Comhar Partners

Director of Operations Position Profile

ABOUT THE PERFECT PURÉE OF NAPA VALLEY

Overview

Headquartered in Napa, California, The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley, LLC, overlooks the familiar statue of a grape press that officially welcomes visitors to the celebrated wine-producing region of Napa Valley. The company’s corporate office hosts visiting customers and foodservice professionals. With a vast network of foodservice distributors throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, The Perfect Purée continues to grow and enjoy status as the United States market share leader in frozen fruit purees.

A Recipe for Success

The company was founded by entrepreneur Tracy Hayward. Her love of cooking combined with the desire to go into business for herself was the motivation for Tracy to embark into the food industry. Drawing upon her culinary background, she created a line of quality prepared purées for professional chefs and cooking enthusiasts: The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley.

As with many startup companies, Hayward’s venture was self-financed. Tracy sold her home for startup capital and started The Perfect Purée out of her parent's home in Southern California. To immerse herself in the industry, she studied distributor networks, suppliers, product development, and processing methods. She visited processing plants and distribution facilities, attended dozens of trade shows, and researched equipment and packaging.

Since the product line was launched in 1988, The Perfect Purée has grown from eight to 30-plus flavors. Culinary and beverage professionals across the continent have come to count on the high quality and consistency of The Perfect Purée.

Their Practices

The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley is committed to business practices that have a positive impact on the environment. From the crops they source to their daily operations, the team strives to uphold their practices and continually review ways to improve their efforts.

The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley sources crops from growers who maintain sustainable farming practices and are committed to sustaining and improving the health and vitality of the entire farm environment – soil, water, air, plants, animals and people.

Going Above and Beyond

Because of The Perfect Purée’s tremendous growth and exceptional reputation in the foodservice industry, SBJ Capital, a private investment firm with approximately $400 million of capital under management, has partnered with the company to promote its continued growth and progress. Together, The Perfect Purée and SBJ Capital have created a strategic plan to achieve further success through the production of new products, increased distribution channels, and international expansion.

This is an exciting time to join a reputable organization in a growing industry to make a valuable impact.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Comhar Partners is excited to work closely with The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley to identify and hire a skilled and experienced Director of Operations to oversee procurement, production planning, logistics, warehouse operations, and the general maintenance needs of the offices.

This is an exciting opportunity for an operations leader with supply chain and logistics experience to make an impact at a fast-growing company with an established reputation in the food industry. Additionally, the Director of Operations will assist with IT support and overall daily management of operations and will be a valued member of the three-person leadership team.

Reporting Structure

The Director of Operations will report to the two Co-Presidents and the Board of Directors.

This role supervises a highly efficient team including a Sr. Purchaser, Production Manager, and Senior Logistics Analyst.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Procurement (30%):

  • Oversee procurement on upcoming raw material and packaging needs based upon forecasting.
  • Work with and assist the senior purchaser as needed in raw materials sourcing and packaging requirements.
  • Assist as needed with determining new suppliers and creating new supplier standards and procedures.

Production Planning (20%):

  • Oversee and assist as necessary the production manager in production planning for scheduling productions at co-packers facilities.
  • Work with co-packers on commissioning new flavors, resolving production issues, and arranging plant visits as needed.
  • Assist in evaluating plant efficiencies on production runs and scale as necessary.
  • Manage searches for new co-packers.

Logistics (20%):

  • Oversee and assist as necessary the senior logistics analyst with transfers and logistics for raw materials and finished goods.
  • Evaluate transportation costs and the impacts to cost of goods and bills of materials.
  • Evaluate routes, efficiencies of loads, warehouse locations, and inbound ports.

Warehouse Operations and Office Maintenance (10%):

  • Oversee and assist as necessary the production manager with warehouse operations.
  • Oversee operations of warehouse freezers, HVAC units, office lighting, and general maintenance.
  • Contact plumbers, electricians, contractors etc. as necessary for repairs and maintenance.

Operations Management (20%):

  • Co-packer plant visits, recruitment, and relationship development.
  • Forecast planning for long-term supplier support and management.
  • Administrative support to NAV for COGs, BOMs, and item development.

CRITICAL COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESS

Mission Driven

This individual must be intellectually sharp and clearly capable of thinking on their feet while demonstrating outstanding business judgment. The Director of Operations will possess the analytical skills to improve overall productivity and elevate the company’s operations efforts as a point of differentiation in the marketplace. This person must not only embrace change, but be entrepreneurial in nature, creating and altering the road map along the way.

Communication

This individual should possess very strong communication, listening, and persuasion skills, in order to truly partner with the team. They must be comfortable, dynamic, and an effective presenter in front of both external and internal audiences including employees, the Board, and vendors and public forums such as trade shows.

Perspective

This individual will provide a worldly perspective of macro and industry influences to assist in guiding the company. They will provide perspective coming in from outside the organization to aid in the collective leadership team’s understanding and acceptance of trends, insights, changing business perspective and management strategies. This keen perspective should be presented with patience and guidance rather than brute authority.

Compassion and Caring

This individual will be caring, compassionate, and concerned for other members of The Perfect Purée team and organization. They build, grow, and succeed as a team and want to protect their unique culture of caring as we grow and prosper.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

Education/Experience:

  • BA/BS in Business Administration or related field and 2 to 4 years of experience in operations, preferably in a food manufacturing environment.

Skills:

  • Ability to handle multiple projects and deadlines, excellent oral and written communications skills, and the ability to adapt to the fast-paced and changing environment. Strong organizational skills, including good judgment and decision-making abilities. Team-oriented and independently motivated with strong leadership skills in all essential job functions.

Knowledge:

  • Operations, procurement, logistics, production planning, and manufacturing processes.
  • Advanced knowledge of Navision or similar manufacturing, inventory, general ledger, and accounting database management and reporting software.
  • Excellent computer skills and proficiency in MS Office software applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).

Physical:

  • Ability to work at a computer for periods of time up to (8) hours. Ability to work on feet for periods of time up to six (6) hours. Must be comfortable accessing a freezer maintained at zero degrees for short periods of time. Ability to lift packages up to 40 lbs., periodically.

Other (Includes licenses, certificates, age, etc.):

  • The employee is generally working in an office environment and is occasionally exposed to extreme cold (non-weather). The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderately loud. Must possess a valid driver’s license in the state of California and must have an acceptable driving record and supply proof of automobile insurance meeting the Company’s requirements. May be required to travel out-of-town via a personal vehicle with overnight hotel accommodations. Professional appearance and high standards of personal hygiene always.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Paul Herrerias

Title: Managing Director Email: pherrerias@comharpartners.com Direct: (415) 483-4116 Mobile: (415) 302-5300

Dakotah Brown

Title: Senior Associate

Email: dbrown@comharpartners.com

Direct: (312) 313-8454

Mobile: (763) 438-5711