map the route to get us there! You will enable an environment that fosters a remarkable work culture that drives business results. You’ll expand our operational capacity and efficiencies through collaboration with your leaders, leveraging Kaizen principles and tools.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, contribute to setting the strategic direction for the business.

• Aligned to strategic priorities, work to build short-term and long-term plans for our infrastructure, facility, equipment, logistics, and production capacity.

• Provide direction and leadership for your team by communicating a clear vision, enabling execution by providing the appropriate resources and removing barriers that get in the way.

• Ensure all elements of the manufacturing process are aligned to best practices that consistently reach our product quality and food safety standards.

• Hold employee safety as a top priority, implementing solutions that continuously improve the work environment and conditions for our teams.

• Leverage and develop an experienced local operational team, empowering senior-level leaders and building on existing strengths.

• Set a visible standard for purpose-driven operations, delivering outcomes that go beyond metrics by putting people, values, and positive impact at the center of how we operate.

• Understand that sustainability is at the heart of our operations; continue to identify products, revise processes and leverage technologies that improve our impact on the environment throughout our manufacturing and logistics processes.

• Use Kaizen principles as a basis for execution, putting respect for people at the heart of continuous improvement efforts.

• Work closely with our partners at Lavazza; Acts as a bridge between Lavazza HQ, the SLT, and the production site, ensuring alignment while maintaining strong local engagement and trust.

• Maintain a strong and visible presence on the production floor, building direct relationships with teams at all levels.

QUALIFICATIONS

• You have 10+ years’ experience in manufacturing and/or operations management. Experience working in food or beverage manufacturing /Consumer Packaged Goods is an ASS-et.

• You bring at least 10 years of experience managing, coaching, and developing highly functional leaders and teams.

• Demonstrated experience evaluating and improving logistics and supply chain models.

• You’ve taken organizations through significant growth and have built and executed industrial plans.

• You’ve led or participated in operational transformations through the implementation of continuous improvement programs.

• You’re no stranger to ERP systems. Experience with SAP integrations is considered an asset.

• You’ve got experience improving job quality through successful automation initiatives.

OTHER INFORMATION

• This is an Invermere-based, onsite role.

• Occasional national and international travel will be required.

• This role is responsible for the functional oversight of: Production, Continuous Improvement, Engineering, Quality & Safety, and Supply Chain (apart from green coffee).

• This is a full-time permanent position.

• The base salary range is between $225k-$300k and will align with experience.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your application by emailing your cover letter and résumé to: careers@victorianewitt.com