Training Manager

Abbott Laboratories; Pokeno; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career development

Medical insurance

Wellbeing support

Competitive rewards

Job summary

Abbott in New Zealand seeks a Training Manager responsible for governing and improving the NZ Nutrition training and capability programs in line with Abbott standards. You will ensure technical capability, compliance knowledge, and development opportunities to support safe, efficient operations.

Working with site leadership and SMEs, you’ll drive workforce readiness and a culture of continuous learning. You will oversee governance, competency management, learning systems, reporting, and site

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or Level 7 equivalent in HR, Learning & Development, or related field.
• Formal qualification in adult learning or instructional design preferred.
• Minimum 5 years in training, L&D, or organizational development leadership.
• Experience in dairy/food manufacturing or regulated environments.

Responsibilities

• Ensure training programs support site objectives, compliance, and future needs.
• Partner with site leadership to identify capability gaps and development priorities.
• Lead learning initiatives aligned with enterprise standards.
• Manage LMS, generate reports, and maintain compliance-ready state.
• Maintain training records and materials for compliance.
• Provide leadership to training team and set priorities.
• Champion continuous improvement using Lean and RCA in training processes.
• Plan and organize day-to-day training operations and schedules.
• Align training with customer teams and shift objectives.
• Meet ISO quality policies and occupational health and safety requirements.
• Engage with managers to optimize training resources.

Skills

Facilitation

Coaching

Stakeholder management

Change management

Communication

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree or Level 7 equivalent

Tools

Learning Management System (LMS)

Job description

Abbott is a global healthcare leader, creating breakthrough science to improve people’s health. We’re always looking towards the future, anticipating changes in medical science and technology.

Our nutrition business develops science-based nutrition products for people of all ages, from helping babies and children grow, to keeping adult bodies strong and active. Millions of people around the world count on our leading brands, including Similac®, PediaSure®, Pedialyte®, Ensure® and Glucerna®, to help get the nutrients they need to live their healthiest life.

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You will have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Benefits that support you and your family to stay healthy, financially secure, and supported throughout life's journey, including comprehensive medical insurance coverage, wellbeing support, and competitive rewards that recognize your contributions.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.

The Opportunity

As the Training Manager, the Training Manager is responsible for leading the implementation, governance, and continuous improvement of NZ Nutrition's training and capability programs in alignment with Abbott learning, quality, compliance, and operational excellence frameworks.

The role ensures employees have the technical capability, compliance knowledge, and development opportunities required to support safe, efficient, and high-quality operations. Working closely with site leadership, functional teams, and subject matter experts, the Training Manager drives workforce capability, organisational readiness, and a culture of continuous learning while ensuring consistency with Abbott's global standards and expectations.

The Training Manager is responsible for training governance, competency management, learning systems, capability reporting, and developing the site's training resources to support current and future business needs.

What You’ll Do

• Ensure training and capability programs support site objectives, workforce requirements, compliance expectations, and future operational needs.
• Partner with site leadership to identify capability gaps, workforce development priorities, and succession requirements.
• Ensure learning and development initiatives are aligned with organisational priorities and enterprise standards.
• Provide leadership and technical expertise on capability development, workforce readiness, and adult learning practices.
• Manage the site’s Learning Management System(s) (LMS) for assigned team members, including generating reports and maintaining the system in a compliance-ready state.
• Maintain training records and materials to meet internal and external compliance requirements.
• Provide daily guidance and direction to training team on task assignments and expectations.
• Model the organization’s values and drive a culture of engagement throughout the organization by providing effective leadership, direction, development, and support of the team.
• Develop plans and execute efforts required to train and develop employees to improve overall site capability to deliver performance results.
• Responsible for creating a project plan for training that includes activities and deliverables that enable associate readiness for new equipment startup and beyond.
• Oversee the assessment of training requirements for site employees to ensure organizational readiness in anticipation of new line/equipment startup.
• Identify and develop trainers for equipment associated with site expansion.
• Identify, maintain, and report training metrics for the project.
• Maintain close liaison with all department managers and supervisors to ensure optimal utilization of training resources, both internal and external, to accomplish training objectives.
• Champion positive employee relations by maintaining a high-profile presence on the floor, direct engagement with employees, regular open communications, and encouraging knowledge sharing and open exchange of ideas.
• Model and drive continuous improvement programs utilizing operational excellence and common tools (e.g., Lean, Root Cause Analysis (RCA)) and methodologies in training processes and procedures within the department.
• Actively plan and organize the day-to-day training operations and schedules.
• Anticipate, lead, and drive proper alignment and prioritization between training and customer teams towards common objective delivery that supports the shift/line/department.
• Attend regular departmental meetings with relevant manager/supervisor to build in continuous feedback mechanisms.
• Meet the requirements of ISO by complying with all relevant Quality policies and procedures to ensure the Quality objectives of the business are met.
• Comply with all relevant company Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental policies, procedures, and work practices with the intent of preventing or minimising accidental exposures to self, colleagues and/or the environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or Level 7 equivalent in Human Resources, Learning & Development, Adult Education, Organisational Development, Business, Food Technology, Manufacturing, or a related discipline.
• Formal training and assessment qualification or certification in adult learning, workplace training, or instructional design preferred.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in a training, learning and development, capability, or organisational development leadership role.
• Proven experience within dairy, food manufacturing, FMCG, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Experience developing and implementing technical training, competency frameworks, and compliance-based learning programs.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, operational excellence principles, and workforce capability requirements.
• Experience managing learning management systems (LMS), training records, competency assessments, and reporting.
• Knowledge of food safety, quality, health and safety, and regulatory training requirements within a manufacturing environment.
• Proven ability to partner with operational leaders to identify capability gaps and develop practical learning solutions.
• Strong facilitation, coaching, stakeholder management, and change management skills.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence and engage employees at all levels of the organisation.
• Ability to analyse training effectiveness data and use insights to drive continuous improvement in learning outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience managing training budgets, external providers, and training-related projects.
• Pragmatic, collaborative, and able to align capability-building initiatives with business objectives and operational priorities.

Location:

This position is based in Pokeno, New Zealand.

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

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