Operations Manager - Food Distribution

Operations Manager III

The Operations Manager III serves as the senior onsite operational leader at The Common Market's Philadelphia distribution facility. This role is responsible for the performance, safety, and compliance of warehouse, transportation, and food safety operations, ensuring that customers, farmers, and communities are served with excellence every day.

This leader manages frontline warehouse associates, and drivers while owning execution across picking, packing, receiving, inventory control, routing, fleet maintenance coordination, and SQF food safety compliance. The Operations Manager III combines disciplined operational execution with people leadership, building a culture of accountability, safety, and continuous improvement.

This role reports to the Executive Director and works in close partnership with Sales, Customer Support, and Food Safety leadership.

Snapshot of the Ideal Candidate

Operational Executor Brings deep hands-on experience in food distribution, warehousing, logistics, or manufacturing environments and understands how systems, people, and product flow connect.

Frontline Leader Has successfully managed hourly teams in fast-paced operational settings, including scheduling, coaching, performance management, and accountability.

Food Safety Champion Has direct experience leading or supporting SQF, HACCP, FSMA, or similar food safety programs and understands audit readiness as a daily discipline.

Logistics & Fleet Manager Comfortable overseeing routing, delivery performance, driver compliance, and preventative maintenance coordination.

Problem Solver Thrives in environments where priorities shift daily and where leadership requires calm decision-making, follow-through, and clear communication.

Results-Driven Manager Tracks performance, addresses issues directly, and ensures operational standards are consistently met.

Professional Foundation

• 5–10+ years of experience in warehouse, distribution, logistics, or food manufacturing operations
• 3+ years managing frontline hourly teams
• Experience in food handling environments required
• SQF, HACCP, FSMA, or equivalent food safety exposure required
• Experience managing inventory, routing, and warehouse systems
• Strong working knowledge of Excel and operational reporting tools

Position Responsibilities

Warehouse Operations

• Oversee daily receiving, picking, packing, staging, and shipping operations.
• Ensure inventory accuracy through disciplined counting, reconciliation, and process control.
• Maintain organized, safe, and efficient warehouse layout and material flow.
• Enforce SOPs consistently across all shifts.

Transportation & Fleet Oversight

• Manage routing execution, delivery performance, and driver scheduling.
• Oversee 8-truck fleet in coordination with maintenance partners.
• Track preventative maintenance, inspections, and repair schedules.
• Ensure DOT compliance, driver safety, and route efficiency.

Food Safety & Quality (SQF Program Owner)

• Serve as the site lead for the SQF Food Safety program.
• Ensure compliance with SQF, HACCP, FSMA, and customer requirements.
• Lead internal audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement.
• Maintain audit readiness at all times.
• Train and hold staff accountable for food safety practices.

People Leadership

• Directly manage supervisors, warehouse associates, and drivers (approx. 10 hourly staff).
• Build fair and effective schedules aligned with workload.
• Coach performance, address underperformance, and recognize strong contributors.
• Support onboarding and training of new staff.
• Foster a culture of safety, respect, and accountability.

Planning, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Track key operational KPIs: productivity, accuracy, safety, service level, and labor efficiency.
• Identify operational risks and improvement opportunities.
• Partner with the National Operations team on process improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to SOP refinement and training development.

Who This Role Is For

This role is for an operations leader who enjoys being close to the work, leading people directly, solving real operational problems, and building disciplined systems that serve both mission and performance.

Who This Role Is Not For

This role is not a fit for candidates who prefer office-only leadership, have not managed frontline teams, or lack experience in food handling, distribution, or operational environments. This role is also not for candidates seeking remote work.

Why Join The Common Market

The Common Market is a mission-driven nonprofit social enterprise building resilient regional food systems by connecting small and mid-scale farmers to schools, hospitals, and communities. In this role, operational excellence directly supports community health, farmer livelihoods, and food access.