OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Job Description
A major UAE family group is hiring an Operations Director to lead and scale its Cold Chain division. This is a hands-on leadership role with full ownership across warehousing, transport, last-mile (where relevant), service levels, cost control, and compliance — with a clear mandate: tighten execution, protect quality, and grow capability.
You’re a commercially minded cold chain operator who’s run complex, high-volume warehousing and temperature-controlled distribution in the UAE/GCC — and you’re the type who doesn’t hide behind titles, dashboards, or consultants. You know what “good” looks like on the floor: clean SOPs, disciplined handovers, tight temperature integrity, and a team that executes consistently even when volumes spike and customers escalate.
You’ve led through managers across multi-site operations and you’re comfortable owning the full rhythm of performance: daily controls, weekly KPI governance, service recovery, and continuous improvement. You can walk into an operation, diagnose where the margin is leaking (claims, spoilage, poor utilisation, weak planning, inconsistent picking/dispatch, fleet inefficiency), and put practical fixes in place fast — without breaking compliance or customer experience.
You’re strong on food safety and audit readiness (HACCP / ISO standards), but you’re equally strong on execution: training, accountability, and building a culture where standards are non-negotiable. You communicate clearly with senior stakeholders, you’re calm under pressure, and you can balance “protect the brand” with “protect the P&L”.
Most importantly, you’ve got a track record of raising service levels while lowering cost-to-serve — and you can prove it with numbers (OTIF, shrink/spoilage, productivity, cost per drop/pallet, utilisation). You’re here to build a scalable cold chain division that performs every day, not just on paper.
Responsibilities Duties:
- Full operational leadership across cold storage + temperature-controlled distribution
- End-to-end KPI ownership: OTIF, shrink/spoilage, claims, productivity, cost per drop/pallet, fleet utilisation
- Food safety + compliance: HACCP, ISO standards, audit readiness, customer requirements
- Continuous improvement: process design, SOPs, lean initiatives, root-cause problem solving
- P&L / budget control, capex planning, vendor management (3PL/4PL, fleet, maintenance, packaging)
- Team leadership: structure, performance management, succession, training, culture
- Customer-facing operations: service recovery, escalation management, key account ops governance
What we’re looking for
- Senior operations leadership experience in cold chain (warehousing + transport), ideally UAE/GCC
- Proven track record improving service levels while reducing cost-to-serve
- Strong compliance mindset (HACCP/food safety/temperature integrity) with practical execution
- Comfortable running multi-site operations and leading through managers
- Commercially sharp: understands margin, utilisation, yield, and contract performance
- Data-led operator: dashboards, daily/weekly rhythms, clear reporting, accountability
Nice to have
- Experience with FMCG, pharma, fresh/frozen, QSR, or high-volume retail distribution
- WMS/TMS exposure and process digitisation projects
- Start-up / turnaround experience within a growing division
Why this role
- Direct impact role inside a stable, well-backed UAE group
- Scope to build, standardise, and scale a high-importance division
- Senior package at AED 60k/month with long-term runway