Operation Manager

Graphinex; Townsville City; On-site; AUD 220,000 - 360,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive remuneration package

Job summary

Graphinex, an Australian graphite and battery anode materials company, seeks an Operations Manager to lead the DFS through FEED and into construction. The role covers field programs, approvals, and site operations at Townsville with visits to Esmeralda and Brisbane as required.

The successful candidate will drive safety culture, manage engineering contractors and ensure project readiness and regulatory compliance for a greenfield mining project in North Queensland.

Qualifications

• Leadership and ability to manage cross-functional teams across DFS, FEED and construction phases.
• Strong safety leadership and knowledge of Queensland mining/workplace health and safety legislation.
• Experience planning and delivering field programs including drilling, geotechnical and hydrogeological works.
• Proven track record coordinating engineering contractors, study consultants and owner's teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the DFS to FEED to construction transition for the Esmeralda project and Townsville TBADF site.
• Oversee approvals, permitting and community engagement to support project delivery.
• Manage field programs, drilling, geotechnical sampling and site logistics for remote North Queensland operations.
• Ensure safety, budgeting, schedule adherence and stakeholder communication.

Job description

Graphinex is an Australian graphite and battery anode materials company building an integrated mine-to-refinery business in Queensland. We are finalising our Definitive Feasibility Study and moving into FEED followed by the construction phase. Graphinex is hiring the right person to lead that transition.

Graphinex consists of:

• The Esmeralda Graphite Project, a large-scale proposed mine and concentrator in North Queensland.
• The Townsville Battery Anode Demonstration Facility (TBADF), an operating demonstration plant producing purified and coated spherical graphite.
• Proposed refinery and anode plant in USA the full scale downstream refinery is proposed to be developed to serve US and global customers.

Graphinex is backed by a tier-one Japanese strategic investor collaborating with Graphinex to advance the downstream DFS, with FEED to follow. This is a rare opportunity to take a greenfield critical minerals project from DFS stage through the final development phase.

Graphinex received a A$1.3 billion Letter of Interest from US EXIM bank and support from the Australian and Queensland Governments.

Graphinex

Graphinex is an Australian graphite and battery anode materials company building an integrated mine-to-refinery business in Queensland. We are finalising our Definitive Feasibility Study and moving into FEED followed by the construction phase. Graphinex is hiring the right person to lead that transition.

Graphinex consists of:

• The Esmeralda Graphite Project, a large-scale proposed mine and concentrator in North Queensland.
• The Townsville Battery Anode Demonstration Facility (TBADF), an operating demonstration plant producing purified and coated spherical graphite.
• Proposed refinery and anode plant in USA the full scale downstream refinery is proposed to be developed to serve US and global customers.

Graphinex is backed by a tier-one Japanese strategic investor collaborating with Graphinex to advance the downstream DFS, with FEED to follow. This is a rare opportunity to take a greenfield critical minerals project from DFS stage through the final development phase.

Graphinex received a A$1.3 billion Letter of Interest from US EXIM bank and support from the Australian and Queensland Governments.

The Role

The Operations Manager will lead Graphinex from Definitive Feasibility Study through FEED and into construction. This is the senior operations manager in the business, accountable for taking a pre-production greenfield mine and concentrator, and support the local demonstration plant team feeding into the downstream anode refinery DFS and FEED, from study into a shovel-ready, financeable and constructible project.

You will work on the approvals, engineering and FEED streams, run the drilling and geotechnical programs that support detailed design, optimise the mine plan and site logistics to inform design and support the operations of the Townsville Battery Anode Demonstration Facility and its team. You will also carry the community, landholder and stakeholder relationships that a project of this scale depends on.

The person we are looking for is someone who is happy to do field related tasks, has strong experience in a similar operations role and looking to progress in their career to a COO type of role in the future.

Reports to - Managing Director

Location - Townsville (Mount St John), with travel to the Esmeralda site in North Queensland and Brisbane, as required.

Key Responsibilities

Project delivery: DFS to FEED to construction

• Prepare Esmeralda mine site and concentrator for construction readiness and Final Investment Decision, including constructability, FEED and risk and readiness reviews
• Own economic mining review and final optioneering mine studies to enhance project economics and operability
• Support completion of the downstream Definitive Feasibility Studies and convert into an integrated, execution-ready project plan
• Manage engineering contractors and study consultants to scope, budget and schedule

Field programs

• Plan and deliver the drilling, geotechnical, hydrogeological and metallurgical sampling programs required to support DFS close-out, FEED and detailed design
• Manage site access, camp, logistics and contractors for remote North Queensland fieldwork

Approvals and permitting

• Support the approvals pathway for Esmeralda through the Queensland Coordinated Project process, including the EIS, Environmental Authority, mining lease and secondary approvals
• Ensure approval conditions are understood, costed and built into design and execution planning

Townsville Battery Anode Demonstration Facility

• Support the operations of TBADF and the site team
• Maintain safe, compliant and cost-disciplined operation of the facility

Health, safety and environment

• Set and lead the safety culture across field programs, TBADF and future construction sites
• Ensure HSE management systems are fit for the transition from study to construction and operations

Experience and Qualifications

Essential

• Tertiary qualification in mining engineering or a related discipline.
• 10-15 years in the resources sector with a proven record of supporting a greenfield mining or minerals processing project from feasibility study through FEED
• Direct experience supporting the three core project streams: approvals and permitting, engineering and FEED, and construction readiness
• Experience planning and delivering drilling, geotechnical and other field programs in remote locations
• Experience managing engineering contractors, study consultants and owner's teams to scope, cost and schedule
• Demonstrated leadership of community, landholder and Traditional Owner engagement on a development project
• Strong safety leadership and a working knowledge of Queensland mining and workplace health and safety legislation

Highly regarded

• Experience in mine planning, scheduling and economic assessment of feasibility studies
• Site Senior Executive (SSE) experience or eligibility under the Queensland Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act

Who this role suits

• An operations focused person who has done this before and wants to do it again, in a business small enough that your decisions shape the outcome
• Comfortable moving between Executives, a regulator's office, a community meeting and a drill rig in the same fortnight
• Rigorous on scope, cost and schedule, and honest about risk
• A hands-on leader who develops people and works with a strong and accountable team
• Able to communicate complex technical matters clearly to non-technical stakeholders
• Willing to travel regularly (generally during the dry season) to remote North Queensland

What We Offer

• An operations role with genuine ownership of the pathway from study to construction and into operations on one of Australia's most advanced critical minerals projects
• A place on the leadership team of a well-supported critical minerals company with tier-one strategic partners
• Competitive remuneration package
• Townsville base with North Queensland site work and occasional Brisbane travel

Applications close - Friday 16th October 2026