Director of Operations – Warehouse & Distribution (Food Service)
About Loyalty Markets
We help tens of thousands of people have a better workday, every day. After a long shift, when someone has a 15-minute break, they want their coffee hot, their food tasty, their drinks refreshing and their checkout painless. We do whatever it takes to make that happen.
Loyalty Markets, with our sister brands Heather's Kitchen and SnackHub, runs micro markets, smart fridges, vending, office coffee and fresh food across 200+ workplaces in Ontario. We are growing fast and investing heavily in data and technology to run the business better.
Role at a glance
Location
1177 Caledonia Road, North York, ON - on-site daily
Reports to
CEO
Team
Warehouse, full-time drivers, and outsourced route partners
After hours
First escalation point for urgent operational issues, with a designated backup arrangement
Compensation
Base salary $90,000–$110,000, plus a performance bonus of up to 15% of base
Vacancy
Existing vacancy
Why this role exists
We believe operational discipline is what separates a good business from a great one, and we are looking for a leader who believes it too. That means lifting our operating standard and holding it every day. This role makes sure the wheels don't come off and the engine runs smoothly every day, whether the CEO is in the building or not.
You will own our warehouse and distribution operation end to end: drivers, warehouse, outsourced route partners, fleet and route planning, for Loyalty Markets and SnackHub fulfilment.
This is a hands-on leadership role. You lead from the floor, set the standard by example, and build the team and systems that hold it. For the right person, it is a path to running our Ontario operations.
What you'll own
- Delivery cost and route economics - our largest area of spend. Plan routes for density and efficiency, review them every quarter, and drive cost down as the business scales.
- Outsourced route partners - contracts, service standards, performance reviews, and the decision on which routes we run ourselves versus outsource.
- Fleet - preventive maintenance, repair and fuel costs, replacement planning, CVOR and driver compliance.
- Warehouse and fulfilment - accurate receiving, picking and fulfilment; documented SOPs for every role; a clean, organised warehouse that keeps pace with growth.
- Service reliability and cold chain - runs completed on time and an unbroken cold chain from receiving through storage and transport.
- Field execution - drivers consistently working to our standards (inspections, temperature checks, inventory counts, spoilage capture), tracked and actively managed.
- Health, safety and compliance - OHSA, WSIB and CVOR; cleanliness and sanitation standards; zero preventable incidents.
- New market launches - route capacity, first-stock picking, scheduling and service frequency.
- People and leadership - hiring, onboarding, coaching and documentation; building a capable lead layer in the warehouse and on the road.
- Growth - absorbing new sites, routes and acquired businesses without service or cost slipping, and planning capacity ahead of growth.
- Planning and reporting - the annual operations plan and budget, running the operation off our daily reports and dashboards, and monthly KPIs to the CEO.
Not part of this role: purchasing and inventory planning (Retail team), field equipment service (Client Success), kitchen production (Heather's Kitchen) and customer relationships (Client Success). You will work closely with each of these teams.
Your first year
- Take ownership of our daily operating reports and close the loop on every flag.
- Bring picking accuracy and delivery cost to target.
- Assess the fleet: condition, maintenance and repair history, and replace-versus-repair decisions.
- Bring the warehouse to a documented standard of cleanliness, organisation and compliance.
- Formalise a warehouse lead hand role and develop leads on the road.
- Build a team culture of ownership and pride in the work.
Who you are
- You live operational discipline. Checklists done, standards held, follow-through on every flag - you believe that is how great operations are built, and you promote it in everyone around you. You hold yourself to the standard before you hold anyone else to it. People from high-accountability backgrounds - competitive sport, the trades, the military - tend to thrive here.
- A doer. You can't lead this team from a chair. You are in the warehouse and on the routes, and you jump in when needed - then you fix the reason you had to.
- High standards, held consistently. You believe in intentional order: clean vans, uniforms worn properly, labelled totes, everything with a place. You get there through habits and consistency, not micromanagement.
- You love repeatable structure. You would rather build a process that works every day than a heroic fix that works once.
- Numbers-driven. You run the operation on KPIs and cost per route, and you are comfortable with budgets, repair costs, buy vs. rent and outsource vs. own decisions.
- Comfortable with the equipment. You are at ease around vending machines, micro-market kiosks, coffee brewers and coolers, and can troubleshoot the basics on site.
- Empathetic and firm. You treat people fairly, respect their personal burdens, and hold everyone to the same standard.
- Reliable when it counts. You are the first escalation point when something goes wrong after hours, and you don't switch off when there's a problem.
What you bring
- Fleet and routing: a proven track record managing a delivery fleet and planning routes for density and cost - delivery is our largest area of spend. Experience with routing software is an asset.
- Distribution and warehouse leadership: 5+ years of management in route-based, multi-site, or food and beverage distribution.
- Hands-on team leadership: you have led a team of roughly 10–50 people directly, including developing leads or supervisors. Experience in an owner-led or mid-size business is an asset.
- Health and safety: strong working knowledge of Ontario warehouse and fleet health and safety (OHSA, WSIB, CVOR). JHSC certification (Part One and Two) is required.
- Continuous improvement: formal training in Lean, Six Sigma (Yellow Belt or higher) or an equivalent continuous improvement method is required, with examples of improvements you have delivered and sustained.
- Financial measures: ownership of an operating budget and a track record of moving cost and productivity numbers.
- Food safety in distribution: cold chain, temperature control, expiry and stock rotation.
- Data and systems: comfortable running an operation from dashboards and operational software (routing, inventory, inspection apps).
How we work
- We never compromise on food safety - an unbroken cold chain, expiry dates respected, temperature checks at receiving.
- We never compromise on personal safety - when unsure, we stop.
- We commit to operational excellence - discipline and urgency, good habits, root causes fixed. What gets measured gets managed.
- We believe that food is fashion - vans, uniforms and markets presented with pride.
- We respect our resources - protect money, reduce waste, hold suppliers accountable.
- We enjoy our work - no tolerance for toxicity or ego; escalate issues, don't hide them.
- We grow together - hire for growth, promote from within, use new technology.
How to apply
Send your resume with short answers (a few sentences each) to these three questions:
- Tell us about a route or fleet cost you reduced. What did you change, and what was the result?
- Why a route-based operation of our size, rather than a large organization?
- What does operational discipline mean to you? Describe a standard you set for a team and how you made it stick.
Posting disclosures
- This posting is for an existing vacancy.
- Loyalty Markets does not use artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants.
- Applicants who are interviewed will be told whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days of their last interview.
- Accommodations are available on request throughout the recruitment process.
