Vice President Sales Operations

Vice President of Sales & Operations Planning – Food Contract Manufacturing

Location: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

Status: Full Time / Exempt

Salary Range: $200,000 – $250,000

About The Client

Kinetica are partnered with a rapidly growing food contract manufacturer on a new Vice President of Sales & Operations Planning position. This position will be an integral role in the organizations executive leadership team.

The Vice President of S&OP is responsible for leading the company’s end-to-end Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process to ensure effective demand forecasting, supply planning, production planning, inventory optimization, and supply chain execution. This leadership role is critical in aligning sales, operations to create an integrated strategy, improving customer service levels, reducing costs, and supporting business growth in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership:

• Develop and lead the company’s S&OP process to align commercial, supply chain, finance, and operations functions.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration between Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Procurement, and Logistics to ensure a unified business plan.
• Provide strategic input to the executive team regarding supply chain capabilities, risks, and opportunities.

Planning & Forecasting

• Oversee demand planning, supply planning, inventory planning, and capacity planning functions.
• Ensure accurate demand forecasts using historical data, market trends, and sales inputs.
• Optimize production plans to meet service, cost, and inventory targets.
• Develop integrated supply and capacity plans that align with forecasted demand, production capabilities, labor constraints, and supplier capacities.
• Oversee master production scheduling and long-range capacity planning across all manufacturing facilities.
• Lead contingency planning for raw material shortages, labor disruptions, or capacity bottlenecks.

Inventory Optimization

• Develop inventory strategies that balance service levels, shelf-life constraints, and working capital targets.
• Drive SKU rationalization and inventory segmentation initiatives.
• Monitor aging inventory and implement proactive measures to reduce waste, obsolescence, and excess stock.

Process Ownership

• Own the monthly S&OP cycle including pre-S&OP and executive S&OP meetings.
• Ensure S&OP process drives alignment between demand and supply while highlighting risks, gaps, and trade-offs.
• Drive process standardization, documentation, and continuous improvement in S&OP practices.

Performance & Analytics

• Define and monitor KPIs such as forecast accuracy, fill rates, inventory turns, capacity utilization, and customer service levels.
• Analyze S&OP data to drive decision-making and business insight.
• Implement advanced planning tools and analytics capabilities to improve visibility and responsiveness.

People & Change Management

• Lead and mentor a high-performing S&OP team including Demand Planners, Supply Planners, and Analysts.
• Build a culture of accountability, transparency, and collaboration across planning functions.
• Champion change management efforts related to S&OP transformation initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or related field.
• MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in supply chain or S&OP planning roles, preferably in the food or CPG manufacturing sector.
• Proven success in implementing or leading a mature S&OP process across a multi-site or multi-channel operation.
• Experience with ERP and advanced planning systems. Canopy a plus
• Strong strategic thinking and cross-functional leadership.
• Deep understanding of supply chain, manufacturing, and commercial functions.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methodologies is a plus.
• Office and manufacturing site visits required.
• Some travel may be necessary (domestic/international based on footprint).
• 10-20% Travel