Company Overview

Family-owned and rooted in purpose for over 30 years,
our
client
is a wholesale distributor of design-forward ceramics, vases, and home décor serving the floral, event, and wedding industries.
With a
steadfast commitment to offering customers nothing less than the finest and most innovative products, they embark on a globe-trotting quest every season to curate a
cutting-edge
collection that defines the forefront of today's style and design trends.

Position Overview

Our
client
is seeking a Vice President of Operations to serve as the operational lead of the organization. Reporting directly to the President, this leader will oversee four
core departments, including Operations, Transportation, Customer Success, and IT. The
VP of Operations
will be equally at home developing a long-range strategy and rolling up their sleeves to implement it alongside their teams.

The ideal candidate brings sharp analytical instincts, a bias for action, and the humility to stay connected to the work happening on the ground,
from the distribution center floor to the customer experience queue.
This individual
will split time between the company’s
main office
and its distribution center, embedding
themselves
across all levels of the organization.

This is a rare opportunity to join a tight-knit, values-driven leadership team and leave a real operational imprint on a growing company.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Strategy & Executive Leadership

• 
  Partner with the President and executive leadership team to define and execute the company’s operational strategy, ensuring alignment with long-term growth
  objectives.

• 
  Develop and oversee company-wide operational performance frameworks, including KPIs, reporting, and accountability mechanisms across distribution, transportation, customer success, and technology.

• 
  Lead annual operational planning, budgeting, and resource allocation to support sustainable growth and margin improvement.

• 
  Identify
  opportunities to increase operational leverage through process optimization, automation, and improved cross-functional coordination.

Freight & Transportation Strategy

• 
  Own the company’s freight cost strategy, including
  analyzing spend,
  identifying
  savings, negotiating carrier contracts, and driving measurable reductions in one of the organization’s largest expense categories.

• 
  Implement data-driven freight analytics and performance management processes to
  monitor
  carrier performance,
  optimize
  routing strategies, and improve overall transportation efficiency.

• 
  Develop and standardize shipping and packaging practices, including creative approaches to
  reducing damages.

Warehouse & Distribution Operations

• 
  Provide executive oversight of distribution center operations, ensuring operational excellence across inventory management, order fulfillment, workforce planning, and facility performance.

• 
  Oversee distribution center performance and
  oversee
  the Operations team
  . Lead training and development, leadership, KPIs, and overall efficiencies of the distribution centers.

• 
  Champion standardization, process documentation, and operational scalability across the distribution center
  .

• 
  Build and develop high-performing operations leadership teams, ensuring strong succession planning, training, and operational discipline.

Customer Success

• 
  Provide executive leadership for the Customer Success function, ensuring a seamless customer experience from
  initial
  order placement through post-delivery support.

• 
  Identify
  and implement improvements to customer-facing processes, touchpoints, and automation to drive satisfaction and loyalty
  .

• 
  Implement systems, automation, and service metrics that improve response times, transparency, and customer satisfaction.

• 
  Utilize
  customer insights and operational data to proactively
  identify
  service improvements and strengthen long-term customer relationships.

IT & Systems

• 
  Oversee
  the IT team and serve as a strategic partner for technology decision-making across the organization
  .

• 
  Drive strategic improvements to ERP
  utilization
  , data visibility, and cross-system integration across the organization.

• 
  Identify
  and implement technology solutions that automate workflows, improve operational reporting, and enhance decision-making capabilities.

• 
  Support
  software vendor relationship
  management
  with a focus on driving down co
  sts while
  m
  aintaining
  operational performance
  .

Cross-Functional Leadership & Culture

• 
  Partner with the President and executive peers to
  establish
  operational priorities, res
  our
  ce plans, and annual budgets.

• 
  Identify
  and leverage cross-departmental strengths to address organizational challenges and unlock new opportunities.

• 
  Be a m
  odel
  of
  the c
  ompany c
  ulture
  , including being
  hands-on, collaborative, and people-first
  ,
  without
  an
  ego
  .

Requirements

• 
  7+ years of progressive operations leadership, including experience at the VP or Senior Director level

• 
  Proven
  track record
  owning freight/transportation strategy and delivering measurable cost reductions

• 
  Experience managing or overseeing
  teams, ideally
  customer
  service
  and/or IT functions

• 
  Background in distribution, wholesale, e-commerce, or a related product-based business
  is
  preferred

• 
  Res
  our
  ce planning and budget management experience

• 
  Analytical mindset

• 
  Process-oriented

• 
  Highly communicative and collaborative

• 
  Comfortable working cross-departmentally

• 
  Strategic but comfortable rolling up y
  our
  sleeves and being hands-on

• 
  People-centric, you lead with empathy and bring out the best in diverse teams

• 
  Entrepreneurial in spirit,
  you’re
  energized by building, not just maintaining

Benefits