Director, Global Manufacturing & Quality Transformation

Coates-Group; Sydney; On-site; AUD 220,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus program

Thrive Program—flexible work options

Global Wellness paid day off

Give Back Day

Job summary

Coates Group in Sydney, Australia, is seeking a Senior Leader to drive the transformation of our global manufacturing and quality operations. You will lead a cross-cultural team, reshape operating models, and move manufacturing and quality from compliance to a competitive differentiator.

Deep domain experience in quality and manufacturing is essential to guide strategic change across regions. The role requires 15+ years in global manufacturing or operations, with proven change leadership, ERP

Qualifications

• Proven track record transforming manufacturing or operations across multiple countries and cultures.
• 15+ years of senior leadership experience in global manufacturing, operations, or supply chain.
• Engineering, Manufacturing, or Quality degree; lean manufacturing and Six Sigma knowledge.
• Excellent leadership and stakeholder influence with cross-cultural communication.
• Comfortable operating with ERP systems and standard collaboration tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic redesign of Coates' global contract manufacturing network across regions.
• Build and develop a high-performing global manufacturing and quality organisation.
• Establish a Global Quality Management System aligned to ISO and regulatory standards.

Skills

Change leadership

Cross-cultural communication

Stakeholder influence

Strategic thinking

People leadership

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

ERP systems

SharePoint

Teams

CAD

Job description

Be Part of Our Next Chapter

For over almost 60 years, our solutions have enabled impactful connections between some of the world’s leading brands and their customers. And while we’ve already done a lot of work we’re proud of, we’re just getting started!

We’re a global technology company focused on creating dynamic, smart, personalised and engaging customer experiences powered by our range of digital hardware, our proprietary content management system and our industry leading signage solutions. (For example: If you’ve ordered in-store or in the drive-thru at McDonald’s somewhere in the world in the last few years, chances are you’ve interacted with our digital solutions.) We work in over 50 global markets and have 9 offices around the world, with a global headquarters proudly located in our founding home of Sydney, Australia.

Coates Group has the values of a family-owned business and the innovative spirit of a start-up, both which fuel our purpose – Creating Connections. Empowering Partnerships. Always Evolving. Through hard work, dedication and creativity, we’ve become industry leaders who have won awards and set records while remaining focused on continual growth and evolution. We are a 2x Australia Good Design Award winner and successfully completed the largest hardware deployment in Quick Service Restaurant history.

We are curious, charismatic, authentic and we value and leverage the diversity of our crew. We are imaginers, kindness enthusiasts, experts, creators, thinkers, challengers, collaborators and over-achievers. And together, as a Crew, we are revolutionizing the way the world’s leading brands leverage technology to drive the best customer experiences.

This role leads the transformation of Coates' global manufacturing and quality operations, not simply administering a quality management system, but driving the strategic, cross-cultural change needed to scale nearshored manufacturing, lift supplier performance, and rewire how quality and compliance operate across a rapidly growing global segment. This is a leadership mandate first: the successful candidate will build and lead a highperforming global team, reshape operating models across regions, and act as the change agent who moves manufacturing and quality from a compliance function into a genuine driver of competitive advantage. Deep quality and manufacturing expertise is expected, but it exists in service of leading transformation, not as the primary skill being hired for.

Key responsibilities for the role

Leading Change & Global Transformation

• Lead the strategic redesign of Coates' global contract manufacturing network, including site selection, capacity planning, and production transfers, balancing cost, quality, and scale across culturally and operationally diverse markets.
• Drive a step-change in manufacturing and quality maturity across the Global segment, moving beyond incremental fixes to reshape how teams, suppliers, and processes operate together.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing global manufacturing and quality organisation, with a track record of developing capability and leadership in others, not just executing personally.
• Act as a change leader across the business, building buy-in and alignment across Product, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, and Commercial teams for major manufacturing and quality initiatives.

Manufacturing Operations Leadership

• Own manufacturing engineering and strategy, including site selection, transfer projects, capacity planning, and operational risk management, with clear accountability for time to market, cost, and quality outcomes.
• Build strong global supplier and manufacturing partner relationships that drive reliability, agility, and continuous improvement, leading through influence and relationship, not just contract terms.
• Provide strategic leadership in scaling operations to support business growth, including entry into new markets or technologies.

Quality & Compliance, Enabling the Transformation

• Introduce and evolve a Global Quality Management System aligned to ISO and regulatory/customer standards, using it as a platform for broader operational change rather than an end in itself.
• Establish and monitor quality KPIs, lead CAPA processes for systemic issues, and ensure products meet applicable regulatory, environmental and safety standards (UL, CE, FCC, RoHS, REACH) across all segments.
• Champion compliance initiatives, training, documentation, certification, as tools that support the broader manufacturing transformation.
• Proactively identify and mitigate operational, quality, and compliance risk across the supply chain and manufacturing network.

Qualifications and experience

• A proven change leader with a track record of transforming manufacturing or operations functions across multiple countries and cultures, not just managing an existing quality system.
• 15+ years of senior leadership experience in global manufacturing, operations, or supply chain, ideally including complex, multi-country production transfers and supplier network transformation.
• Engineering, Manufacturing, or Quality degree (Master's or equivalent leadership experience preferred), combined with credible working knowledge of lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and international product compliance frameworks, enough to lead technical experts, not necessarily to be the most technical person in the room.
• Excellent leadership, cross-cultural communication and stakeholder influence skills, with experience building and developing high-performing teams.
• Comfortable operating with ERP systems (PtP, Demand-to-Build, QTC) and standard collaboration tools (SharePoint, Teams, CAD), without requiring deep hands-on technical mastery.

About Coates

We are industry leaders who have won awards and set records. We are a 2x Australia Good Design Award winner and we successfully completed the largest hardware deployment in Quick Service Restaurant history.

We are industry leaders who have won awards and set records. We are a 2x Australia Good Design Award winner and we successfully completed the largest hardware deployment in Quick Service Restaurant history.

We are led by a forward-thinking CEO who has demonstrated a true passion for people and making Coates a place where people genuinely enjoy working. Our growth plans enable a focus on providing rapid career advancement opportunities for our talent.

Together, we are creators, allowing us to make our purpose a reality – to create immersive brand experiences for everyone.

Join a Crew that Cares

Be part of a global team of talented, ambitious, creative people that value integrity, individuality and inclusivity. (Ask us about our Equality + Empowerment Initiatives).

The benefits include an annual market competitive bonus program and our “Thrive Program” which includes a suite of flexible work options because we’re strong believers that you should never miss an important life or work moment. Thrive also provides dedicated time to prioritize our health and wellbeing (think virtual Yoga or meditation sessions), a Global Wellness paid day off to recharge as well as a “Give Back Day” to allow our Crew an opportunity to make an impact in the community.

Be inspired To Be More

We skip the red tape and aim to always stay nimble. We’re proud of where we’ve been and are energized by where we’re going. We encourage ideas and perspectives because we know the more we have, the better we are. We work hard but have fun along the way. We push the boundaries but keep it real and authentic. We believe in the values that got us here are the ones that will continue to lead us forward. We are excited by what we’ve accomplished, but know the best is yet to come.

Coates Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, political affiliation or belief, disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam Era, or citizenship status (except in those special circumstances permitted or mandated by law).