Location: Eau Claire, WICompensation: $170,000–$200,000 Base Salary + Performance-Based IncentiveEmployment Type: Full-Time
About the Opportunity
Pathway Talent Partners is partnering with a growing, entrepreneurial comany to identify an experienced Chief Operating Officer with a strong background in supply chain management, operational leadership, and business scalability.
Our client is an innovative, founder-led organization experiencing an exciting period of growth and market expansion. As the business continues to evolve, they are seeking a strategic, hands-on operational leader who can build the infrastructure, processes, and supply chain capabilities necessary to support its next stage of growth.
This is a unique opportunity for an experienced operations executive who enjoys building businesses, solving complex challenges, and working closely with ownership to turn an entrepreneurial growth story into a scalable, profitable organization.
The ideal candidate will combine deep supply chain expertise with strong financial acumen, commercial awareness, and the ability to move seamlessly between strategic leadership and day-to-day execution.
Position Overview
Reporting directly to the company's founder, the Chief Operating Officer will serve as a key strategic and operational partner, responsible for translating the organization's growth strategy into disciplined execution.
A significant focus of this position will be building and optimizing the company's end-to-end supply chain, including demand forecasting, sourcing, production planning, inventory management, co-manufacturing relationships, logistics, fulfillment, and cost management.
Beyond supply chain, the COO will establish the operating structure, financial visibility, and organizational processes needed to support continued expansion while maintaining product quality, customer service, and profitability.
This is not a traditional corporate COO position. The successful candidate will be comfortable developing long-term strategy while remaining actively involved in supplier negotiations, inventory planning, operational problem-solving, financial analysis, and execution.
Key Responsibilities
Supply Chain Strategy & Production Management
- Lead the development and execution of the company's end-to-end supply chain strategy.
- Establish effective demand forecasting, production planning, purchasing, and inventory management processes.
- Translate sales forecasts, customer opportunities, and promotional activity into actionable production and supply plans.
- Develop and manage relationships with suppliers, co-manufacturers, packaging vendors, logistics providers, and other strategic partners.
- Establish appropriate inventory levels, reorder points, safety stock requirements, production schedules, and lead-time expectations.
- Identify potential supply chain constraints and proactively develop solutions to minimize business disruption.
- Evaluate additional suppliers, manufacturing partners, and production capabilities to support continued growth.
- Develop contingency plans to mitigate supply chain risks and ensure operational continuity.
Inventory, Logistics & Fulfillment
- Build disciplined inventory management practices that improve accuracy, visibility, and efficiency.
- Establish reporting and controls across raw materials, packaging, work-in-process, and finished goods.
- Monitor inventory turns, aging inventory, stockouts, fulfillment performance, and customer service levels.
- Optimize warehousing, freight, distribution, and customer fulfillment processes.
- Partner with sales and commercial leadership to support new customer launches, promotions, and changes in demand.
- Balance product availability and customer service expectations with inventory investment and working capital requirements.
Financial Performance & Margin Management
- Develop strong financial visibility into cost of goods sold, gross margins, inventory, and operating expenses.
- Analyze product, customer, and distribution channel profitability to support strategic decision-making.
- Monitor and manage ingredient, packaging, production, storage, freight, and fulfillment costs.
- Identify opportunities to improve margins through strategic sourcing, vendor negotiations, production efficiencies, and operational improvements.
- Partner with accounting and leadership on budgeting, forecasting, inventory valuation, and cash flow planning.
- Evaluate the operational and financial implications of new products, customer opportunities, promotional initiatives, and distribution expansion.
Operational Leadership & Business Infrastructure
- Design and implement scalable operating processes capable of supporting significant organizational growth.
- Establish meaningful key performance indicators and reporting dashboards across supply chain, production, inventory, fulfillment, and financial performance.
- Develop consistent operating rhythms around forecasting, purchasing, production planning, inventory management, and business performance.
- Evaluate and implement systems, technology, and tools that improve operational visibility and efficiency.
- Establish clear responsibilities, workflows, communication practices, and accountability across the organization.
- Identify operational challenges, develop solutions, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
- Build, develop, and lead operational teams as the organization continues to expand.
Strategic Leadership & Commercial Partnership
- Serve as a trusted strategic partner to the founder in shaping and executing the company's long-term growth strategy.
- Collaborate closely with sales and commercial teams to align operational capabilities with customer demand and growth opportunities.
- Evaluate the operational requirements associated with expanding into new customers, retailers, distributors, markets, and sales channels.
- Support new product development and SKU decisions through analysis of sourcing, production complexity, costs, margins, and scalability.
- Ensure operational capacity, infrastructure, and resources evolve alongside commercial growth.
- Provide leadership with meaningful data, financial insights, and recommendations to support major business decisions.
Quality, Food Safety & Compliance
- Partner with suppliers, manufacturing partners, and external resources to maintain strong product quality and food safety standards.
- Establish appropriate traceability, documentation, and operational controls throughout the supply chain.
- Support compliance with applicable food production regulations, customer requirements, and industry standards.
- Ensure operational processes and infrastructure can support the increased expectations associated with larger retail and distribution relationships.
Qualifications & Experience
Required Qualifications
- Approximately 8–15+ years of progressive experience in operations, supply chain management, manufacturing, or related leadership positions.
- Demonstrated experience leading and improving complex supply chain and operational functions.
- Strong expertise across several of the following areas:
- Supply chain strategy and management
- Demand forecasting and production planning
- Procurement and strategic sourcing
- Inventory management and optimization
- Co-manufacturing and vendor management
- Warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment
- Freight and logistics
- COGS analysis and margin management
- Strong financial acumen, including an understanding of inventory, working capital, gross margins, operating expenses, and cash flow.
- Demonstrated ability to establish processes, implement KPIs, improve reporting, and build operational discipline.
- Strong negotiation, vendor management, and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to analyze complex operational and financial information and translate insights into actionable business decisions.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and drive accountability throughout an organization.
Preferred Qualifications
- Leadership experience within food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, meat/protein, food manufacturing, agriculture, or a related consumer products industry.
- Experience helping scale a founder-led, privately held, entrepreneurial, or rapidly growing organization.
- Familiarity with outsourced manufacturing models and managing third-party production partners.
- Experience supporting retail, wholesale, distributor, or national account expansion.
- Background in building operational infrastructure within an organization experiencing significant growth.
- Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain management, operations, finance, engineering, or a related discipline. Equivalent professional experience will also be considered.