Operations Manager

Pollock and Associates; East London; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Pollock and Associates in East London, South Africa, seeks an Operations Manager to partner with the incoming Managing Director and safeguard operational excellence, scalability, and ROI in a high‑performing food production environment.

You will oversee production systems, packhouse operations, technical infrastructure, compliance, labour discipline, and analytics, enabling the MD to focus on growth, client relationships, and capital allocation.

Qualifications

• Experience leading operations in food production, FMCG, or packhouse environments.
• Strong focus on process optimisation, data analysis, compliance, and cross-functional leadership.
• Ability to translate strategic intent into disciplined execution.

Responsibilities

• Oversee production systems, packhouse operations, and technical infrastructure.
• Ensure compliance, labour discipline, and performance analytics to improve ROI.
• Partner with MD to enable growth, client relationships, and capital allocation.

Skills

Process optimisation

Data analysis

Cross-functional leadership

Systems thinking

Operational discipline

Analytical capability

Compliance frameworks

Leadership

Education

Operations Management degree

Industrial Engineering

Agricultural Management

Job description

A high-performing food production enterprise is appointing an Operations Manager to partner closely with an incoming Managing Director and safeguard the business’s operational excellence, scalability, and long-term returns.

This is a strategic operations leadership role, created to ensure the organisation operates as one coordinated, disciplined system as complexity, data intensity, and retailer expectations increase. The role provides structured oversight across production systems, packhouse operations, technical infrastructure, compliance, labour discipline, and performance analytics, enabling the MD to focus on growth, client relationships, and capital allocation.

You will bring strong analytical capability, systems thinking, and a deep understanding of modern food production environments, including technical infrastructure, process controls, and compliance frameworks. This role is central to preserving consistent delivery of strong ROI and supporting the transition toward a future multi-site production model.

Requirements

• Degree in Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Agricultural Management, or related
• 5–10 years’ senior operations leadership experience (agriculture, FMCG, food production, packhouse, or technical manufacturing)
• Proven strength in process optimisation, data analysis, compliance, and cross-functional leadership
• Sound understanding of technical operational systems and disciplined execution
• This role suits a calm, structured leader who combines strategic perspective with operational rigour and earns trust through consistency, judgment, and delivery.