This is a rare chance to step into a senior production leadership role at one of Australia's most respected fresh produce and food manufacturing businesses. Working with the CEO at the helm and a clear mandate for performance and growth, this is the right moment to join and the right role to make your mark.
Reporting directly to the Group CEO, you'll have full accountability for a fast-paced, 7-day production and supply operation in North Western Sydney. You'll lead a tight team, own the output, and be the person the business relies on to keep quality, safety, and efficiency running at the highest level — every shift, every day.
About the Business
An Australian family-owned agribusiness with over 50 years of operation. Vertically integrated across production, wholesale distribution, and supplies, this business supplies premium produce to major supermarket chains, leading restaurant groups, and specialist grocers nationally.
This is not a large corporate. It's a lean, high-performing business where every leader's impact is highly visible and where the right person will have genuine influence over the direction of the operation.
About the Role
As Head of Production & Supply, you'll lead a team of 4 direct reports. This is a hands-on role. You'll be on the floor, you'll know your team, and you'll be the person who sets the standard for how the operation runs.
Key responsibilities include:
- Lead day-to-day production operations across a 7-day facility — output, quality, labour planning, and on-time dispatch
- Own the maintenance programme, ensuring plant, equipment, and cold chain infrastructure are running reliably at all times
- Manage all warehousing, cold storage, stock allocation, and dispatch operations to full food safety and cold chain compliance
- Drive a continuous improvement culture using Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent methodologies to reduce waste, improve yield, and lift throughput
- Maintain HACCP, SQF, and all food safety and WHS compliance obligations and lead audit readiness across the site
- Coordinate inbound supply, balancing product volumes against production capacity and outbound retail demand
- Build and develop a high-performing, team culture across a diverse production workforce
About You
You're an experienced operational leader from food manufacturing, fresh produce, FMCG, or a similarly fast-paced perishable goods environment. You've run a production site end-to-end and you've owned the numbers, not just the floor.
You'll bring:
- Significant experience in a senior production, site, or operations leadership role (Head of Production, Operations Manager, Site Manager, or equivalent)
- Experience managing plant and equipment maintenance in a food manufacturing environment
- Genuine people leadership — someone who earns respect on the floor and builds teams that perform
- Proven experience in cold chain, warehousing, and dispatch in a perishable food environment
- Financial literacy, comfortable owning a cost centre and contributing to operational P&L conversations
- The drive to be hands-on, present, and genuinely invested in the operation day-to-day
- Report directly to the CEO, genuine influence from day one
- Be part of a small, high-impact executive team at a genuine business inflection point
- Competitive base salary + superannuation + performance incentive
- A culture that values people, takes quality seriously, and treats its team well
