Chief Operating Officer

Job Description: Chief Operating Officer

About White Flower Farm

White Flower Farm (WFF) is a family-owned plant nursery based in Northwest Connecticut. For 75 years, WFF has stimulated American gardeners’ imaginations and met their disparate needs. Along the way, we have earned a reputation for trustworthiness and transparency alongside outstanding product quality, and superior customer service. Today, WFF is a nationally recognized, time-tested resource for gardeners of all experience levels and also for anyone interested in beautiful and distinctive gift ideas.

For more information about White Flower Farm, please visit: https://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/

Position Summary

WFF’s new Chief Operating Officer will lead an effort to reshape and reposition the business to better compete in today’s intensely competitive marketplace. White Flower Farm’s COO will be responsible for the safe, ethical, and profitable management of several of the company’s core functions: shipping, logistics, purchasing, IT, customer service, and personnel. The COO need not be experienced in horticulture but they must be a seasoned executive with consumer brand and e-commerce experience, process/project management ability, financial management experience, and the people skills necessary for successful day-to-day leadership of a complex business.

The COO will have management oversight of WFF’s Controller, Customer Service Director, IT/Operations Director, and Human Resources Director. The COO will report directly to WFF’s owner, Eliot Wadsworth.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Execution

• Work with WFF’s ownership to update and implement a strategic plan for the business.
• Translate this strategic plan into concrete operating plans incorporating the necessary financial and human resources.
• Consult on and contribute to marketing messaging and brand positioning.

People & Organizational Leadership

• Sustain and contribute to a corporate culture of commitment to excellence, teamwork, accountability, innovation, and mutual respect.
• Mentor and develop other leaders within the company, with a particular eye towards succession planning in all operational areas.
• Build cross-departmental collaboration, productivity, and accountability.
• Lead performance management throughout the company, including the development and implementation of transparent, data-driven compensation policies.

Financial Management

• P&L ownership and accountability, including long-term, annual, and seasonal forecasting/budgeting.
• Work with ownership, Controller, and other senior management to update/develop appropriate performance and productivity metrics and implement improvement processes.
• Report to WFF ownership on financial and operational results.

Fulfilment Operations

• Drive continuous improvement in our warehousing and shipping operations – throughput, safety, materials and processes, facilities & equipment, sustainability, innovation, customer satisfaction.
• Negotiate agreements with shipping carriers (USPS, UPS, Fed Ex).
• Deploy technology to navigate constraints including labor availability, seasonality, weather, etc.
• Develop WFF’s logistics execution into a differentiating attribute.

Customer Service Operations

• Develop WFF’s delivery of exceptional, knowledge-based customer service into a durable facet of differentiation.
• Balance cost control, proactive deployment of new technology, and the “human touch” in developing ever-better means of supporting customers.

Process, Systems, Technology

• Oversee the systems and technology platforms on which the business operates and develop them for efficiency, flexibility, scalability, and security.
• Continuously pursue systems, technology, and process improvements that lead directly to customer satisfaction.

Qualifications and Competencies

• 10+ years in director- or executive-level leadership roles in a D2C or e-commerce business
• Strong experience with and capabilities for strategic planning, brand positioning, market differentiation, and value proposition development
• Extensive P&L oversight and enterprise operating experience, as well as financially based management including costing and margin analysis, budgeting, capital investment analysis, and cash flow tracking.
• Strong project management skills, excellent communication skills, and technological facility (Microsoft Office, AI, project management tools, etc.)
• Proven ability to cultivate individuals, lead performance coaching, motivate people, and develop and structure effective teams.
• Ability to travel between WFF’s two locations (Morris and Torrington, CT).
• Ability and willingness to work outdoors, including in agricultural and/or greenhouse settings.
• Comfort with the fundamentally unpredictable schedule associated with a highly seasonal and weather-dependent business.

Compensation & Benefits

This position will have a total annual compensation in the range of $150,000-200,000. In addition, this position will be eligible for a performance-based bonus and for the following benefits:

• Health, dental, and vision insurance premium subsidy
• 120 hours of annual paid time off
• 9 additional paid company holidays
• 401k with partial company match

Qualified candidates will be contacted directly.

White Flower Farm provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. If you require reasonable accommodation to view or apply for this position, please contact us via recruiting@kkandp.com.