The Story

Our client is one of Australia's leading food manufacturers, producing and supplying a portfolio of trusted household brands enjoyed by millions of Australians every day. With decades of success behind them, they continue to invest heavily in technology, innovation and operational excellence to support their manufacturing operations and future growth.

As part of a major digital transformation initiative, they're embarking on the implementation of a current Manufacturing Execution System (MES) across one of their key production facilities. They are now seeking an experienced IT Project Manager to lead this business-critical program, working closely with manufacturing, engineering and technology teams to deliver a successful implementation with minimal disruption to operations.

This is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in a high-profile manufacturing technology project that will have a lasting impact on the organisation's production capabilities.

The Role

Reporting to the CTO, you'll take ownership of the end-to-end delivery of a Manufacturing Execution System implementation, leading the project from planning and governance through to deployment, hypercare and transition into business-as-usual.

Working across the Mentone Head Office and the Pakenham manufacturing site, you'll coordinate internal stakeholders, implementation partners and other vendors to ensure the solution is delivered safely, efficiently and within agreed scope, budget and timelines.

Key responsibilities include





- Leading the delivery of a large-scale MES implementation from approved business requirements through to go-live and operational handover.
- Managing project governance, planning, budgets, risks, issues, dependencies and executive reporting.
- Coordinating solution configuration, systems integration, testing, user acceptance, training and deployment activities.
- Working closely with manufacturing, engineering, quality, operational technology and IT teams to ensure operational readiness.
- Managing integrations between MES, ERP platforms, PLC/SCADA environments, automation equipment and other operational technologies.
- Leading cutover planning, go-live activities and post-implementation support while minimising production disruption.
- Building strong relationships with business stakeholders, site leadership, software vendors and implementation partners to ensure successful project delivery.

The role is hybrid, 6 month contract (possibility of extension) and office locations are both south eastern suburbs and bayside.

What You Bring To The Role

We're looking for an experienced Project Manager who understands both technology delivery and the realities of implementing software within a live manufacturing environment.

You'll ideally bring





- Proven experience delivering at least one end-to-end Manufacturing Execution System (MES) implementation within an industrial manufacturing environment.
- Strong knowledge of manufacturing operations, including production execution, batch processing, quality management, traceability, material consumption and shop-floor processes.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex projects through configuration, integration, testing, training, cutover, go-live and hypercare.
- Experience coordinating integrations between MES, ERP systems, industrial automation, PLC/SCADA environments and other operational technology platforms.
- Exceptional stakeholder and vendor management skills, with the ability to work effectively across manufacturing, engineering, quality, IT and external delivery partners.
- A proven ability to manage project scope, schedules, budgets, risks and change within complex operational environments.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to influence stakeholders from factory-floor operators through to executive leadership.
- Experience within food manufacturing, FMCG or other highly regulated manufacturing environments will be highly regarded.
- Relevant project management qualifications (PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent) are advantageous.

Next Steps

If you've successfully delivered Manufacturing Execution System projects and enjoy working at the intersection of manufacturing operations and technology, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply now or get in touch to learn more about this opportunity.

📌 IT Project Manager - MES System Implementation (Melbourne)
🏢 Affix
📍 Melbourne