Quality Operations Lead - Dairy Manufacturing

Westland Milk Products; Rolleston; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Westland Milk Products in Rolleston is seeking an Operations Quality Team Lead to provide quality leadership and expertise across manufacturing. You will drive continuous improvement, lead Quality Officers, and ensure compliance with quality systems and standards to support world-class food safety and quality performance.

The role involves coordinating environmental sampling, supporting internal audits, and driving improvements in process control and defect reduction within a collaborative,

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in Science, Quality, Food Technology or related discipline or equivalent experience.
• Experience developing, implementing and maintaining quality systems.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, RMP, prerequisite programmes and food safety requirements.
• Auditing experience in manufacturing or food production.
• Understanding of process control and continuous improvement methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop Quality Officers and operational teams.
• Drive quality assurance best practice and ensure compliance with systems and standards.
• Manage non-conformance reporting, root cause investigations and corrective actions.
• Coordinate quality issue resolution and support operational performance improvements.
• Manage environmental swabbing and sampling across Rolleston and Hickory sites.
• Support internal audits, HACCP reviews, change control and CI initiatives.
• Analyse quality data and trends to identify opportunities and reduce defects.

Skills

Quality leadership

Change management

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Science/Quality/Food Tech degree

Tools

HACCP knowledge

Auditing skills

Job description

Westland Milk Products in Rolleston is seeking an Operations Quality Team Lead to provide quality leadership and expertise across manufacturing. You will drive continuous improvement, lead Quality Officers, and ensure compliance with quality systems and standards to support world-class food safety and quality performance.

The role involves coordinating environmental sampling, supporting internal audits, and driving improvements in process control and defect reduction within a collaborative,