Operations Manager

Pala Petfoods is a fast-growing Estonian company dedicated to producing high-quality dog food for the European market. Our passionate team of 25 develops and manufactures premium pet nutrition.

As demand **continues to grow and operations move from recovery into a more stable scaling phase**, we are entering an important next stage of development. To support this phase, we are seeking a hands-on **Operations Manager** to lead our day-to-day activities and ensure our production, logistics, and internal processes run **reliably, efficiently, and with clear ownership**.

In this critical role, you will partner closely with the CEO and leadership team. You will serve as the primary operational leader on-site, empowering and supporting our teams across production, logistics, and administration.

## Tasks

• **Operational leadership:** Lead the day-to-day operations of the company, ensuring stable, efficient, and scalable production.
• **Production oversight:** Help Production Manager with supply chain, logistics, quality assurance, and facilities to ensure smooth operations.
• **Team leadership:** Build, coach, and develop the operations team **and middle-management layer** while setting clear KPIs, **ownership**, and performance expectations.
• **Quality and compliance:** Ensure consistent product quality, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement in manufacturing processes.
• **Supply chain management:** Oversee suppliers, inventory planning, forecasting, and procurement to support business growth.
• **Commercial coordination:** Work closely with sales and marketing teams to align production capacity, **product availability, customer priorities, and delivery promises** with demand and product launches.
• **Financial oversight:** Manage operational budgets, drive cost optimisation initiatives, and maintain clear operational reporting.
• **Operational problem-solving:** Identify and resolve operational challenges, including production workflow, machinery, and process issues.
• **Process improvement:** Implement improvements in systems, processes, **reporting routines**, and operational structures to support **stability and scaling**.
• **Culture building:** Foster a collaborative, accountable, and customer-focused culture across operations.

## Requirements

• **Operations leadership experience:** You have previous experience leading operations, production, or manufacturing teams and delivering measurable results.
• **Relevant industry exposure:** Experience in food production, FMCG, or similar industries is a strong advantage.
• **Commercial understanding:** You are comfortable working cross-functionally with sales or commercial teams and understand how operations supports growth.
• **Sales and operations mindset:** **You understand how to balance commercial ambition with realistic production capability, product availability, and customer commitments.**
• **Analytical mindset:** You have strong problem-solving skills and experience working with KPIs, forecasting, and operational metrics.
• **Structured leadership:** **You are able to create clarity in a fast-moving environment through clear ownership, priorities, reporting routines, and follow-up discipline.**
• **Systems knowledge:** You have experience working with ERP systems, production planning tools, or quality management systems.
• **Change leadership:** You are able to lead operational improvements in a fast-growing scale-up environment while maintaining stability.
• **Hands-on approach:** You are comfortable working on-site in a production environment and actively solving operational challenges.
• **Language skills:** You are fluent or highly proficient in English. Additional languages (e.g., Estonian, German, Russian, French) are a strong advantage.

## Benefits

This is a rare opportunity to shape operations during a pivotal growth stage. You will have a direct impact on product quality, **operational stability**, scale our manufacturing capabilities, and collaborate with the CEO to chart the company’s future across Europe.

If you are a decisive, people-focused leader who thrives on building efficient systems, solving complex problems, and guiding teams to success, we want to hear from you.

**How to apply:**

If you feel this role matches your experience and ambitions, please send your CV and a cover letter describing your most relevant achievements and why you want to join Pala Petfoods via the application link.

We review applications on a rolling basis and may invite candidates to interviews before the application deadline.