A Restaurant or Food Service Manager oversees daily operations at a restaurant or an institution that serves meals such as a college or hospital. Hires, trains and supervises food service workers, manages meal and work schedules, supervises supply orders, food preparation and the quality of food and service, and monitors compliance with health regulations.
General Manager / Operations Manager The opportunity is a locally owned, USDA-inspected meat processing facility and retail butcher shop located in south-central Kentucky. Our operation includes harvest, processing, value-added production, retail meat sales, wholesale opportunities, and custom processing. We are connected to a local beef production system and are committed to providing high-quality beef, pork, lamb, goat, smoked meats, retail products, and custom meat services to families, farms, restaurants, schools, churches, and wholesale customers throughout the region. Green River Meats is entering a growth and operational improvement phase. We are seeking a strong General Manager / Operations Manager who can bring structure, accountability, leadership, and scalable systems to the business. This position requires someone who can lead people, understand production, manage inventory, use data to make decisions, and build a team culture based on accountability and performance. Position Summary The General Manager / Operations Manager will oversee the day-to-day operations , including harvest, processing, packaging, inventory, retail coordination, labor efficiency, USDA compliance support, scheduling, team leadership, and operational performance. The ideal candidate will have experience in food and beverage processing, meat processing, manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, or another production-based environment. Meat processing experience is preferred, but not required if the candidate has strong experience in process improvement, production scheduling, inventory control, team leadership, and operational discipline. This position is responsible for converting business goals into clear daily action. The successful candidate must be comfortable leading from the floor, holding team members accountable, solving problems quickly, and using measurable data—not guesswork—to make operational decisions. Key Responsibilities Lead and manage daily operations across harvest, processing, packaging, retail coordination, inventory flow, and production scheduling. Develop and maintain a disciplined production schedule based on business needs, labor availability, customer demand, retail demand, and processing capacity. Use KPIs and daily scoreboards to track production performance, labor efficiency, pounds processed, harvest volume, overtime, downtime, inventory turnover, and workflow bottlenecks. Work closely with ownership and leadership to establish clear goals, measurable targets, and accountability systems. Improve labor efficiency by aligning team schedules with production needs and reducing unnecessary overtime. Create and enforce standard operating procedures for production, inventory, scheduling, workflow, sanitation coordination, equipment use, and team communication. Oversee inventory management, including raw materials, finished goods, retail inventory, freezer organization, packaging supplies, seasonings, and value-added products. Build a reliable system for inventory tracking, reorder points, production planning, and product availability. Ensure communication between harvest, processing, retail, kitchen, wholesale, and administrative staff. Support USDA compliance efforts, including HACCP, SSOP, sanitation processes, documentation discipline, and inspector coordination. Work with processing leadership to improve product flow, room layout, freezer layout, packaging efficiency, and equipment utilization. Identify production constraints and implement practical solutions that improve throughput, quality, and profitability. Lead team meetings, daily huddles, and weekly accountability reviews. Manage HR-related responsibilities, including hiring input, onboarding, attendance, team discipline, performance conversations, training, and employee accountability. Create a culture where employees understand expectations, start times, goals, quality standards, and consequences for poor performance. Work with finance and ownership to understand how production, labor, inventory, and sales impact profitability. Collaborate with retail and sales leadership to ensure production supports meat case demand, weekend bundles, freezer beef programs, wholesale opportunities, school accounts, and promotional sales. Build scalable systems that allow the company to grow without relying on constant owner involvement. Communicate clearly and professionally with ownership, department leads, employees, vendors, USDA personnel, and customers when needed. Required Qualifications Proven leadership experience in operations, production, manufacturing, food processing, meat processing, agriculture, logistics, or a related field. Strong understanding of production scheduling, labor management, inventory control, and workflow efficiency. Ability to lead employees directly, set expectations, hold people accountable, and manage conflict professionally. Experience using KPIs, scoreboards, reporting tools, or other performance measurement systems. Strong business acumen with the ability to understand how labor, inventory, production volume, waste, overtime, and sales affect profitability. Ability to make decisions based on data, operational needs, and company goals. Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple departments or workstreams at once. Comfortable working in a hands-on production environment. Ability to communicate clearly with ownership, supervisors, team members, administrative staff, and outside partners. Ability to identify problems, develop solutions, implement systems, and follow through. Preferred Qualifications Experience in meat processing, USDA-inspected food production, food and beverage manufacturing, or agricultural processing. Knowledge of HACCP, SSOP, USDA, FSIS, sanitation, food safety, and production documentation. Experience with Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, process mapping, root-cause analysis, or other operational improvement systems. Experience managing inventory in a production or food environment. Experience with value-added food production, packaging systems, freezer management, retail meat operations, or wholesale food distribution. Experience leading a team of 10-30 employees. Experience developing standard operating procedures, employee training systems, and scalable management processes. Ideal Candidate Profile The right candidate is not simply a scheduler or supervisor. We are looking for a true operator and leader. The successful candidate will be organized, firm, fair, data-driven, and comfortable holding people accountable. They must be able to build trust with employees while also making difficult decisions when performance does not meet expectations. This person should understand that production hours, staffing, workflow, inventory, and sales must be connected. They should not make haphazard decisions or allow departments to operate independently without a clear plan. The ideal candidate will respect the investment that has been made in data-driven decision-making, operational analysis, process improvement, and growth planning. We are seeking someone who can take ownership of the operation, create structure, and help build the into a scalable and profitable business. Core Competencies Leadership and accountability Production management Inventory control KPI tracking and reporting Labor efficiency Process improvement Six Sigma / Lean mindset USDA and food safety awareness HR and employee management Scheduling discipline Problem solving Business acumen Retail and wholesale coordination Scalability and systems development Clear communication Follow-through and execution Work Environment This position works in a USDA-inspected meat processing and retail environment. The role requires time on the production floor, in cold rooms/freezers, in office settings, and in team meetings. The General Manager / Operations Manager must be comfortable working around meat processing equipment, harvest and processing areas, packaging areas, inventory storage, retail meat operations, and food production environments. Why Join Our Team Our processing and retail facility is a growing company with significant opportunity for the right leader. Ownership is committed to building a strong operation with clear systems, measurable performance, high-quality products, and long-term growth. This is an opportunity for a disciplined operator to step into a key leadership position and make a direct impact on the future of the business.
