Vice President Operations

Who We Are:

BRĒZ is one of the fastest-growing beverages in the US and leader in the hemp-derived beverage industry. We're on a mission to reduce human suffering and maximize human potential through a better beverage. BRĒZ promotes a sense of euphoria, relaxation, and social energy, through conscious compounds tailored to a lifestyle focused on balance, enjoyment, and mindful consumption.

Who You Are:

• A seasoned operations executive with deep expertise in CPG, cannabis, or beverage manufacturing.
• Skilled at building operational infrastructure in fast-growth, heavily regulated industries.
• Comfortable leading large, diverse teams across supply chain, procurement, logistics, and production.
• Equally focused on efficiency, compliance, and culture-building.
• Excited to work cross-functionally with peers in Finance, People Operations, Sales, Marketing, and Product to drive company-wide alignment.
• Thrive in fast paced, dynamic startup environments.
• Passion for functional wellness, non-alcoholic beverage, cannabis, mushrooms, and other adaptogenic or nootropic therapeutic compounds.
• Embrace creativity and innovation, and always up for a new challenge.
• Eager to join a team aiming to revolutionize the beverage industry and make a meaningful impact on the lives of our customers.

At BRĒZ you will play a pivotal role in driving brand awareness, enhancing retail partnerships, and delivering impactful trade and consumer experiences. This position requires a strategic, creative, and organized professional who thrives at the intersection of marketing, sales, and brand activation. This position is ideal for someone with a drive to build relationships, a strategic mindset, and a passion for creating unforgettable brand experiences.

What You’ll Do:

People & Supplier Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing operations team across supply chain, procurement, logistics, production, and quality.
• Establish a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration and ensure clear, consistent communication across departments.
• Establish strong vendor relationships and redundancy within the supply chain to reduce risk, build capacity, and improve costs

Operational Scope & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Oversee end-to-end operations, including supply chain, procurement, logistics, production, inventory control & forecasting, and QA & QC
• Partner with Product and R&D to efficiently commercialize new innovations ensuring systems, vendors, and teams are prepared to scale. Lead innovation stages and gates process to ensure cross functional collaboration
• Build strong systems and foundational processes with Sales (retail & Ecom) to stabilize the forecasting accuracy (S&OP) of the core business while also supporting incremental growth within these sales channels through newness
• Align operational processes with Finance and Sales and Marketing to support margin targets, velocity, and distribution growth.

Financial & P&L Ownership

• Own the Operations P&L, establish accurate COGS reporting through MRP / ERP system implementation and management.
• Track key metrics (OpEx) within Ops vertical: logistics, warehousing and fulfillment etc.
• Build and manage the production budget in partnership with Finance, ensuring accurate forecasting, disciplined spend, and proactive cash flow management across production, supply chain, and logistics
• Balance investments in capacity, systems, and innovation with profitability and cash flow requirements.
• Monitor key metrics (gross margin, cost per unit, inventory carrying costs, freight cost, OTIF, etc) and lead initiatives to improve them.
• Drive gross margin improvement through vendor negotiations, supply chain optimization, and cost savings in production and logistics.
• Implement lean practices that balance cost discipline with scalability.
• Effectively manage cash flow and unlock working capital through improved vendor relations, payment terms, and forecasting (supply agreements)

Strategic Growth

• Design and implement scalable systems, processes, and tools to enhance visibility, accuracy, and speed across operations.
• Ensure operational controls support efficiency, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead ERP and technology adoption to standardize workflows and enable data-driven decision making.
• Continuously refine processes to reduce bottlenecks and improve throughput.
• Manage and onboard new strategic partners — including copackers, 3PLs, and suppliers — to expand and strengthen our operational capabilities.

What You Have:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• 10+ years in operations leadership, with at least 5 years in a senior/executive capacity.
• Proven track record of scaling operations in cannabis, CPG, or beverage industries.
• Strong knowledge of regulatory frameworks (FDA, TTB, USDA, cannabis compliance).
• Experience with supply chain logistics, vendor negotiations, and manufacturing optimization.
• Exceptional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to partner across departments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations, Supply Chain, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Creative thinker with a keen eye for detail and a strong sense of brand consistency.
• Familiarity with event planning and execution, including coordination of logistics and promotional campaigns
• Excellent relationship-building, and communication skills
• Strong presentation skills, ability to tailor messaging to the audience
• Conflict resolution and problem-solving skills
• Proven leadership supporting remote and local teams
• Must be able to effectively communicate in English, both verbally and written.
• Possess basic mathematical skills: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
• 40% Travel required to events, venues, and various locations within the region
• Experience in the beverage, CPG, or cannabis industries is a plus.