Production Line Lead

Synlait Milk Limited; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance cover

Parental leave (Matua policy)

B Corp certification

Social Club opportunities

Job summary

Synlait Milk Limited is seeking an experienced Production Line Lead for its Blending & Canning team. You will lead a high-performing production group, balancing people leadership with commercial outcomes to drive safety, quality, cost and delivery.

You will coach teams, solve problems, and deliver measurable improvements daily, while ensuring GMP and HACCP compliance and strong cross-functional collaboration across Maintenance, Quality, Engineering and Planning.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience within dairy, food, beverage or another complex manufacturing environment.
• Track record of improving operational performance through coaching, team engagement and continuous improvement.
• Strong commercial acumen with understanding of productivity, cost, waste reduction and operational efficiency.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, IWS, TPM, Six Sigma or similar frameworks.
• Sound understanding of GMP, HACCP and food safety systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to make informed decisions under pressure.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to influence stakeholders and build cross-functional relationships.
• Genuine passion for developing people and creating a culture where teams can perform at their best.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of operators to create a safe, engaged and high-performing culture.
• Drive safety, quality, productivity, yield and cost performance.
• Champion continuous improvement through IWS, daily management systems and problem-solving methodologies.
• Own product quality, compliance and audit readiness while ensuring GMP and HACCP standards are met.
• Coach on the production floor while embedding standard work and developing capability.
• Collaborate with Maintenance, Quality, Engineering and Planning to optimise plant performance and minimise downtime.
• Provide on-call support to ensure reliable plant operations.
• Use data and performance insights to identify opportunities and deliver sustainable business results.

Job description

Lead the Line. Drive Performance. Build Capability.

We're looking for an experienced Production Line Lead to join our Blending & Canning team. This is a pivotal leadership role where you'll be responsible for leading a high-performing production team, delivering operational excellence and ensuring our products are manufactured safely, efficiently and to the highest quality standards.

Success in this role is about more than keeping the line running. You'll balance people leadership with commercial outcomes, using data, continuous improvement and strong operational discipline to drive safety, quality, cost, delivery and performance. If you're someone who enjoys coaching teams, solving problems and making a measurable impact every day, we'd love to hear from you.

What you’ll be responsible for

• Leading and developing a team of operators to create a safe, engaged and high-performing culture.
• Driving operational performance across safety, quality, productivity, yield and cost.
• Championing continuous improvement through IWS, daily management systems and problem-solving methodologies.
• Taking ownership of product quality, compliance and audit readiness while ensuring GMP and HACCP standards are consistently met.
• Spending time on the production floor coaching, developing capability and embedding standard work.
• Collaborating with Maintenance, Quality, Engineering and Planning teams to optimise plant performance and minimise downtime.
• Providing on-call support as required to ensure reliable plant operations.
• Using operational data and performance insights to identify opportunities, improve efficiency and deliver sustainable business results.

About you

You're a confident people leader who thrives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. You combine strong operational expertise with commercial thinking, understanding how decisions on the production floor influence safety, quality, customer outcomes and business performance.

You’ll also bring:

• Proven leadership experience within dairy, food, beverage or another complex manufacturing environment.
• A track record of improving operational performance through coaching, team engagement and continuous improvement.
• Strong commercial acumen, with an understanding of productivity, cost, waste reduction and operational efficiency.
• Experience working with Lean Manufacturing, IWS, TPM, Six Sigma or similar continuous improvement frameworks.
• A sound understanding of GMP, HACCP and food safety systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make informed decisions under pressure.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders and build strong cross-functional relationships.
• A genuine passion for developing people and creating a culture where teams can perform at their best.

We're passionate about developing great leaders who empower people, drive continuous improvement and deliver results. If you're ready to lead with purpose and make a real impact, we'd love to hear from you.

About us – The Synlait Spirit

Synlait is more than a global leader in milk nutrition – we’re a purpose-led team that’s Doing Milk Differently For A Healthier World. Our Synlait Spirit guides everything we do, from how we show up each day to the impact we create together. You’ll be joining an authentic, down-to-earth team that lives the three values that underpin the Synlait Spirit.

Be The Difference means we understand before we act – that means asking why, supporting each other to think differently, stay curious, and continuously look for smarter ways to deliver value. Whether it’s in the paddock, the plant or the boardroom, we’re driven by impact and inspired to make a meaningful difference every day.

We Move as One by working together with respect, trust and a shared commitment to doing what’s right. We collaborate across teams to deliver innovative solutions and create opportunity for those around us.

We feed the world’s most vulnerable, including newborn babies, so we have to be Right on the Mark. That means we take accountability seriously, act with courage and focus our energy on what matters most. We combine expert farming and state of the art processing to deliver high quality nutritional products to all over the world.

At Synlait you’ll be challenged and supported to grow. We know everyone brings something unique to the table so we’re an inclusive workplace, where diverse perspectives fuel innovation and success.

What we offer:

Health insurance cover & partnered with top brands for great benefits and discounts

Excellent parental leave with our Matua policy

B Corp TM certified

Social Club membership opportunities

Applicants outside of New Zealand will only be considered if you have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

Job Info

• Job Identification 3645
• Job Schedule Full time