Operations Leadership Trainee

Hajoca Corporation is one of the country’s largest privately-held wholesale distributors of plumbing, heating & cooling, and industrial supplies. Founded in 1858, Hajoca is a company based on the principles of “Service, Integrity, Reliability,” and on relationships of trust and support with teammates, customers, and suppliers.  Throughout its history, Hajoca has played an active role in shaping advances in plumbing. However, we attribute our success to two simple truths; a unique business philosophy and talented people. Hajoca is all about the people, who give us our advantage, and who will guide us successfully into the future. 
 

Although Hajoca is a large company, we work in a decentralized environment where each of our locations, called Profit Centers (PCs), is run by the Profit Center Manager as if it were their own small business. A typical Profit Center is the heart of our business and consists of a warehouse, counter, sales office, and (sometimes) a showroom. Our PCs conduct business under unique trade names and offer a customized business approach, honoring what’s special about each local marketplace.

The Plumbing Warehouse is one of those trade names and is looking for a Operations Leadership Trainee at their Houma, LA location.

Are you enthusiastic, dependable, and goal-oriented?

Do you like to interact with people and build relationships?

THE OPPORTUNITY

Hajoca is looking for an Operations Leadership Trainee. The Operations Leadership Trainee, through “hands on training” and “day-to-day” mentoring, will learn and master all Profit Center operations and administrative functions and develop the necessary skills to be a successful Profit Center leader.

Job Duties

• Actively pursue opportunities to learn each aspect of the business and why it’s important
• Lead by example-trainees are future Hajoca leaders and should act like it every day
• Effectively listen, communicate, influence and persuade customers, teammates & vendors
• Meet all training goals and timelines
• Master all operations and administrative Profit Center functions and demonstrate operational excellence in all areas
• Acquire comprehensive product knowledge
• Assume as much responsibility as possible and demonstrate leadership ability
• Make a difference by impacting the Training Profit Center in a positive way through daily work and business projects

Education, Training, Experience

• College Degree preferred, but not required upon industry and relative work experience
• Demonstrated leadership skills in previous professional, educational and/or social environments
• Past experience in customer service or administrative/operations roles
• Use Microsoft Office software (Outlook, Word, Excel) to communicate via email, to maintain weekly sales plans, call reports, customer contact files, and to analyze customer data

Assigned Duties and Specified tasks: Operations Manager

Areas of Responsibility:

The Operations Manager ensures that all business operations are being conducted in the most efficient, effective, and profitable manner. You analyze and manage the processes used in all aspects of the Profit Center’s business, solve problems as they arise, and continually investigate the possibility of productivity improvements. The Operations Manager implements process changes and effectively trains teammates.

Creates Process:

• Ensure the Profit Center conducts all business in accordance with company policy and procedures.
• Safeguard and maintain all Profit Center assets – buildings, fleet, equipment, inventory, and receivables.
• Successfully complete required safety and compliance training programs as assigned. Unsure timely certification and recertification of all teammates assigned to  the PC.
• Analyze sales and inventory performance reports and implement appropriate strategies to increase sales, improve operating efficiencies, manage assets, and increase ROI and profit sharing.
• Review daily sales and inventory reports and address issues immediately.

Develops People:

• Supervise, schedule, and train teammates to ensure efficient, effective, and profitable operation of all job functions.
• Inspect and assess processes and performance regularly to ensure adherence to your high standards. 
• Assist with recruiting, developing, training, coaching, and managing the Profit Center team.
• Resolve all customer, vendor, and carrier complaints and disputes quickly and effectively.
• Maintain and insist upon a safe working environment in compliance with the company’s Safety Standards, OSHA, and any other applicable regulations.
• Responsibilities can be delegated but accountability remains with the leader.
• Perform other reasonably related duties as assigned by immediate supervisor and other management as required.

Leading a Team of Teams:

The Operations Manager provides organizational level and tactical level leadership to all teammates in this Profit Center.  By developing and improving all operations processes, he leads the operations teams to better outcomes and increased profitability.

The Operations team consists of Receiving, Shipping, Drivers and Will Call.   Each team should have an assigned leader, who should be driving that business segment to achieve better outcomes while servicing the customer base.   Translating business requirements into actionable instructions falls on the operations manager and the leaders who report to him. 

Leader selection of operations teams is decided and assigned by the Operations Manager. Clear expectations and performance measures must be delivered and received by the assigned leaders.  Complete comprehension of instructions is the responsibility of leader delivering the instructions, therefore clear communication of instructions, standards, and performance measures will be critical to your success.   When responsibility disputes or confusion arise between teammates or teams, the Operations Manager decides the best way forward and provides his decision and clear guidance to the teammates in question.

Lead and develop the Inventory Manager

The Inventory Manager and Operations Manager work as a team.  The inventory manager’s efforts support the Operations Manager’s goals and priorities. 

The Inventory Manager is responsible for the control of all stock, non-stock and tagged inventory items. He influences and manages the purchasing of inventory to achieve required inventory availability percentages and required inventory valuation levels. 

The Inventory Manager communicates with the central purchasing team regularly to support and improve our vendor’s method and timeliness of delivery, desired on hand stocking positions, and stock flag maintenance.  The Operations Manager supports these communications, defines strategy, and outlines performance measures.

The Operations Manager Identifies and assigns tasks to the Inventory Manager that are within the scope of his responsibilities. Define performance measures for the Inventory Manager based on your own assessments.  

Quality Control:

The operations manager ensures high quality service is delivered to our customers from all members of the team.   He owns the last mile of all sales transactions through the actions and efforts of his teams. When customer satisfaction can be improved, he finds a way to achieve the requirement.

Order Fulfillment:

• Oversee the order fulfillment process, ensuring accuracy and timeliness in product delivery.
• Collaborate with the sales team to prioritize top customer orders and meet customer expectations.
• Maintain a positive attitude towards customers and find solutions when faced with challenges. 
• You are the sales backstop; they will need to lean on you for guidance. 

Logistics and Distribution Quality Control:

• Work with the logistics leaders to optimize transportation and distribution efficiency.
• Implement quality control measures to ensure the accuracy and condition of received and shipped products. 
• Order checking.
• Truck inspections and loading.
• Pipe loading, strapping, and safe handling.
• Address quality issues promptly and collaborate with relevant teams for resolution. 
• Warehouse stocking issues
• Pulling error trends
• Case vs unit of measure pulling errors.
• Warehouse stocking location
• Plan and organize the stocking locations of all classes of material to maximize safety and material handling success.
• Identify and maximize product velocity and order picking efficiency when assigning primary and secondary locations in all warehouses and pipe yards. 

Vendor and Customer relations:

The Operations Manager supports and engages in vendor and customer relationships.  As a senior leader in the business, the operations manager makes recommendations to the PCM based on vendor performance and customer behavior.  In the absence of the PCM and assistant PCM, the Operations Manager must be prepared to run every aspect of the business and make decisions that support profitability goals.

While not a member of the sales team, the operations manager performs sales functions when required and supports sales calls and customer negotiations.  He speaks with authority in the areas of cost to serve, operational limitations and capabilities, and inventory allocations. 

The Operations Manager can authorize customer credits for service shortfalls or poor teammate performance and action customer rebates.  Sales that require manager override, can be approved by the Operations Manager.  

To learn more about this career opportunity, please visit www.hajocacareers.com. Here you can see a message from our president, meet current trainees and read a current trainee’s first-hand account of being in the Management Development Program.