Operations Planning and Continuous Improvement Manager

Sharp & Carter; City of Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary + super

Hybrid work potential

Job summary

Sharp & Carter is recruiting an Operations Planning and Continuous Improvement Manager for a large-scale Melbourne west site. This high-visibility role anchors workforce and labour planning, driving efficiency and ensuring the right people are in the right place to meet customer demand.

You will lead a planning team, partner with Operations, HR, and supply partners, and shape the site’s workforce strategy with a future regional scope.

Qualifications

• Solid background in workforce or labour planning, ideally in logistics, 3PL, retail, or a large blue-collar environment
• Strong systems and data skills, comfortable with forecasting, variance analysis, and P&L exposure
• Experience with agency or contingent labour, or close exposure to it
• A continuous improvement mindset with a track record of improving absence, turnover, or labour cost
• The communication skills to bring Operations and senior stakeholders along on the journey
• Proven leadership experience or someone ready to step fully into it
• Humble, hands-on, and comfortable being close to the operation

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end workforce and labour planning strategy across a large-scale operation
• Optimise staffing levels in line with operational and customer needs
• Own the agency labour relationship, including an active RFP process currently underway
• Monitor cost, performance, and productivity, adjusting plans as required
• Collaborate with Operations, HR, Transport, and agency partners on hiring forecasts
• Drive continuous improvement across absence, turnover, and direct labour cost
• Consolidate planning and reporting into one hub ahead of an upcoming payroll system change
• Deliver weekly, monthly, and year-on-year reporting on labour cost and variance
• Act as a key change leader during organisational transformation
• Develop, coach, and inspire a high-performing planning team

Skills

Workforce planning

Forecasting

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Job description

About the Business

We are proud to be exclusively engaged by a large-scale, well-established logistics business to recruit an Operations Planning and Continuous Improvement Manager into a pivotal leadership role at their Melbourne west site. This is a business driving best-in-class logistics operations across a multi-site portfolio, with outstanding leadership, a strong track record of developing and promoting its people, and a collaborative culture that backs its leaders to succeed.

About the Role

This is a high-visibility, high-impact role created to bring structure, strategy, and discipline to workforce planning across a large and complex operation. You will own the end-to-end workforce and labour planning strategy, drive operational efficiency, and ensure the right people are in the right place at the right time to meet customer and business demands. You will work alongside genuine industry leaders, have strong support around you, and be given the platform to take the business on a journey.

This role has been created with a clear growth path in mind. Deliver at site level and the remit can broaden to a regional view, with scope to grow into a senior planning leadership role across the network.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end workforce and labour planning strategy across a large-scale operation


• Optimise staffing levels in line with operational and customer needs


• Own the agency labour relationship, including an active RFP process currently underway


• Monitor cost, performance, and productivity, adjusting plans as required


• Collaborate with Operations, HR, Transport, and agency partners on hiring forecasts


• Drive continuous improvement across absence, turnover, and direct labour cost


• Consolidate planning and reporting into one hub ahead of an upcoming payroll system change


• Deliver weekly, monthly, and year-on-year reporting on labour cost and variance


• Act as a key change leader during organisational transformation


• Develop, coach, and inspire a high-performing planning team

To Be Successful You Will Have

• Solid background in workforce or labour planning, ideally in logistics, 3PL, retail, or a large blue-collar environment


• Strong systems and data skills, comfortable with forecasting, variance analysis, and P&L exposure


• Experience with agency or contingent labour, or close exposure to it


• A continuous improvement mindset with a track record of improving absence, turnover, or labour cost


• The communication skills to bring Operations and senior stakeholders along on the journey


• Proven leadership experience or someone ready to step fully into it


• Humble, hands-on, and comfortable being close to the operation

What's on Offer

• A high-impact role with real scope to shape how planning is done across a large-scale, multi-site logistics operation


• Work alongside genuine industry leaders in a business that is driving best-in-class logistics operations


• A clear path to regional and senior leadership as the business grows


• Outstanding development program and a strong track record of promoting from within


• Competitive salary package plus super


• Full-time on site initially, with hybrid possible once established