Pork Abattoir Operations Lead: Safety & Quality

Pillangó Placements; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Pillangó Placements is seeking an Abattoir Manager in Gauteng to take overall responsibility for day-to-day operations of a pork abattoir, ensuring safe, compliant and efficient production from receiving to dispatch.

The role emphasizes food safety, quality, animal welfare, people management, and equipment reliability, with a focus on meeting targets while maintaining high standards and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Oversee a workforce of 50+ employees with at least 3 years in a supervisory role.
• Hands-on abattoir operations experience, preferably pork meat processing.
• Strong knowledge of meat safety, hygiene and compliance requirements.
• Proficient in Excel and operational systems; experience with Meat Matrix or Abbasoft/Abbasurf.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of the pork abattoir from receiving through slaughter, dressing, chilling and dispatch.
• Ensure production targets, throughput and requirements are met safely and efficiently.
• Ensure compliance with meat safety, hygiene, animal welfare and OHS regulations.
• Implement and monitor food safety, hygiene and sanitation procedures.
• Manage operations staff, supervisors and resources, including planning and attendance.
• Maintain high carcass quality and support customer requirements.
• Identify inefficiencies and implement improvements to productivity and cost control.
• Coordinate maintenance of site, plant and equipment to minimise downtime.
• Ensure preventative maintenance is followed and issues are escalated promptly.
• Monitor stock and resources and provide management reports on performance.
• Work with Quality, Maintenance, HR and others to maintain compliance.

Skills

Operational leadership

Food safety

People management

Planning

Problem-solving

Production management

Maintenance awareness

Attention to detail

Tools

Excel

Meat Matrix

Abbasoft/Abbasurf

Job description

Pillangó Placements is seeking an Abattoir Manager in Gauteng to take overall responsibility for day-to-day operations of a pork abattoir, ensuring safe, compliant and efficient production from receiving to dispatch.

The role emphasizes food safety, quality, animal welfare, people management, and equipment reliability, with a focus on meeting targets while maintaining high standards and continuous improvement.