Project Manager

Comaea Consulting; Hamilton; On-site; NZD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Global culture

Career progression

Job summary

Comaea Consulting in Hamilton, New Zealand, is seeking an experienced Project Manager to oversee major capital infrastructure projects and drive successful delivery from feasibility to commissioning and handover.

Reporting to the Operations leadership, you will own end-to-end delivery, manage contractors and vendors, and ensure budgets, safety, and regulatory requirements are strictly followed. A track record in heavy industrial, FMCG or pharma environments is required.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of project management in heavy industrial environments (FMCG, food manufacturing, or pharmaceutical processing).
• Engineering degree or a recognized Project Management certification (PMP, Prince2) is highly regarded.
• Strong understanding of process piping, automation systems, structural installations, and commissioning phases.
• Solid familiarity with NZ health and safety standards (Health and Safety at Work Act) and environmental compliance.
• Exceptional leadership skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and manage external contractors effectively.

Responsibilities

• End-to-End Delivery: Lead capex projects from business case to handover, ensuring on-time delivery.
• Contractor & Vendor Management: Direct external engineers, contractors and vendors on-site.
• Financial Accountability: Manage budgets, forecasts, procurement timelines and variance reporting.
• Safety & Compliance: Ensure projects meet NZ health and safety laws, food safety standards and environmental consents.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Coordinate between site operations, local leadership and global engineering teams.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Budgeting & forecasting

Contractor management

Regulatory compliance

Education

Engineering degree

PMP certification

Prince2 certification

Job description

Hamilton, New Zealand

Our client is a premier global food ingredients processing multinational. This industry-leading organisation is currently undergoing significant capital expansion and is looking to recruit a Project Manager to oversee major capital infrastructure projects and ensure successful delivery.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Senior Operations Leadership team, you will take end-to-end ownership of capital projects from initial business case feasibility through to commissioning and handover. This is a hands-on, site-based role crucial to the next phase of regional growth.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

End-to-End Delivery: Manage major high-value capital expenditure (CapEx) projects, including plant modifications, infrastructure upgrades, and process optimizations.

Contractor & Vendor Management: Direct external engineering consultants, civil contractors, and equipment vendors to ensure seamless on-site delivery.

Financial Accountability: Manage project budgets, forecasting, procurement timelines, and variance reporting.

Safety & Compliance: Ensure all projects strictly adhere to New Zealand health and safety legislation, food safety standards, and environmental consent requirements.

Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the central point of contact between site operations, local leadership, and international corporate engineering teams.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

10+ years of project management experience within heavy industrial environments—ideally FMCG, advanced food manufacturing, or pharmaceutical processing.

A tertiary Engineering degree or a recognized Project Management certification (PMP, Prince2) is highly regarded.

Strong understanding of process piping, automation systems, structural installations, and commissioning phases.

Solid familiarity with NZ health and safety standards (Health and Safety at Work Act) and environmental compliance.

Exceptional leadership skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and manage external contractors effectively.

OFFER

A competitive salary package plus benefits.

The opportunity to work with world-class, modern processing technology.

A collaborative, forward-thinking global culture with genuine career progression.

If you are looking to expand your footprint in the industry and wanting to make an impact, this could be for you!

All applications will be treated as strictly confidential.