Director of Supply Chain

Chicago area / Multi-site / Food Manufacturing

Most supply chain roles talk about “strategy” and “leadership.”

This one needs someone who can actually build something.

The business is growing fast.

Two manufacturing sites.

Fresh / chilled complexity.

A mix of products, customers and operating rhythms.

Not a place where you turn up, inherit a polished machine and maintain it.

This is a business that has scaled through hustle, flexibility and commercial instinct.

Now it needs someone who can bring more structure, better planning, stronger control and sharper execution across the full supply chain — without killing the agility that made it successful in the first place.

What you’d be walking into:

A food manufacturer with genuine complexity
Multiple sites
Cold chain / warehouse / planning / procurement / customer service / logistics all in scope
Fast growth, changing demands and a business that will continue to evolve
A leadership team that knows where the gaps are and wants someone strong enough to own them

What this role really is:

You’ll lead supply chain end to end, but this is not a purely strategic post.

You’ll need to:

build a more robust S&OP process
improve planning discipline, scheduling logic and cross-functional alignment
bring better control to inventory, warehousing and material flow
tighten procurement and sourcing strategy
strengthen KPIs, accountability and day-to-day operating rhythm
develop the team underneath you so the function becomes more scalable and less reactive

And yes — you’ll need to know what’s happening on the floor, not just in a spreadsheet.

What they need from you:

Food manufacturing supply chain leadership experience
Real exposure to planning, procurement, inventory, warehousing and logistics
Experience in a manufacturing environment where schedules, changeovers, run rules and capacity matter
Ability to operate in a business that is still maturing
Enough strategic capability to build the right structure
Enough hands-on instinct to make it work in the real world

This will suit someone who has likely seen both sides:

a larger, more structured business where good discipline was learned
and a smaller, faster-moving environment where sleeves had to be rolled up

What won’t work:

Someone too corporate and too removed from execution
Someone who wants perfect structure before they can be effective

What will:

A builder
A problem solver
Someone who can bring order without bureaucracy
Someone who understands that supply chain is not a function on an org chart — it is how the business actually delivers

Package:

Base salary sits around $175,000–$190,000, with flexibility toward the top end for the right person, plus bonus and stock option.

The Sterling Choice

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Supply Chain Director