Group Operations Manager

Craigmore Group is recruiting on behalf of a leading player in dairy and animal nutrition manufacturing, known for quality, innovation and a strong values driven culture. Our client is now seeking an experienced Group Operations Manager to lead their Laverton (Australia) and Christchurch (NZ) sites, driving operational excellence, safety, quality and continuous improvement across both facilities.

This is a pivotal, senior operational role reporting to the CEO, with four functional leads reporting directly to you across Operations, Warehousing, Quality and HSE.

Why You'll Love This Role

• Lead two high performing manufacturing sites across Australia and New Zealand
• Shape culture, capability and continuous improvement across Operations, Warehouse, Quality & HSE
• Own OEE performance, efficiency uplift and cost per tonne targets
• Drive strategic planning, capital programs and long term operational standards
• Work with a collaborative leadership team in a values driven business
• Make a real impact in a growing, specialised manufacturing environment

What You'll Be Doing

You'll lead day to day Operations, Warehousing, Quality and HSE across both sites - running structured Continuous Improvement programs (Kaizen/5S/TPM), benchmarking performance between sites and driving OEE, tonnes‑per‑shift and cost per tonne results. You'll champion a proactive safety culture and ensure compliance with WHS/OHS, HACCP and FeedSafe requirements, while overseeing warehousing accuracy, WMS compliance and SLA performance. You'll coach and develop your team, build strong cross‑functional relationships across Technical, Commercial and Procurement, and lead strategic planning - including site budgets, a 3‑year capital plan and Capex delivery.
What You'll Bring

• 10+ years' experience in dairy powder or dry blending manufacturing
• Deep knowledge of blending, dosing, mixing, grinding, drying, coating or cooling operations
• Proven multi‑site leadership experience (ideally AU + NZ)
• Strong understanding of LEAN manufacturing
• Experience overseeing Operations, Warehouse and Quality functions
• Excellent communication, leadership and stakeholder management skills
• Strong mechanical aptitude and systems/IT capability (Microsoft 365)
• High integrity, reliability and attention to detail
• Ability to work under pressure and drive continuous improvement

Ready to Lead Across Two High Performing Sites?
If you're an experienced operations leader who thrives in a fast paced manufacturing environment and wants to shape the future of production capability across two sites, we'd love to hear from you. Please call Cameron on [0419 798 713](tel:0419 798 713) – or email [email protected]