Overview
Director of Operations Jobs in Kansas City Metropolitan Area at KDSgreen-Cannabis Executive Search
Title: Director of Operations
Company: KDSgreen-Cannabis Executive Search
Location: Kansas City Metropolitan Area
Company
- Cannabis processor based in Kansas City, MO
- Cutting edge formulation and forward thinking innovation providing the market with a variety of different products
Title: Director of Operations
Location: Kansas City, MO
Experience level: 4+ years in manufacturing operations leadership (Cannabis is preferred)
Summary
The Director of Operations is responsible for end-to-end operational leadership of a cannabis manufacturing infused products facility generating approximately $1M per month in revenue. This role oversees production, packaging, compliance, supply chain, quality, financial performance, and workforce effectiveness across a team of 35–40 employees, with scalability planning as market share expands. This leader drives operational excellence across infused product manufacturing including pre-rolls, joints, beverages, and finished goods packaging. The role requires strong regulatory knowledge, financial discipline, and a structured continuous improvement mindset within a highly regulated cannabis environment.
Responsibilities
Operational Leadership & Continuous Improvement
- Oversee all daily production, packaging, and fulfillment operations
- Ensure manufacturing output meets sales demand while maintaining quality standards
- Lead capacity planning and workforce scaling aligned with growth targets
- Implement Lean manufacturing principles across production and packaging
- Lead 5S programs to improve safety, efficiency, and visual management
- Conduct value stream mapping to identify bottlenecks and eliminate waste
- Reduce cost per unit through process optimization and yield improvement
- Establish and monitor KPIs including OEE, throughput, yield, labor efficiency, scrap rate, and on-time fulfillment
- Standardize work instructions and enforce SOP discipline
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective action planning
- Drive a culture of accountability, data-driven decision-making, and floor-level ownership
Compliance & Quality
- Ensure full compliance with Missouri cannabis regulations and facility SOPs
- Maintain audit readiness at all times
- Partner with Compliance to ensure METRC accuracy and product traceability
- Oversee QA/QC protocols across all product lines
Financial & Performance Management
- Manage operational P&L, budgeting, and cost controls
- Drive margin optimization through efficiency, yield improvement, and waste reduction
- Deliver regular operational and financial performance reporting to executive leadership
- Partner closely with the corporate Accounting team to ensure financial accuracy and cost visibility
Team Development
- Lead, coach, and develop department managers and supervisors
- Build succession planning and workforce engagement strategies
- Maintain a high-performance culture focused on accountability and collaboration
- Address performance gaps proactively and consistently
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Sales to forecast demand and align production scheduling
- Align with Supply Chain on inventory planning and vendor performance
- Support new product launches and innovation initiatives
- Ensure operational readiness for distribution expansion
Qualifications
- 4+ years of operations leadership experience (manufacturing required; cannabis preferred)
- Demonstrated experience managing multi-department teams of 30+ employees
- Strong understanding of regulated production environments
- Proven ability to scale operations in growth markets
- Financial acumen with experience managing operating budgets and cost controls
- Excellent leadership, communication, and change management skills
Preferred Experience
- Missouri Cannabis experience preferred
- Experience implementing Lean, 5S, Six Sigma, or other structured CI methodologies
- Formal Lean, Six Sigma, or other Continuous Improvement training (certification preferred but not required)
- Demonstrated success reducing changeover time, improving throughput, increasing yield, or reducing scrap in a regulated manufacturing environment
