Site Distribution Manager

Silver Fern Farms Limited; Balclutha; On-site; NZD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounted staff meat sales

Subsidised health and life insurance

Opportunities to learn and develop

Job summary

Silver Fern Farms Limited in Balclutha is seeking a Site Distribution Manager to lead end-to-end cold chain, inventory and dispatch operations, driving safety, service and cost improvements across the site.

You will shape distribution planning, support an automation project, and partner with production, logistics and customer teams to optimise product flow and performance. Leadership of warehouse and loading teams is central to success.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership in warehouse, distribution, logistics or cold chain operations.
• Track record of building high-performing teams.
• Strong strategic and operational planning capabilities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead distribution operation overseeing cold store, inventory and dispatch activities.
• Shape future network through forward planning, process redesign and automation initiatives.
• Drive operational excellence by improving productivity, service performance, inventory accuracy and cost control while delivering strong customer outcomes.
• Build and lead high-performing teams by coaching leaders, developing capability and fostering a culture of accountability, engagement and continuous improvement.
• Partner across the business to align production, inventory, logistics and customer requirements while solving challenges and delivering sustained operational success.

Skills

Leadership experience

Distribution/logistics

Change management

Analytical skills

Education

Job description

This is a newly created leadership opportunity at our Finegand site, offering the chance to play a key role in shaping the future of our distribution operations and supporting the next phase of site growth and development.

As Site Distribution Manager, you'll lead our end-to-end cold chain, inventory and dispatch functions, ensuring product moves safely, efficiently and cost-effectively from production through to customer delivery. You'll provide leadership across our cold store, loadout and inventory teams while driving performance in safety, service, productivity and cost.

A key focus of the role will be supporting future distribution planning and helping design new ways of working as part of an upcoming automation project. Working closely with the Site Manager and wider operational teams, you'll identify opportunities to improve product flow, optimise cold store operations and deliver continuous improvement across the site.

• Lead our distribution operation by overseeing cold store, inventory and dispatch activities to ensure safe, efficient and cost-effective product flow across the site.
• Shape the future of Finegand's distribution network through forward planning, process redesign and supporting the implementation of automation initiatives.
• Drive operational excellence by improving productivity, service performance, inventory accuracy and cost control while delivering strong customer outcomes.
• Build and lead high-performing teams by coaching leaders, developing capability and fostering a culture of accountability, engagement and continuous improvement.
• Partner across the business to align production, inventory, logistics and customer requirements while solving challenges and delivering sustained operational success.

You're a proven operational leader who thrives in complex, fast-paced environments and enjoys balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution. You can see both the immediate operational picture and the future state, and you're motivated by opportunities to improve systems, processes and performance.

You'll bring strong distribution, logistics or export loading experience along with a track record of leading people, driving change and delivering results. Most importantly, you'll have the ability to bring teams on the journey as we continue to evolve and modernise our distribution operation.

To be successful in this role, you'll have:

• Proven leadership experience in warehouse, distribution, logistics or cold chain operations, with a track record of building high-performing teams.
• Strong operational and strategic planning capability, with the ability to balance customer service, inventory performance and business priorities.
• A continuous improvement mindset, with experience leading operational change, process optimisation and efficiency initiatives.
• Strong analytical and commercial acumen, using data and operational insights to drive performance and informed decision-making.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence, collaborate and deliver results across a complex operation.

Te Ahurea /Why work at Silver Fern Farms?

Silver Fern Farms are all about Creating Goodness from the Farms the World Needs. Creating goodness is about taking a broader view of what goodness means and how we can create it and the impact it can have. That Goodness is created through the work of our People, the skill & expertise of our Farmers and our customers around the globe. 'Goodness' is also about being good to people and communities, animal welfare, and showing care and respect for the environment.

For you, we offer heavily discounted staff meat sales through our on site Butcher's Block, subsidised health and life insurance, the opportunity to continuously learn and develop from an internationally renowned organisation.

Applications close on 24 October 2026.

Silver Fern Farms welcomes people from all backgrounds and walks of life. We are proud to have a diverse and inclusive environment and are committed to providing equal opportunities for all team members and applicants. Come and create goodness together with us. You can see more about our commitments to our people and their work by visiting our Belong Here webpage: https://careers.silverfernfarms.com/nz/en/belong-here