Digital Manager – Development

Westland Milk Products; Christchurch; Hybrid; NZD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Westland Milk Products in Christchurch (Hornby) is seeking a Digital Manager – Development to lead the shared Development capability across Yili Oceania. Based in Hornby and reporting to the GM Digital, you will guide a team delivering secure, scalable digital solutions for enterprise applications, integrations, automation and Level 3 support.

You will shape engineering practices, build capability, and influence how development is delivered across the organisation, collaborating with

Qualifications

• Significant software development and integration experience.
• Strong knowledge of modern software development, integration, testing, release and support practices.
• Experience with enterprise technologies such as Microsoft Power Platform, Oracle, LIMS, ERP or related platforms.
• Practical experience with Agile, DevOps, source control, peer review and automated deployment.
• Experience leading multi-platform enterprise delivery and managing competing priorities.
• Strong understanding of application support, incident management and root-cause analysis.
• Experience managing suppliers, budgets, delivery commitments and technical risk.
• Strong communication skills and ability to translate complex technical issues into options.
• A relevant tertiary qualification in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Experience in dairy, food manufacturing or another regulated environment would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing Digital Development team.
• Oversee development across enterprise apps, integrations, automation and platforms.
• Lead technical delivery across platforms including Power Platform, Oracle, LIMS and ERP.
• Manage development demand, capacity and delivery across priorities.
• Strengthen engineering practices: DevOps, testing, source control, reviews, and deployments.
• Improve engineering quality, security, reliability and lifecycle management.
• Provide leadership for Level 3 application support and root-cause analysis.
• Reduce technical debt through documentation, cross-skilling and knowledge sharing.
• Manage specialist development partners and suppliers for performance and transfer.
• Collaborate with Architecture, Infrastructure, Data & AI, Partnerships and business teams to deliver integrated solutions.

Skills

Software development leadership

Software integration

DevOps practices

Agile practices

Stakeholder communication

Education

Tertiary qualification in Computer Science/Software Engineering/Information Systems or related field

Tools

Microsoft Power Platform

Oracle

LIMS

ERP

Finance applications

Job description

Lead the development capability behind our digital future

We are looking for an experienced Digital Manager – Development to lead our shared Development capability across Yili Oceania.

Based in Hornby, Christchurch and reporting to the GM Digital, this is a key leadership role responsible for turning business priorities and solution designs into secure, reliable and scalable digital solutions.

Leading a team of six, you will provide the technical direction, people leadership and delivery discipline across application development, integration, automation and Level 3 application support.

This is an opportunity to lead both people and technology, building a high-performing engineering culture while helping shape how development is delivered across a diverse and growing organisation.

What you'll be responsible for

You will:

• Lead and develop a high-performing Digital Development team, setting clear priorities, standards and ways of working.
• Oversee development across enterprise applications, integrations, automation and business-critical platforms.
• Lead technical delivery across platforms including Microsoft Power Platform, Oracle, LIMS and Finance applications.
• Manage development demand, capacity and delivery commitments across multiple business priorities.
• Strengthen engineering practices across DevOps, testing, source control, peer review, deployment and release management.
• Drive improvements in engineering quality, security, reliability and application lifecycle management.
• Provide leadership for complex Level 3 application support, root-cause analysis and technical problem resolution.
• Reduce technical debt and key-person dependency through better documentation, cross-skilling and knowledge sharing.
• Manage specialist development partners and suppliers, ensuring strong performance, quality and knowledge transfer.
• Work closely with Architecture, Infrastructure, Data & AI, Digital Partnerships and business teams to deliver integrated and sustainable solutions.

What you'll bring

We are looking for an experienced Development leader who combines strong technical credibility with excellent people and delivery leadership.

Ideally, you will bring:

• Significant software development and integration experience, including leadership of a Development team or function.
• Strong knowledge of modern software development, integration, testing, release and support practices.
• Experience working across enterprise technologies such as Microsoft Power Platform, Oracle, LIMS, ERP, Finance applications or comparable platforms.
• Practical experience with Agile, DevOps, source control, peer review and automated deployment practices.
• Experience leading multi-platform enterprise delivery and managing competing priorities and resources.
• Strong understanding of application support, incident management, root-cause analysis and technical debt.
• Experience managing suppliers, budgets, delivery commitments and technical risk.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to translate complex technical issues into clear options and recommendations.
• A relevant tertiary qualification in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.

Experience within dairy, food manufacturing or another complex regulated environment would be advantageous.

Why this role?

This is a great opportunity for a Development leader who wants more than simply managing a technical team.

You will have the scope to shape engineering practices, build capability, improve how development is delivered and influence the wider Digital environment across Yili Oceania.

You will be joining an organisation that brings together Westland Milk Products, Oceania Dairy, EasiYo, Canary Foods and Pure Nutrition, with a diverse Digital landscape supporting manufacturing, supply chain, commercial and corporate operations.

If you are an experienced Development leader who enjoys building great teams, solving complex problems and delivering technology that makes a genuine difference to the business, we would love to hear from you.