Senior Operations Manager
Top Benefits
About the role
Food Production
Sr. Operations Manager
Title Sr. Operations Manager
Reports To Director of Food Production
Direct Reports Production Managers, Production schedulers, Facility and maintenance staff
Compensation $90,000-$100,000/year, dependant on experience
Job Status Full-time (8am-4pm, or as required)
The Position
The Sr. Operations Manager works with all departments with the objective of providing outstanding quality and service to our customers. As a key member of the Food Production Team you will deliver a superior level of strategic planning, setting and maintaining the highest standards of respect for processes and procedures, integrity and professionalism. You’ll be responsible for being the conduit between the people, the production areas and RFRK’s business objectives, in an environment that focuses on continuous improvement, measuring success, entrepreneurship, putting the wow-factor into our service and incorporating some fun.
This position is responsible for providing leadership and direction to food production and facilities personnel and is responsible for safety, productivity metrics, facility projects, maintenance planning and associated budgets.
Key Responsibility Areas
Production Management
- Leads day-to-day production operations to ensure smooth and efficient workflows aligned with organizational goals.
- Oversees production planning and shift scheduling to ensure optimal staffing and efficient handoffs between teams.
- Coordinates production resources across shifts, responding to operational needs and removing barriers to productivity.
- Communicates production updates to relevant stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment.
- Provides leadership and development to team leads and staff, fostering accountability, innovation, and teamwork.
- Supports workforce planning, including recruitment, onboarding, training, and the development of team members.
- Contributes to operations-related R&D initiatives, including testing and implementation of process and product improvements.
- Tracks and reports on key operational metrics, aligning departmental performance with company-wide goals.
- Drives a culture of continuous improvement by identifying root causes of inefficiencies and implementing strategic action plans.
Quality & Safety
- Ensures compliance with food safety regulations, including GMPs, HACCP standards, and company quality protocols.
- Oversees food quality systems to support the consistent production of safe and high-quality products.
- Participates in quality error prevention and correction through continuous monitoring and proactive intervention.
- Promotes a strong safety culture through effective training, hazard identification, and safety communication.
- Ensures compliance with OHSA regulations, Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) recommendations, and company policies.
- Oversees safe use and maintenance of equipment, ensuring appropriate PPE is used and safety features are in place.
- Maintains regulatory compliance for inventory tracking, ensuring food safety standards are met across all received, stored, and prepared goods.
- Oversees prepared food inventory accuracy, including donation tracking and proper documentation in alignment with health regulations.
Facilities Management
- Manages the overall condition and functionality of the facility, including production equipment, building infrastructure, and utilities.
- Oversees preventative maintenance programs, equipment lifespan analysis, and long-term service scheduling.
- Coordinates with external contractors and internal facilities staff to ensure high-quality service and upkeep of the facility.
- Reviews utility consumption and waste disposal practices to improve sustainability and control costs.
- Leads approval and oversight of facility refurbishments and equipment installations.
- Maintains financial and operational records related to facilities performance, services, and asset tracking.
- Ensures compliance with health and safety standards across equipment, facility infrastructure, and support services.
- Provides leadership to custodial and facilities staff, ensuring alignment with operational priorities and standards.
Required Education & Experience
- Minimum of 7 years of direct supervisory work experience in a food production facility
- Project management experience.
- College diploma or University degree; or an equivalent combination of related experience and education
- Intermediate understanding of Lean Management/Six Sigma manufacturing principles and leadership applications within a production environment
- Knowledge of HACCP and Provincial Safety Regulations
- Enforcement of good manufacturing practices (GMP’s)
Skills & Personal Attributes
- Ability to communicate effectively and across multiple departments
- Ability to lead, motivate, coach, mentor and resolve employee conflicts
- Structured and self-directed approach to project work
- Ability to consistently meet targets and deadlines
- Ability to think critically, problem-solve, and make effective decisions
- Proficient with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint; ERP system experience an asset
- Strong command of English language (written and verbal)
Nice-to-haves
- Variable work schedule to ensure in person communication with all shifts.
- Six Sigma Green belt an asset
- French language skills
Working at RFRK comes with other perks too:
Benefits & Savings Programs
- Employee Savings Program
- Group Health Plan
- Wellness Benefits
- Profit-Sharing Program
- Employee & Family Assistance Program
Time Off
- Begin with three weeks of vacation and unlock additional weeks as you achieve service milestones
- 8 paid sick and wellness days per year
Continuous Growth
- $500 towards professional development
- Mentorship program
To apply, please upload your résumé and cover letter, including salary expectations, explaining why you’d be a great fit for this role. If you meet almost all of the requirements and are not sure if you should apply, apply anyway! We may see something special in your application that sets you apart from the rest.
Real Food for Real Kids is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and inclusion in our workplace and at all levels of our organisation. We strongly encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and communities.
We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
No phone calls, emails or drop in visits, please. We’ll contact applicants who fit the bill, and invite them in for an interview.
We appreciate the interest from the Staffing industry however respectfully request no calls or unsolicited resumes from Agencies.
Thanks for your interest in Real Food for Real Kids!
Copyright © 2025 Real Food for Real Kids, All rights reserved.
About Real Food for Real Kids
About Real Food for Real Kids: Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK) is Canada's leading healthy catering company for kids, making the list of Canada's 100 Best Workplaces for two years running, and frequently winning awards of excellence with the the Green Toronto Awards. We provide healthy, hot lunch and snack catering programs for child care centres, schools and camps. Every day, we cook fresh from scratch and deliver delicious meals and snacks to over 10,000 children throughout the GTA with a focus on wholesome nutrition and with a goal to buy as much Ontario-grown and organic food as practical. RFRK’s mission is to enable and inspire healthy eating. Does this resonate with you?
