Senior Operations Manager

Overview

The Senior Operations Manager is responsible for the day-to-day performance of Ship Essential’s New York warehouse. This role leads the building with urgency, discipline, and a strong floor presence. You will manage Operations Managers, Leads, and Associates to ensure SLAs are met every day, workflows are executed consistently, and the warehouse operates as a high-performing system.

This role reports to the Director of Warehouse Operations, who oversees both NY and LA. The Senior Operations Manager is the senior on-site leader in New York and owns execution, planning, and accountability for the building’s daily operating rhythm.

Responsibilities

Operational Accountability

• Take primary ownership of daily warehouse performance, ensuring SLAs are met or exceeded every day.
• Oversee all aspects of daily operations, including inbound, outbound, inventory control, and exceptions, ensuring seamless execution and alignment with company goals.
• Maintain accountability for on-site execution and outcomes, with a bias toward action and problem-solving.
• Ensure all SOPs are documented, trained, and followed, holding managers accountable for compliance.

Planning, Forecasting, and Labor Management

• Build and manage weekly labor plans based on inbound schedules, outbound volume, and operational priorities.
• Forecast capacity constraints and plan staffing and workflows to avoid backlogs and missed SLAs.
• Set daily priorities for the building and ensure labor is deployed to the highest-leverage work.
• Monitor throughput throughout the day and rebalance labor across functions to protect flow and service commitments.

Profitability and Cost Management

• Share responsibility for hitting warehouse profitability and cost targets, in partnership with the Warehouse Leadership and Finance.
• Ensure labor hours, materials, and value-added services are tracked accurately and charged appropriately to brands.
• Control labor costs through disciplined scheduling and productivity management, aligning workforce levels to demand.
• Monitor spend and operational waste and drive corrective actions when performance drifts from targets.

Manager Development and Leadership

• Focus on the performance and development of Operations Managers and Leads, ensuring they have the resources, training, and support needed to succeed.
• Actively coach, lead, and manage managers, stepping in alongside them to tackle challenges and lead by example.
• Ensure managers meet targets and deadlines, providing clear feedback and guidance to improve team performance.
• Take ultimate responsibility for manager success. If their teams fail, the Senior Operations Manager takes ownership and drives correction.

Process Optimization and Continuous Improvement

• Audit, improve, and execute on workflows across receiving, inventory movement, picking, packing, returns, and exceptions to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.
• Drive improvements to warehouse metrics, including order accuracy, on-time shipment, inventory accuracy, dock-to-stock timing, and returns SLA.
• Champion continuous improvement by identifying inefficiencies, implementing solutions, and standardizing best practices.
• Actively monitor workflows to identify bottlenecks and ensure teams operate with urgency and consistency.

High Standards and Principles

• Uphold and embody Ship Essential’s Principles for Operating a Warehouse, ensuring they are practiced at every level of the organization.
• Serve as a torchbearer of Ship Essential’s values, promoting excellence, resourcefulness, and a relentless focus on the customer experience.
• Operate with a strong sense of urgency, ensuring no issues are left unresolved and every problem is met with swift action.

Profitability of Brand Accounts

• Monitor the profitability of each brand we serve, ensuring costs are captured and billed appropriately.
• Use data to evaluate account performance, identify operational drivers of margin erosion, and partner with account teams to improve performance.

Collaboration with Account Management

• Partner closely with Warehouse Account Managers to align on brand priorities, inbound schedules, special projects, and escalations.
• Ensure WAMs have clear, accurate operational visibility to support brand communication and expectation setting.
• Establish clean escalation paths and fast response loops for order issues, inbound discrepancies, returns edge cases, and compliance concerns.
• Maintain a strong internal service mindset, ensuring operational execution supports brand trust and retention.

Managing Up and Reporting

• Provide clear reporting to the Director of Warehouse Operations on performance, risks, staffing, and operational priorities.
• Surface issues early, propose solutions, and maintain a forward-looking view of capacity and constraints.
• Maintain strong operational visibility so leadership is never surprised by performance, backlogs, or service risk.

Requirements

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years in 3PL, logistics, supply chain, or warehouse management, including significant experience leading large teams.
• Proven success running day-to-day warehouse operations with high standards and consistent SLA performance.
• Experience working with Warehouse Management Systems and EDI.

Skills

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to coach, motivate, and hold managers accountable.
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and a bias for action.
• Strong planning, forecasting, and labor management capabilities.
• Adept at managing up and providing clear reporting to senior leadership.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills, with the ability to track and improve KPIs.

Mindset

• A relentless drive for operational excellence and high standards.
• A bulwark against entropy, decisive and focused on delivering results.
• Commitment to living Ship Essential’s Principles and Values every day.

Benefits

• Health Care Plan
• Retirement Plan (401k)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)