Senior Director, Co-Manufacturing Network Development

POSITION OVERVIEW:

Kinder’s is seeking a hands-on leader to source and develop the co-manufacturing partner network we will need as our brands, categories, and customer demand continue to grow. This role develops the future-state manufacturing network: where capacity should sit, which partners we bring into it, how we assess their fit, and how we secure the right commercial and capacity commitments. The Senior Director, Co-Man Network Development will lead network strategy, partner search and diligence, partner acceptance and long-range capacity planning. This leader will work across Operations, Planning, Product Development, Quality, Sourcing, Finance, Legal, and Commercial teams to turn growth plans and innovation pipelines into a resilient, cost-effective manufacturing network. This role is the strategic counterpart to the VP, Co-Man Network Operations. The Senior Director will identify and establish the right partners and capacity; Network Operations will lead ongoing execution, partner performance, and day-to-day issue resolution after a formal handoff. The Senior Director will collaborate with the VP on network decisions informed by operating experience and bring recommendations to the SVP, Operations. 

 

HOW YOU'LL HAVE AN IMPACT AT KINDER'S:

The right leader will help Kinder’s enter new categories, launch reliably, and protect service as we scale by securing capable partners and capacity ahead of demand. They will combine a strong external network with analytical rigor, commercial judgment, and the ability to move complex cross-functional decisions forward. 

 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Set the Co-Man Network Strategy 

• Develop and maintain a multi-year co-manufacturing network roadmap across products, capabilities, geographies, capacity, economics, lead times, and risk. 
• Translate growth plans, demand scenarios, innovation, and acquisition activity into future manufacturing needs and network options. 
• Evaluate and source partner choices, network concentration, redundancy, speed to market, capital requirements, and total delivered cost; present recommendations and business cases to leadership. 
• Identify supply chain manufacturing network gaps and develop an actionable pipeline of prospective partners and capacity solutions before constraints affect launches or ongoing service. 

Lead Partner Search and Diligence 

• Build the search strategy and partner pipeline for new categories, formats, technologies, and capacity requirements. 
• Lead structured partner evaluations with Quality, Food Safety, Product Development, Engineering, Sourcing, Finance, and Legal, including capability, financial health, operational maturity, regulatory readiness, scalability, and business continuity. 
• Coordinate initial site visits, cost modeling, references, risk reviews, and comparative assessments; present partner recommendations for approval through the appropriate process. 
• Maintain a clear record of selection criteria, tradeoffs, decisions, and outstanding risks. 

Develop Partner Acceptance and Onboarding 

• Define acceptance criteria and stage gates for technical capability, product quality, food safety, commercial readiness, capacity, systems connectivity, and launch execution. 
• Lead the cross-functional onboarding plan through the selection process 
• Confirm that responsibilities, escalation paths, data exchange, forecasts, materials, and operating expectations are documented and ready for handoff to the cross-functional teams 
• Partner with Co-Man Network Operations to establish the transition point. 

Build Capacity Plans and Secure Commitments 

• Develop a rolling, scenario-based view of network capacity by category, line, format, and partner, using demand, innovation, seasonality, and operational assumptions. 
• Identify capacity bottlenecks, single points of failure, expansion opportunities, and timing for new partner searches, equipment investments, or reserved capacity. 
• Work with Planning and partner leadership to validate available versus usable capacity, ramp schedules, changeover constraints, and contingency options. 
• Turn approved capacity plans into partner commitments that support growth while managing utilization, flexibility, working capital, and cost. 

Build the Capability and Lead Across Kinder’s 

• Create practical decision tools, partner scorecards, diligence standards, and approval processes that make network development repeatable as Kinder’s grows. 
• Lead the network development as the function grows and coordinates cross-functional project teams to move partner decisions and launches forward. 
• Bring clear, fact-based recommendations to the SVP, Operations and other senior leaders and communicate tradeoffs early when service, cost, speed, and risk compete. 

 

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Significant progressive experience in food or beverage manufacturing, co-manufacturing, supply chain strategy, strategic sourcing, or a related field, with direct responsibility for partner selection and network expansion. 
• Demonstrated experience finding, qualifying, onboarding, and negotiating with contract manufacturing partners across multiple products or production technologies. 
• Strong command of manufacturing capacity, production economics, commercialization, food safety and quality requirements, and operational risk. 
• Ability to build credible business cases and evaluate total cost, capital needs, capacity commitments, service, and resilience. 
• Experience leading negotiations and cross-functional decisions involving Operations, Quality, Product Development, Planning, Finance, Sourcing, and Legal. 
• Strong relationship building skills  
• Comfort building processes and teams in a fast-growing environment where requirements and priorities evolve. 
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience; advanced degree welcome but not required. 

LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES AND COMPETENCIES:

• Strategic builder: Connects business growth and product plans to a practical partner and capacity roadmap. 
• Commercially and analytically strong: Uses sound economics, clear assumptions, and thoughtful negotiation to make durable decisions. 
• Collaborative leader: Earns trust across teams and with external partners while maintaining