The VP, Operations Europe leads Americold's operational performance, focusing on logistics, customer partnerships, financial performance, and continuous improvement across Europe.
Role summary:
The Vice President Operations, Europe leads and optimizes Americold’s operational performance across Europe, with a strong emphasis on supporting food retail customers. This role requires deep experience in multi-temperature logistics, grocery/food retail distribution, and high-velocity operational environments. The VP drives operational excellence, strengthens customer partnerships, and ensures Americold’s European network delivers consistent, efficient, and high-quality service. Preferred candidate locations include Spain and the Netherlands.
Key responsibilities:
Operational excellence and efficiency
- Lead optimization of warehousing and transportation operations, focusing on food retail service requirements.
- Implement operational standards and best practices for high-throughput, multi-temperature environments.
- Use data, automation, and continuous improvement to enhance productivity and reduce waste.
Improve site contribution, reduce shrinkage, and strengthen operational discipline.
Leadership and team development
- Lead Directors of Operations across Europe, ensuring alignment with global operating models.
- Build a high-performance culture focused on accountability, safety, and continuous improvement.
- Strengthen leadership capability through coaching and succession planning.
Customer focus and growth
- Partner with commercial teams to align operations with food retail customer needs.
- Build strong relationships with grocery retailers and food producers.
- Support business development by shaping operational solutions for new and existing customers.
Financial and operational performance
- Own the P&L for the European region.
- Oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial performance.
- Monitor KPIs related to service, safety, quality, productivity, and cost.
Strategic planning and market expansion
- Develop long-term operational strategies supporting Americold’s growth in Europe.
- Identify opportunities for network optimization, automation, and capacity expansion.
- Evaluate new technologies and innovations relevant to food retail logistics.
Change management and continuous improvement
- Lead transformation initiatives that improve performance and standardization.
- Embed Lean and continuous improvement practices across Operations.
- Ensure effective communication and change adoption.
Sustainability and compliance
- Ensure compliance with regulations and Americold policies.
- Strengthen safety culture and adherence to food safety and temperature-control requirements.
- Support sustainability initiatives aligned with Americold’s ESG goals.
Qualifications & experience
- Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred.
- Preferred fields: Supply Chain Management, Logistics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, or Business Administration with a supply chain focus.
- Minimum 12 years in operations or supply chain leadership, including 5 years in senior multi-site roles.
- Strong background in food retail logistics, grocery distribution, cold-chain operations, or FMCG supply chains.
- Experience leading operations across multiple European countries, ideally Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, UK and others.
- Proven P&L ownership.
Skills & Competencies
- Strong operational leadership with strategic capability.
- Deep understanding of food retail service requirements.
- Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making.
- Experience with automation, WMS/TMS, and continuous improvement.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
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