Maintenance Supervisor

Lactalis - Mainland Dairy; Cobden; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy Australia in Cobden, Victoria, is seeking a Maintenance Supervisor to lead a team of tradespeople and contractors responsible for the site’s maintenance needs. You will set priorities, allocate resources, and drive safe, reliable operations in a fast-paced dairy manufacturing environment.

Success depends on your ability to develop capability, foster a culture of ownership and continuous improvement, and partner with production to minimize disruption while delivering

Qualifications

• Proven leadership in a manufacturing maintenance setting.
• Experience leading tradespeople and contractors.
• Strong safety, reliability, and continuous improvement mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a team of maintenance tradespeople, apprentices and contractors.
• Drive safety, accountability and ownership across the team.
• Allocate resources to meet plant priorities and minimise disruption.
• Monitor work execution, productivity and schedules; ensure timely completion.
• Collaborate with production and site stakeholders for maintenance alignment.
• Manage performance, provide feedback and conduct coaching conversations.
• Record and manage maintenance work orders, labor usage and completion in the system.
• Identify opportunities to improve team effectiveness and maintenance processes.

Skills

People leadership

Maintenance management

Stakeholder management

CMMS expertise

Contractor management

Safety culture

Education

Engineering background

Tools

CMMS software

Job description

Lactalis is a French family-owned business founded in Laval in 1933. Today, it is the world’s leading dairy group, present in 50 countries employing around 85,500 people. It is home to some of the world’s best known global and international dairy brands, including Président, Galbani and Parmalat, and local brands including Pauls, OAK, and Cracker Barrel in Australia.

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy Australia operate 8 manufacturing sites producing well-loved brands including PerfectItaliano, Mainland, and Western Star.

Our passionate and talented team is committed to nurturing the future, unlocking new opportunities, and fostering innovation in nutrition and food.

About Us

Located in the heart of South West Victoria, our Cobden site is one of Australia's largest dairy manufacturing facilities and home to the iconic Western Star™ brand. Producing butter and spreads, milk powders, and fresh milk products for domestic and international markets, Cobden is a fast-paced manufacturing environment where safety, reliability, quality, and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything we do.

The Opportunity

As Maintenance Supervisor, you will lead a team of tradespeople, with responsibility for managing workflow, resources and performance to ensure the team delivers against the maintenance needs of the site.

You will set priorities, allocate resources and provide clear direction, while ensuring your team is accountable for delivering work safely and effectively. A key focus will also be managing performance, developing capability and building a culture of ownership, accountability and continuous improvement.

• Lead, coach and develop a team of maintenance tradespeople, apprentices and contractors to deliver safe, high-quality maintenance outcomes
• Drive a culture of safety, accountability and ownership, setting clear expectations and holding team members accountable for performance, behaviours and results
• Ensure resources are effectively allocated to meet operational requirements and business priorities
• Monitor work execution, productivity and schedule adherence, removing barriers and ensuring maintenance activities are completed safely, efficiently and on time
• Partner with production and site stakeholders to align maintenance resources with plant priorities and minimise operational disruption
• Lead workforce performance management activities, including coaching, feedback, recognition and managing difficult performance and conduct conversations where required
• Ensure maintenance work orders, labour utilisation and completion records are accurately managed through site maintenance systems
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve team effectiveness, work practices, planning processes and overall maintenance execution

About You

We are seeking an exceptional people leader with experience leading teams in a manufacturing maintenance environment.

Success in this role will be determined by your ability to drive accountability, develop high-performing teams, and create a culture focused on safety, reliability, and continuous improvement.

Whether your background comes from maintenance, engineering, or another manufacturing environment, you will be a proven leader who can motivate teams, manage performance, and deliver results through others. To succeed in this role, you’ll ideally bring:

• Proven leadership experience in a manufacturing, industrial, engineering, or maintenance environment
• Manufacturing maintenance experience that enables you to effectively support and lead maintenance teams
• A strong track record of developing people, driving accountability, and improving team performance
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• The ability to influence others, lead change, and manage competing priorities
• Strong understanding of maintenance principles, equipment reliability, and continuous improvement practices
• Experience managing contractors and maintenance resources
• Proficiency with CMMS or similar maintenance management systems

Our Commitment

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, or ability.

Unlock job insights

Lactalis Australia is proudly part of the Lactalis Group, the #1 Dairy Company in the world employing ~2500 locally and over 85,000 globally. Still proudly privately owned by the Besnier family, we are the team behind iconic brands such as Pauls, Ice Break, Oak, Vaalia, Tamar Valley, Jalna and Lemnos, to name just a few. Our mission is to offer healthy, tasty and affordable products that bring us closer together.

People are what makes our business a success and career opportunities exist from farm gate to supermarket shelf – whether that be milk processing, collection, production, quality, maintenance, product sales, innovation, research and development, and the corporate support teams.

Lactalis Australia is proudly part of the Lactalis Group, the #1 Dairy Company in the world employing ~2500 locally and over 85,000 globally. Still proudly privately owned by the Besnier family, we are the team behind iconic brands such as Pauls, Ice Break, Oak, Vaalia, Tamar Valley, Jalna and Lemnos, to name just a few. Our mission is to offer healthy, tasty and affordable products that bring us closer together.

People are what makes our business a success and career opportunities exist from farm gate to supermarket shelf – whether that be milk processing, collection, production, quality, maintenance, product sales, innovation, research and development, and the corporate support teams.

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What can I earn as a Maintenance Supervisor