Operations Manager

Pala Petfoods is a fast-growing Estonian company dedicated to producing high-quality dog food for the European market. Our passionate team of 25 develops and manufactures premium pet nutrition.

As demand continues to grow and operations move from recovery into a more stable scaling phase, we are entering an important next stage of development. To support this phase, we are seeking a hands-on Operations Manager to lead our day-to-day activities and ensure our production, logistics, and internal processes run reliably, efficiently, and with clear ownership.

In this critical role, you will partner closely with the CEO and leadership team. You will serve as the primary operational leader on-site, empowering and supporting our teams across production, logistics, and administration.

• Operational leadership: Lead the day-to-day operations of the company, ensuring stable, efficient, and scalable production.
• Production oversight: Help Production Manager with supply chain, logistics, quality assurance, and facilities to ensure smooth operations.
• Team leadership: Build, coach, and develop the operations team and middle-management layer while setting clear KPIs, ownership, and performance expectations.
• Quality and compliance: Ensure consistent product quality, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement in manufacturing processes.
• Supply chain management: Oversee suppliers, inventory planning, forecasting, and procurement to support business growth.
• Commercial coordination: Work closely with sales and marketing teams to align production capacity, product availability, customer priorities, and delivery promises with demand and product launches.
• Financial oversight: Manage operational budgets, drive cost optimisation initiatives, and maintain clear operational reporting.
• Operational problem-solving: Identify and resolve operational challenges, including production workflow, machinery, and process issues.
• Process improvement: Implement improvements in systems, processes, reporting routines, and operational structures to support stability and scaling.
• Culture building: Foster a collaborative, accountable, and customer-focused culture across operations.

• Operations leadership experience: You have previous experience leading operations, production, or manufacturing teams and delivering measurable results.
• Relevant industry exposure: Experience in food production, FMCG, or similar industries is a strong advantage.
• Commercial understanding: You are comfortable working cross-functionally with sales or commercial teams and understand how operations supports growth.
• Sales and operations mindset: You understand how to balance commercial ambition with realistic production capability, product availability, and customer commitments.
• Analytical mindset: You have strong problem-solving skills and experience working with KPIs, forecasting, and operational metrics.
• Structured leadership: You are able to create clarity in a fast-moving environment through clear ownership, priorities, reporting routines, and follow-up discipline.
• Systems knowledge: You have experience working with ERP systems, production planning tools, or quality management systems.
• Change leadership: You are able to lead operational improvements in a fast-growing scale-up environment while maintaining stability.
• Hands-on approach: You are comfortable working on-site in a production environment and actively solving operational challenges.
• Language skills: You are fluent or highly proficient in English. Additional languages (e.g., Estonian, German, Russian, French) are a strong advantage.

This is a rare opportunity to shape operations during a pivotal growth stage. You will have a direct impact on product quality, operational stability, scale our manufacturing capabilities, and collaborate with the CEO to chart the company’s future across Europe.

If you are a decisive, people-focused leader who thrives on building efficient systems, solving complex problems, and guiding teams to success, we want to hear from you.

How to apply:

If you feel this role matches your experience and ambitions, please send your CV and a cover letter describing your most relevant achievements and why you want to join Pala Petfoods via the application link.

We review applications on a rolling basis and may invite candidates to interviews before the application deadline.