General Information
Position Description
We are Fonterra, one of the world's largest dairy nutrition companies. Here in Australia, we collect milk from Aussie Farmers across Victoria and Tasmania, and our manufacturing sites turn this into the dairy foods you know and love in our supermarkets, including Perfect Italiano™, Mainland™, Western Star™, and Bega™. We also sell dairy ingredients to many of the world's leading food companies and partner with food services businesses across the country to get dairy foods into chefs' hands.
As a Co-operative created and owned by New Zealand dairy farmers, our collaboration, innovation, and passion have enabled us to share the goodness of our dairy with the world. We're committed to caring for the land, our animals, and every drop of milk, producing nutritious food with safe, quality ingredients loved here in Australia and around the world.
As part of the Fonterra Co-op, you'll be solving for a better future alongside a team connected by solid values as we strive to be a leader in dairy sustainability, dairy innovation and science, with a focus on New Zealand milk.
When you join Fonterra, you'll open yourself to a career of opportunities where you can grow with us by developing your skills, sharing your knowledge, and exploring diverse career paths that ignite your passions.
About Us
Fonterra Oceania is on the lookout for a dedicated Continuous Improvement Manager to lead the deployment of our continuous improvement framework across our Farm Source division, with a primary focus on Farm Milk Collection (FMC). If you thrive on driving operational excellence and have a strong background in the dairy or agricultural industry, this role offers a unique opportunity to make a real impact on our Farm Source operations.
About the opportunity
As the Continuous Improvement Manager, you’ll work closely with the Director of Farm Source and senior leaders to implement industry-leading continuous improvement initiatives that enhance efficiency and create value across the FMC business. You will be a key change leader within Farm Source, mentoring teams on using continuous improvement tools to eliminate losses, boost performance, and achieve our “Zero Loss Journey” goals. Key responsibilities:
- Develop and manage a master deployment plan for continuous improvement from farm to process
- Drive change management programs realising value from the integrated service and scheduling processes and FMC scheduling software
- Act as the senior specialist on continuous improvement, ensuring teams are empowered and trained in relevant methodologies.
- Provide calibrated assessments, coaching, and leadership in continuous improvement practices to ensure alignment with business goals.
- Develop a pipeline of initiatives focused on achieving a “Zero Loss Journey” across multi-year objectives.
About you:
We’re looking for an experienced continuous improvement leader with a strong background in dairy farm milk collection operations or within a food manufacturing environment. You’ll be a skilled communicator with a passion for driving sustainable change by engaging and motivating teams across complex, large-scale operations. You can also demonstrate:
- Proven track record in cost-saving and value creation within a similar large-scale operational environment
- High level experience in continuous improvement methodologies (IWS preferred or Lean, Six Sigma etc.)
- Strong problem-solving, project management, and stakeholder engagement skills to drive measurable results across end-to-end operations
- Tertiary qualification in science, engineering, agriculture, or a related field
- Ability to lead authentically, drive sustainable performance, foster collaboration, and inspire meaningful change.
Are you excited about this opportunity but may only meet some requirements?
At Fonterra, we are committed to building a diverse workplace and, therefore, open to looking at applicants with excellent transferable skills. If that's you, we encourage you to apply as you may be the right candidate for this role or one of our other opportunities.
Or join our Talent Community by clicking here, to be notified about new and relevant job opportunities.
The benefits of life at Fonterra
Our people and what they bring to our Co-op shape our success. We have a collaborative culture, inspiring leaders, and passionate people, making Fonterra a great place to work. We also offer competitive remuneration and a range of benefits, regardless of your role or location.
Fonterra is a place where everyone can be themselves, feel empowered to do their best, and are empowered to create goodness for generations.
Sound good to you? Come and join us, and let's solve for better, together. You, me, us together.
