Laboratory Manager - fixed term

Oceania Dairy Limited; New Zealand; On-site; NZD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free employee bus

Health insurance

On-site gym

Annual health checks

Employee Assistance Program

Free parking

Strong safety culture

Job summary

Oceania Dairy Limited is seeking an experienced laboratory leader to manage Glenavy operations and deliver high-quality, timely testing services across manufacturing and product quality. Lead a large team, champion safety and continuous improvement, and ensure regulatory compliance.

You will drive workforce planning, budgeting and capability development while overseeing testing capabilities and stakeholder collaboration to enable timely product releases and capital investments.

Qualifications

• Significant laboratory experience, ideally within food, dairy or manufacturing.
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong knowledge of ISO 17025 and laboratory quality systems.
• Experience managing budgets, resources and operational performance.
• Knowledge of LIMS and laboratory operations.
• Strong focus on health, safety and quality compliance.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proactive, solutions-focused approach with a continuous improvement mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the Glenavy laboratory and ensure efficient delivery of testing services.
• Develop, coach and support Laboratory Team Leaders and staff to build a high-performing team.
• Oversee workforce planning, recruitment, training and succession planning.
• Maintain ISO 17025, MPI RLP compliance.
• Foster a strong culture of health, safety, quality and continuous improvement.
• Manage laboratory budgets, resources, equipment and costs.
• Monitor testing outcomes to support timely product release.
• Drive process improvements and workflow efficiencies.
• Build relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support laboratory projects and capital investments and the implementation of new testing capabilities.

Skills

Leadership

Quality mindset

People development

Communication

Regulatory compliance

Continuous improvement

Budget management

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

Time management

Education

Science degree

Tools

LIMS

Job description

This is a crucial leadership role responsible for the overall management of laboratory operations, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, efficient and timely testing services that support manufacturing, product quality and customer requirements.

You will lead a large laboratory team, champion a strong culture of quality, safety and continuous improvement, and ensure ongoing compliance with ISO 17025, MPI RLP and all relevant regulatory standards. This role also plays a key part in workforce planning, budget management, capability development and driving operational excellence across laboratory services.

This is a 12-month fixed term opportunity based at our Glenavy site.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the Glenavy laboratory and ensure efficient delivery of testing services.
• Develop, coach and support Laboratory Team Leaders and laboratory staff to build a high-performing team.
• Oversee workforce planning, recruitment, training and succession planning.
• Maintain compliance with ISO 17025, MPI RLP.
• Foster a strong culture of health, safety, quality and continuous improvement.
• Manage laboratory budgets, resources, equipment and operational costs.
• Monitor laboratory performance and testing outcomes to support timely product release.
• Drive process improvements, productivity gains and workflow efficiencies.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Support laboratory projects, capital investments and the implementation of new testing capabilities.

About You

You are an experienced laboratory leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is passionate about developing people, driving continuous improvement and delivering high-quality outcomes.

• Significant laboratory experience, ideally within food, dairy or manufacturing.
• Tertiary qualification in science or a related field.
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong knowledge of ISO 17025 and laboratory quality systems.
• Experience managing budgets, resources and operational performance.
• Knowledge of LIMS and laboratory operations.
• Strong focus on health, safety and quality compliance.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach with a continuous improvement mindset.

Who are we?

Oceania Dairy (ODL) is a dairy manufacturing plant located in Glenavy, South Canterbury, with a diverse workforce of 400 staff, who specialise in the creation of Milk Powder (adult and infant formula) and UHT milk. Owned by the Global Top 5 dairy company Yili Group, Westland Milk Products and its related companies in New Zealand, Oceania Dairy (Glenavy), Pure Nutrition Ltd (Rolleston), Canary Foods (Hamilton) and EasiYo Ltd (Auckland) form a group that we refer to as the Yili Oceania Business Division (YOBD). The combined business produces over 170,000mt of finished goods which are then exported to over 40 countries, driving annual revenue in excess of $1.3B – and growing. Our family thrives on a sense of unity and collective success and through focusing on innovation, quality and our diversity, we can successfully contribute to maintaining Yili’s title as Asia’s leading dairy product provider.

Why choose Oceania Dairy?

• State-of-the-art facilities.
• Free employee bus provided from Timaru and Oamaru to travel to site.
• Southern Cross Health Insurance.
• On-site gym, annual health checks, on-site physiotherapy, additional benefits.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Free parking.
• Strong safety culture.
• Values-led organisation committed to the training and development of employees.
• Subsidised butter!!!

Applicants must have valid work rights in New Zealand to be considered.