Supply Chain Continuous Improvement Lead

Lactalis; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and benefits

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Lactalis—including Mainland Dairy—seeks a Supply Chain Continuous Improvement Lead to drive high-impact CI initiatives across its Australian supply chain. You will identify opportunities, deploy Lean practices, and coach teams to improve efficiency, quality and sustainability.

The role emphasizes data-driven decision making, cross-functional collaboration and governance of the CI project portfolio. A strong background in FMCG, transport, warehousing and planning is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline.
• At least five years’ experience in continuous improvement or supply chain transformation.
• Track record of delivering measurable improvements in service, cost, productivity or quality.
• Experience leading cross-functional projects in FMCG/logistics environments.
• Strong problem solving, process mapping and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience in data analytics and performance reporting.
• Knowledge of project governance and benefits realisation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute CI initiatives within the Supply Chain CI roadmap.
• Identify and prioritise improvement opportunities across transport, warehousing, inventory and planning.
• Lead Lean deployment and structured problem solving.
• Drive operational, service and financial data driven improvements.
• Coach leaders and frontline teams in CI tools and AI-enabled improvements.
• Manage CI project pipeline with governance and benefits tracking.
• Collaborate with S&OP, Transport, Warehousing, 3PL and Commercial teams.
• Support change management and stakeholder alignment.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, quality systems and internal standards.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Cross-functional leadership

Structured problem solving

Data analytics

KPI management

Power Platform

AI-enabled solutions

Stakeholder engagement

Change leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, Operations, Analytics or related discipline

Tools

Power Platform

Workflow automation

Job description

Supply Chain Continuous Improvement Lead

Mainland Dairy, the business formerly known as Fonterra's global Consumer and associated businesses, is now part of the Lactalis Group and known as Lactalis-Mainland Dairy. Lactalis is the world's leading dairy group, with a presence in 50 countries and a portfolio of well-loved brands including Président, Galbani, Parmalat, Pauls, OAK, Mainland and Western Star. We are committed to delivering high-quality dairy products while fostering innovation, sustainability and excellence across our operations.

About the Opportunity

Reporting to the Supply Chain Continuous Improvement (CI) Manager, the Supply Chain CI Lead identifies and delivers high-impact improvement initiatives across the Lactalis Australia and Lactalis-Mainland Dairy supply chain.

Through structured problem solving, data-driven decision making, cross-functional collaboration and CI capability building, the role drives measurable improvements in profitability, quality, service, cost, safety, sustainability and operational performance, ensuring a strong pipeline of initiatives is converted into sustained business results.

Key responsibilities include:

• Develop and execute priority initiatives within the Supply Chain CI roadmap, aligned to business strategy and performance priorities.
• Identify, quantify and prioritise improvement opportunities across transport, warehousing, inventory, planning, customer service, manufacturing and supporting business processes.
• Facilitate Lean deployment, including daily management, tiered meetings, standard work, visual management and 5S.
• Lead structured problem solving and root cause analysis for chronic losses and complex cross-functional issues.
• Use operational, service and financial data to identify losses and improve Operational Equipment Efficiency, yield, waste, downtime, changeovers, inventory and logistics performance.
• Coach leaders and frontline teams in CI tools, digital systems, data-driven problem solving and practical AI-enabled improvement applications.
• Manage the CI project pipeline, including initiative charters, prioritisation, governance, tollgates, benefits tracking and sustainment plans.
• Partner with S&OP, Transport & Distribution, Warehousing & 3PL, Industrial, Commercial and Customer Value Chain teams to deliver cross-functional improvements.
• Support change management, communications, stakeholder alignment, adoption and sustainment of improved ways of working.
• Ensure improvements comply with food safety, quality systems, regulatory requirements and internal standards, and support audit and compliance readiness.

About You

• A bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, Operations, Analytics or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• At least five years’ experience delivering continuous improvement, operational excellence, supply chain transformation or business improvement initiatives.
• A demonstrated record of delivering measurable improvements in service, cost, productivity, quality or working capital.
• Experience leading cross-functional projects and influencing stakeholders without direct authority, ideally within FMCG, food, logistics, warehousing, transport, planning or broader supply chain environments.
• Strong capability in structured problem solving, root cause analysis, process mapping, process redesign and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience in supply chain performance analysis, KPI management, data analytics and business performance reporting.
• Knowledge of project and portfolio management, including governance, prioritisation, benefits validation and realisation tracking.
• The ability to identify digital improvement and automation opportunities using tools such as Power Platform, AI-enabled solutions and workflow automation.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, change leadership, facilitation, coaching and communication skills.
• Lean Six Sigma certification or equivalent continuous improvement experience is desirable.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and benefits
• Career development opportunities within a global dairy organisation
• Exposure to enterprise-wide supply chain improvement, transformation and digital innovation initiatives
• A collaborative and supportive team environment
• The opportunity to deliver measurable service, cost, productivity and sustainability outcomes across the supply chain
• A workplace committed to safety, quality and continuous improvement

We believe in you bringing your best and most authentic self to work and we want you to succeed in a way that allows you to win, in every aspect of your life. We strongly encourage applications from First Nations people, as well as individuals of diverse cultural and social backgrounds. Our team is dedicated to supporting your professional development and personal wellbeing.

Please note that applicants must have full working rights in Australia to be considered.