General Manager

Recruitmark; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Recruitmark partners with an Australian engineering and manufacturing business to appoint a General Manager who will lead a key business unit and own its commercial and operational performance.

This senior leadership role provides scope to shape operations, build capabilities, and implement foundations for scalable, high‑performing manufacturing. Applicants must be Australian/New Zealand citizens or hold PR.

Qualifications

• Experience in modular, offsite or engineered construction environments.
• Proven experience leading metal fabrication teams, ideally steel/stainless.
• Strong engineering/technical understanding for engaging with designers and certifiers.
• Commercially practical approach to supply chain, workforce planning and quality in day‑to‑day ops.
• Experience establishing or relocating facilities with automation equipment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the business unit as a profit centre with accountability for P&L, revenue, cost and margins.
• Drive operational performance across production planning, manufacturing, delivery and CI.
• Build a high‑performing workforce with focus on tradespeople to meet demand.
• Establish manufacturing capability, facilities and systems to scale the operation.
• Strengthen quality, compliance and traceability including ISO quality framework.
• Develop supply chain capability and job costing to improve margins and visibility.

Skills

P&L ownership

Operations leadership

Manufacturing & fabrication

Quality & compliance

Automation & facilities

Education

Trade or engineering qualification (favoured)

Job description

Recruitmark is partnering with an Australian engineering and manufacturing business on the appointment of a General Manager to lead a key business unit and take ownership of its commercial and operational performance.

This is a senior leadership role with broad accountability across the business, providing the opportunity to shape how the operation runs, strengthen its capabilities and build the foundations for a more scalable and high-performing manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leading the business unit as a profit centre, with accountability for P&L performance, revenue, cost, margin and working capital.
• Driving operational performance across production planning, manufacturing, delivery and continuous improvement.
• Building a high-performing workforce, with a strong focus on attracting, developing and retaining skilled tradespeople to support increasing demand.
• Establishing the manufacturing capability, facilities and systems required to scale the operation and support future growth.
• Strengthening quality, compliance and traceability systems, including the implementation of an ISO-certified quality framework.
• Developing supply chain capability, commercial systems and job costing processes to improve supply continuity, cost control and visibility of true project margins.

Skills & Experience:

• Experience in modular, offsite or engineered construction environments, with a track record of delivering manufacturing programmes aligned to customer requirements and project timelines.
• Proven experience leading metal fabrication teams, ideally within steel or stainless-steel manufacturing environments.
• A strong engineering and technical understanding, with the ability to confidently engage with designers, engineers, certifiers and other technical stakeholders. A trade or engineering qualification will be viewed favourably, but is not essential.
• A commercially practical approach to supply chain, workforce planning and quality, with these areas embedded into day-to-day operations and decision-making.
• Demonstrated experience establishing or relocating manufacturing facilities, including the procurement, installation and commissioning of automated production equipment.

**Applicants must be Australian/New Zealand citizens or have Permanent Residency.