Director of Operations

Director of Operations

Location: Brantford, Ontario

Industry: Cannabis Manufacturing & Production

Employment Type: Full-Time | On-Site

Reports To: Managing Director

About the Opportunity

Our client is a well-established and growing cannabis company seeking an experienced Director of Operations to lead and optimize day-to-day operations across a large-scale, highly regulated cannabis manufacturing environment.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for an operationally focused professional who can balance people leadership, production, quality, compliance, cost management, and continuous improvement . The successful candidate will play a key role in driving operational excellence while ensuring the organization consistently meets Health Canada requirements, quality standards, customer expectations, and business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Operations Leadership

• Provide strategic and hands-on leadership across manufacturing, production, packaging, warehousing, and operational support functions.
• Oversee daily operations to ensure production targets, quality standards, timelines, and customer commitments are consistently achieved.
• Develop and implement operational strategies that support company growth and scalability.
• Establish KPIs, performance metrics, and reporting processes to monitor operational effectiveness.
• Identify operational challenges and implement practical solutions to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

Production & Manufacturing

• Lead production planning and scheduling to optimize capacity, labour, equipment, and resources.
• Ensure manufacturing processes are efficient, consistent, and scalable.
• Work closely with production teams to improve throughput, reduce downtime, minimize waste, and control operating costs.
• Support new product launches, process changes, and facility expansion initiatives.
• Ensure equipment, facilities, and production infrastructure are properly maintained and optimized.

Quality, Compliance & Regulatory

• Ensure operations remain fully compliant with applicable Health Canada regulations, Cannabis Act requirements, GMP standards, SOPs, and internal quality systems .
• Partner closely with Quality Assurance and Regulatory teams to maintain a strong culture of compliance.
• Ensure proper documentation, traceability, inventory controls, sanitation, security, and quality procedures are maintained.
• Participate in audits, inspections, investigations, CAPAs, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Promote a culture where quality and compliance are embedded into every aspect of operations.

People Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing operations team.
• Establish clear expectations, accountability, and performance standards across departments.
• Build strong relationships with department leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Support workforce planning, recruitment, training, succession planning, and employee development.
• Foster a positive, collaborative, safety-focused, and results-oriented culture.

Financial & Business Management

• Manage operational budgets and identify opportunities to improve margins and reduce costs.
• Monitor labour, materials, inventory, production, and facility-related expenses.
• Use operational data and financial metrics to support business decisions.
• Work with senior leadership to develop annual operating plans and long-term growth strategies.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies where appropriate.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve productivity, and eliminate inefficiencies.
• Establish a culture of continuous improvement and operational accountability.
• Use data and technology to improve visibility, forecasting, reporting, and decision-making.
  

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

• 8–12+ years of progressive operations leadership experience, ideally within cannabis, pharmaceuticals, food manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, nutraceuticals, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment .
• 5+ years in a senior operations or plant leadership position.
• Proven experience leading large teams and complex, multi-functional operations.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing, production planning, inventory, warehousing, and supply chain operations.
• Experience operating within a highly regulated environment and working with formal quality and compliance systems.
• Strong understanding of GMP, SOPs, quality systems, and regulatory compliance.
• Demonstrated success improving productivity, reducing costs, increasing throughput, and implementing operational efficiencies.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets and operational KPIs.
• Excellent leadership, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Business, Supply Chain, or a related discipline is preferred.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a hands-on, commercially minded operations leader who is comfortable working at both the strategic and tactical levels. You are someone who can build strong teams, establish accountability, improve processes, and drive measurable results while maintaining the highest standards of quality, safety, and regulatory compliance.

Experience within the cannabis industry is highly preferred, but candidates from other highly regulated manufacturing environments with transferable operational leadership experience will also be considered.

If you are an accomplished operations leader looking for an opportunity to make a meaningful impact within a large-scale cannabis organization, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

Benefits

What the Company Offers

• Senior leadership opportunity with a growing and established cannabis organization.
  
• Opportunity to make a significant impact on operational strategy and business performance.
  
• Competitive compensation package based on experience.
  
• Comprehensive benefits package.
  
• Professional growth and advancement opportunities.
  
• Collaborative executive leadership environment.
  
• Opportunity to lead and develop a high-performing operations organization.