Operations Manager

Fuse Recruitment; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time role

Autonomy and strategic input into site

Investment in continuous improvement

Job summary

Fuse Recruitment is partnering with an established manufacturing business in Dandenong South to appoint an experienced Operations Manager who will take full ownership of plant performance, people leadership and operational efficiency.

Reporting to the General Manager, this hands-on role requires building a high-performance culture, driving safety, cost control and continuous improvement while staying on the floor.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading manufacturing and engineering teams.
• Strong financial and operational acumen with budget management.
• Track record of driving performance improvement and change.
• Excellent communication across all levels of a business.
• High integrity with a results focus.
• Willingness to work weekends and respond to callouts as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead all manufacturing and engineering staff, building a high performance culture.
• Oversee workforce planning, scheduling and resource allocation.
• Drive plant availability, equipment utilisation and production output.
• Own departmental budgets and identify cost saving opportunities.
• Set and track KPIs, leading root cause analysis when performance gaps appear.
• Build strong cross functional relationships across quality, supply chain and maintenance.
• Represent operations in business meetings and with key external partners.
• Champion safety, compliance and continuous improvement across the site.

Skills

Manufacturing leadership

Engineering leadership

Budget management

Operational improvement

Communication skills

Weekend availability

Job description

An established manufacturing business in Dandenong South is looking for an experienced Operations Manager to take full ownership of plant performance, people leadership, and operational efficiency. Reporting directly to the General Manager, this is a hands on leadership role for someone who wants genuine influence over how a site runs, not just a seat at the table.

You'll lead all manufacturing and engineering staff, drive a high performance culture, and be accountable for output, cost, quality and safety across the operation. This is a role for someone who backs their team, gets out on the floor, and isn't afraid to make the tough calls when performance needs to lift.

What's on offer

• Full time, permanent position
• Genuine autonomy and strategic input into plant performance
• A business investing in continuous improvement and long term growth

What you'll be doing

• Lead all manufacturing and engineering staff, building a high performance culture
• Oversee workforce planning, scheduling and resource allocation
• Drive plant availability, equipment utilisation and production output
• Own departmental budgets and identify cost saving opportunities
• Set and track KPIs, leading root cause analysis when performance gaps appear
• Build strong cross functional relationships across quality, supply chain and maintenance
• Represent operations in business meetings and with key external partners
• Champion safety, compliance and continuous improvement across the site

What you'll bring

• Proven experience leading manufacturing and engineering teams
• Strong financial and operational acumen, including budget management
• A track record of driving performance improvement and change
• Excellent communication skills across all levels of a business
• High integrity and a genuine results focus
• Comfortable working some weekends and responding to call outs as needed