Production Manager

Ironbrij Pty Ltd; Bodalla; Sur place; AUD 81 000 - 90 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Bodalla Dairy Cheese Factory is seeking a Production Manager to lead daily dairy operations on the South Coast of New South Wales. The role balances customer demand, milk supply, staffing, and equipment capacity to ensure safe, consistent, and efficient production across cheddar, bottled milk, yoghurt and ice cream.

You will oversee processing, packaging, quality control and staff development while maintaining established recipes and product standards.

Qualifications

• Experience managing production within a dairy or food manufacturing environment.
• Ability to plan and coordinate production with labour, materials, packaging and equipment.
• Strong organisational, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Responsabilités

• Plan and coordinate daily and weekly production schedules to meet customer orders and shelf-life targets.
• Oversee milk handling, pasteurisation, cheesemaking, packaging and storage across all product lines.
• Lead and develop a small production team, assign duties and monitor performance.
• Maintain HACCP-based controls, ensure traceability and compliance with food safety standards.
• Coordinate maintenance, prevent breakdowns and ensure safe operation of equipment.
• Monitor production efficiency, waste, yield and reporting; manage supplier and customer coordination.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements, cost control and waste reduction.

Connaissances

Production planning

People leadership

Food safety

Dairy processing

Operations management

Description du poste

ABOUT OUR BUSINESS

Bodalla Dairy Cheese Factory is a family-owned dairy manufacturing business on the South Coast of New South Wales. We produce cheddar cheeses, bottled milk, yoghurt and ice cream. Our factory supplies the Bodalla Dairy Shed café, cheese shop and ice creamery, as well as wholesale customers.

We are committed to maintaining our established recipes, flavour profiles and product quality while improving production efficiency, reducing waste and developing our employees.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Production Manager is responsible for planning, organising and managing daily manufacturing operations across all dairy product lines. Reporting to the business owners, the role coordinates production schedules, employees, materials and equipment to ensure products are manufactured safely, consistently and efficiently.

The position requires balancing customer demand, milk availability, staffing, processing times, equipment capacity, stock levels and product shelf life. The Production Manager maintains established manufacturing standards, provides practical leadership on the factory floor, resolves production issues, oversees food safety and equipment maintenance, and supports continuous improvement across factory operations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Production Planning and Coordination

• Plan and coordinate daily and weekly production schedules for cheddar cheese, bottled milk, yoghurt and ice cream.
• Prioritise production according to customer orders, stock levels, product shelf life, milk availability, processing times and equipment capacity.
• Coordinate ingredients, packaging, labour and equipment to meet production targets efficiently.
• Balance fresh dairy production and storage requirements with cheesemaking and cheese maturation schedules.
• Coordinate product availability with the Dairy Shed café, cheese shop, ice creamery and wholesale customers, particularly during peak trading periods.
• Adjust schedules to address changing demand, staffing constraints, equipment breakdowns and material shortages.

2. Dairy Manufacturing and Product Quality

• Oversee milk handling, pasteurisation, processing, cheesemaking, packaging and storage across all product lines.
• Manage cheese production in accordance with established methods, including flavour incorporation, pressing, maturation and packaging.
• Ensure employees follow approved recipes, processing procedures and product specifications for bottled milk, yoghurt and ice cream.
• Monitor production conditions, batch consistency, product yield and finished product quality.
• Maintain Bodalla Dairy’s established recipes, flavour profiles and product standards, referring proposed changes to the owners for approval.
• Investigate manufacturing variations, defects and product losses, implementing corrective actions to maintain consistent results.

3. People Leadership and Training

• Lead and supervise factory employees, allocating duties according to production priorities, skills and safe staffing requirements.
• Communicate production targets, responsibilities, quality expectations and workplace procedures.
• Manage staff rosters, coordinate staffing requirements and review timesheets for accuracy.
• Train employees in manufacturing methods, equipment operation, hygiene, food safety, recordkeeping and safe work practices.
• Monitor performance, provide practical feedback and address operational or performance concerns.
• Develop employees’ capabilities across production tasks to improve workforce flexibility and operational continuity.
• Promote teamwork, accountability, respectful communication and a safe workplace culture.

4. Food Safety, Quality and Traceability

• Maintain food safety procedures, including HACCP-based controls, Good Manufacturing Practices and required production documentation.
• Ensure critical checks for pasteurisation, processing temperatures, storage conditions and other relevant controls are completed and recorded.
• Oversee cleaning, sanitation, personal hygiene and contamination-prevention practices.
• Maintain ingredient identification, allergen controls, batch coding, date marking and product traceability.
• Ensure accurate records of raw materials, production batches, cleaning, process checks and corrective actions.
• Investigate product defects, non-conformances and quality complaints with the owners and relevant technical advisers.
• Coordinate food safety inspections and audits and implement required corrective actions.
• Ensure products affected by food safety or quality concerns are identified, isolated and managed appropriately.

5. Equipment, Maintenance and Workplace Safety

• Monitor the condition and performance of manufacturing equipment, refrigeration and storage facilities.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance, servicing and repairs with the owners and external service providers.
• Respond to equipment breakdowns and adjust production schedules to minimise disruption.
• Ensure safe operation of machinery, appropriate handling of cleaning chemicals and compliance with manual handling procedures.
• Identify workplace hazards, address immediate risks and report incidents and maintenance requirements.
• Promote responsible use of water, energy and materials, and appropriate waste handling and disposal.

6. Operational Performance, Administration and Coordination

• Monitor production output, product yield, ingredient usage, labour utilisation, waste and equipment downtime.
• Respond to factory emails, customer enquiries and incoming orders, including telephone orders.
• Coordinate customer orders with production schedules, stock availability, dispatch and delivery requirements.
• Monitor label and packaging inventory to ensure sufficient supplies of the correct labels, bottles, containers and packaging materials.
• Liaise with suppliers regarding product specifications, availability, pricing, deliveries and supply issues.
• Coordinate purchasing of ingredients, packaging, cleaning supplies and other factory requirements within approved budgets and purchasing authority.
• Coordinate customer invoicing and check supplier invoices against purchase orders and deliveries, liaising with the owners and bookkeeper as required.
• Organise incoming deliveries, product dispatch, transport arrangements and appropriate temperature control during dairy product distribution.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, work instructions and staff training records.
• Provide regular reports to the owners on production performance, staffing, stock requirements, equipment issues and operational priorities.

7. Continuous Improvement and Cost Control

• Identify opportunities to improve production scheduling, batch efficiency, equipment utilisation and manufacturing reliability.
• Reduce avoidable product losses, overproduction, packaging waste, stock expiry and unnecessary operating costs.
• Monitor production performance and use operational information to improve efficiency and resource utilisation.
• Recommend practical process improvements and equipment investments based on production needs and expected benefits.
• Support the owners in improving factory performance while maintaining established product characteristics and manufacturing standards.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

The ideal candidate will have proven experience managing production within a dairy or food manufacturing environment, with a strong understanding of dairy processing and food safety requirements.

They should be capable of planning and coordinating production activities, including labour, materials, packaging, and equipment, while leading and developing a small production team. Strong organisational, communication, problem-solving, and operational management skills are essential, along with the ability to monitor production performance, improve efficiency, minimise waste, and maintain high product quality standards.

Expected Salary: $81,000 - $90,000 plus superannuation