Production Manager

Mildura Fruit Company; Mildura; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Mildura Fruit Company is seeking an experienced production leader to run a large citrus packing facility in Australia. You will manage day-to-day operations, schedules, and staffing across a permanent and seasonal workforce.

The role focuses on safety, quality and efficiency, with accountability for production flow, dispatch and continuous improvement in a growing business with regional roots and international customers.

Qualifications

• Proven management experience in large-scale fresh produce processing, packing or food manufacturing.
• Strong hands-on leadership of permanent and seasonal workforces in fast-paced operations.
• Solid production flow understanding, labour planning and productivity improvement.
• Knowledge of GMP, food safety and workplace health and safety requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to build capable, accountable and high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day and weekly operation of the packing facility, including processing, grading, packing, storage and dispatch.
• Develop and manage production schedules to align fruit intake, capacity and customer orders.
• Monitor and optimise labour efficiency, overtime, throughput and key performance indicators.
• Plan shift structures and labour requirements across a permanent and large seasonal workforce.
• Maintain a visible, hands-on presence on the production floor, especially during peak season.
• Respond quickly to changes in fruit quality, labour availability, customer demand and equipment uptime.
• Collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, Grower Services, Sales and Quality to optimise flow.
• Lead a safety-first culture and uphold high standards of food safety, GMP, hygiene and housekeeping.
• Support recruitment, induction, training and performance management of production staff.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance safety, quality, productivity and operational performance.

Skills

Leadership

Production planning

Operational management

GMP / food safety

Team building

Problem-solving

Communication

Job description

• Leadproduction in one of Australia’s largest citrus pack houses
• Takeownership of a complex, large-scale, multi-shift operation
• Joina respected and growing business with strong regional roots and global reach

Who are we?

Mildura Fruit Company is one of Australia's leadingcitrus packing and export businesses, sourcing fruit from more than 110 growersacross the Sunraysia and Riverland regions. From our state-of-the-art Mildurapackhouse, we supply premium citrus to customers across Australia and aroundthe world.

Why join us?

• LeadershipImpact: Play a key role in shaping the safety, quality,culture and performance of our Mildura production facility.
• MeaningfulWork: Lead the processing and packing of premiumAustralian fruit for domestic and international customers.
• OperationalOwnership: Take responsibility for production flow, labourdeployment, equipment uptime and dispatch execution.
• Growthand Variety: Work in a dynamic seasonal environment wherepriorities change and continuous improvement is encouraged.
• ProudRegional Business: Join a well-established organisation with stronggrower partnerships and a global customer base.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead the day-to-day and weekly operation of thepacking facility, including processing, grading, packing, storage and dispatch.
• Develop and manage production schedules to alignfruit intake, operational capacity and customer orders.
• Monitor and optimise labour efficiency, overtime,throughput and other key operational performance indicators.
• Plan shift structures and labour requirementsacross a permanent and large seasonal workforce.
• Maintain a visible, hands-on presence on theproduction floor, particularly during peak season.
• Respond quickly to changes in fruit quality, labouravailability, customer demand and equipment uptime.
• Work closely with Operations, Maintenance, GrowerServices, Sales and Quality teams to optimise production flow.
• Lead a safety-first culture and maintain highstandards of food safety, GMP, hygiene and housekeeping.
• Support the recruitment, induction, training andperformance management of production employees.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhancesafety, quality, productivity and operational performance.

What you’ll bring

• Proven management experience in large-scale freshproduce processing, packing or food manufacturing.
• Strong hands-on experience leading permanent andseasonal workforces in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Practical knowledge of production flow, labourplanning and productivity improvement.
• Sound understanding of GMP, food safety andworkplace health and safety requirements.
• Strong leadership skills and a demonstrated abilityto build capable, accountable and high-performing teams.
• Experience with production scheduling, performancemetrics and operational efficiency measures.
• Commercial and financial capability within a largeprocessing or packing operation.
• Strong communication, decision-making andproblem-solving skills.
• Flexibility to work extended or irregular hoursduring peak seasonal periods.
• Experience in large-scale citrus processing andpacking will be highly regarded.

Ready to lead a high-performingproduction operation? Join Mildura Fruit Company and help us safely andefficiently deliver premium Australian fruit to customers around the world.