Senior Operations Manager
Top Benefits
About the role
Food Production
Sr. Operations Manager
Title Sr. Operations Manager
Reports To Director of Food Production
Direct Reports Production Managers, Production schedulers, Facility and maintenance staff
Compensation $90,000-$100,000/year, dependant on experience
Job Status Full-time (8am-4pm, or as required)
The Position
The Sr. Operations Manager works with all departments with the objective of providing outstanding quality and service to our customers. As a key member of the Food Production Team you will deliver a superior level of strategic planning, setting and maintaining the highest standards of respect for processes and procedures, integrity and professionalism. You’ll be responsible for being the conduit between the people, the production areas and RFRK’s business objectives, in an environment that focuses on continuous improvement, measuring success, entrepreneurship, putting the wow-factor into our service and incorporating some fun.
This position is responsible for providing leadership and direction to food production and facilities personnel and is responsible for safety, productivity metrics, facility projects, maintenance planning and associated budgets.
Key Responsibility Areas
Production Management
- Leads day-to-day production operations to ensure smooth and efficient workflows aligned with organizational goals.
- Oversees production planning and shift scheduling to ensure optimal staffing and efficient handoffs between teams.
- Coordinates production resources across shifts, responding to operational needs and removing barriers to productivity.
- Communicates production updates to relevant stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment.
- Provides leadership and development to team leads and staff, fostering accountability, innovation, and teamwork.
- Supports workforce planning, including recruitment, onboarding, training, and the development of team members.
- Contributes to operations-related R&D initiatives, including testing and implementation of process and product improvements.
- Tracks and reports on key operational metrics, aligning departmental performance with company-wide goals.
- Drives a culture of continuous improvement by identifying root causes of inefficiencies and implementing strategic action plans.
Quality & Safety
- Ensures compliance with food safety regulations, including GMPs, HACCP standards, and company quality protocols.
- Oversees food quality systems to support the consistent production of safe and high-quality products.
- Participates in quality error prevention and correction through continuous monitoring and proactive intervention.
- Promotes a strong safety culture through effective training, hazard identification, and safety communication.
- Ensures compliance with OHSA regulations, Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) recommendations, and company policies.
- Oversees safe use and maintenance of equipment, ensuring appropriate PPE is used and safety features are in place.
- Maintains regulatory compliance for inventory tracking, ensuring food safety standards are met across all received, stored, and prepared goods.
- Oversees prepared food inventory accuracy, including donation tracking and proper documentation in alignment with health regulations.
Facilities Management
- Manages the overall condition and functionality of the facility, including production equipment, building infrastructure, and utilities.
- Oversees preventative maintenance programs, equipment lifespan analysis, and long-term service scheduling.
- Coordinates with external contractors and internal facilities staff to ensure high-quality service and upkeep of the facility.
- Reviews utility consumption and waste disposal practices to improve sustainability and control costs.
- Leads approval and oversight of facility refurbishments and equipment installations.
- Maintains financial and operational records related to facilities performance, services, and asset tracking.
- Ensures compliance with health and safety standards across equipment, facility infrastructure, and support services.
- Provides leadership to custodial and facilities staff, ensuring alignment with operational priorities and standards.
Required Education & Experience
- Minimum of 7 years of direct supervisory work experience in a food production facility
- Project management experience.
- College diploma or University degree; or an equivalent combination of related experience and education
- Intermediate understanding of Lean Management/Six Sigma manufacturing principles and leadership applications within a production environment
- Knowledge of HACCP and Provincial Safety Regulations
- Enforcement of good manufacturing practices (GMP’s)
Skills & Personal Attributes
- Ability to communicate effectively and across multiple departments
- Ability to lead, motivate, coach, mentor and resolve employee conflicts
- Structured and self-directed approach to project work
- Ability to consistently meet targets and deadlines
- Ability to think critically, problem-solve, and make effective decisions
- Proficient with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint; ERP system experience an asset
- Strong command of English language (written and verbal)
Nice-to-haves
- Variable work schedule to ensure in person communication with all shifts.
- Six Sigma Green belt an asset
- French language skills
Working at RFRK comes with other perks too:
Benefits & Savings Programs
- Employee Savings Program
- Group Health Plan
- Wellness Benefits
- Profit-Sharing Program
- Employee & Family Assistance Program
Time Off
- Begin with three weeks of vacation and unlock additional weeks as you achieve service milestones
- 8 paid sick and wellness days per year
Continuous Growth
- $500 towards professional development
- Mentorship program
To apply, please upload your résumé and cover letter, including salary expectations, explaining why you’d be a great fit for this role. If you meet almost all of the requirements and are not sure if you should apply, apply anyway! We may see something special in your application that sets you apart from the rest.
Real Food for Real Kids is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and inclusion in our workplace and at all levels of our organisation. We strongly encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and communities.
We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
No phone calls, emails or drop in visits, please. We’ll contact applicants who fit the bill, and invite them in for an interview.
We appreciate the interest from the Staffing industry however respectfully request no calls or unsolicited resumes from Agencies.
Thanks for your interest in Real Food for Real Kids!
Copyright © 2025 Real Food for Real Kids, All rights reserved.
About Real Food for Real Kids
About Real Food for Real Kids: Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK) is Canada's leading healthy catering company for kids, making the list of Canada's 100 Best Workplaces for two years running, and frequently winning awards of excellence with the the Green Toronto Awards. We provide healthy, hot lunch and snack catering programs for child care centres, schools and camps. Every day, we cook fresh from scratch and deliver delicious meals and snacks to over 10,000 children throughout the GTA with a focus on wholesome nutrition and with a goal to buy as much Ontario-grown and organic food as practical. RFRK’s mission is to enable and inspire healthy eating. Does this resonate with you?