Operations Manager

Operations Manager | Animal Nutrition Start-up Location: Warsaw (on-site)

Build it from scratch. Then make it work. For our client, an international start-up entering the Polish animal nutrition market, we are looking for an experienced and highly hands-on Operations Manager. This is not a role for someone looking to inherit established structures, mature procedures and ready-made processes. Quite the opposite. As the business is being built in Poland from the ground up, the Operations Manager will have the opportunity to create the operational backbone of the organisation from scratch, designing processes, implementing procedures and ensuring that the day-to-day business runs efficiently, reliably and in line with international standards. Working closely with the company's international stakeholders and the local Business Development function, this person will own the operational side of the Polish organisation.

Your Mission Your responsibility will be to turn a newly established business into a well-organised, efficient and scalable operation.

You will take ownership of areas including

• Building and implementing operational processes, procedures and workflows from scratch
• Creating the operational structure required for the effective day-to-day functioning of the Polish business
• Coordinating supply chain, logistics, warehousing and order fulfilment
• Managing cooperation with external logistics providers, suppliers and operational partners
• Coordinating import processes, international shipments and product availability
• Supporting appropriate inventory levels, stock planning and operational forecasting
• Establishing procedures for order management, documentation and customer fulfilment
• Monitoring operational KPIs, service levels, costs and process efficiency
• Identifying operational risks, bottlenecks and areas requiring improvement
• Implementing practical solutions that improve efficiency and reliability
• Coordinating operational activities between the Polish organisation and international stakeholders
• Working closely with Business Development, Finance and external partners to ensure smooth execution of business activities
• Supporting administrative and organisational processes required for the effective functioning of the local entity
• Selecting and coordinating external service providers where required
• Ensuring clear documentation and standardisation of processes as the organisation develops
• Gradually introducing the tools, systems and reporting standards required to professionalise operations

Who Are We Looking For? We are looking for someone who enjoys building rather than maintaining. The ideal candidate is pragmatic, structured and highly independent, but also comfortable operating in an environment where not every process has already been defined.

You should be someone who sees

“We don't have a process for this yet” not as a problem, but as an opportunity to create one.

Your Background

We would particularly value

• Experience in Operations, Supply Chain, Logistics, Import/Export or International Trade
• Experience gained within an international product-based business
• Strong understanding of operational processes related to physical products and international supply chains
• Experience working with external logistics, warehousing or distribution partners
• Previous exposure to animal nutrition, feed, food ingredients, agriculture, FMCG, consumer goods, distribution or related sectors would be an advantage
• Experience gained in a start-up, scale-up, newly established business unit or entrepreneurial organisation would be particularly valuable
• Proven experience in creating or improving processes rather than simply operating within existing corporate structures

What Will Make You Successful?

• Strong operational and organisational mindset
• Hands-on, pragmatic approach
• High degree of ownership and independence
• Ability to create structure in an initially unstructured environment
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Commercial awareness combined with operational discipline
• Confidence working with data, costs, forecasts and operational KPIs
• Ability to coordinate multiple external and internal stakeholders
• Strong communication skills in an international environment
• Ability to prioritise and make decisions with incomplete information
• Flexibility and adaptability typical of a start-up environment
• Very good command of English and Polish

Why Join? This is a rare opportunity to join a business at the beginning of its journey in Poland. You will not simply optimise processes created by somebody else. You will create them. The role offers significant autonomy and the opportunity to directly influence how the Polish operation functions from its earliest stage. For someone with an entrepreneurial operations mindset, this is an opportunity to build something tangible: the processes, standards and operational infrastructure that will allow a new animal nutrition business to function effectively. If you enjoy turning complexity into structure, building processes from scratch and taking real ownership of operations, we would be very interested in speaking with you.

Key areas

Operations Management | Supply Chain | Logistics | Import & Export | International Trade | Warehousing | Inventory Management | Order Fulfilment | Process Development | Operational Excellence | Start-up Operations | Animal Nutrition | Feed | Food Ingredients | Distribution | International Business

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#1201318 - Marta Bentkowska