Operations Manager, Village Dairy | Traralgon, Victoria

Village Dairy is a growing, multi-site dairy manufacturing business backed by Apta Group, an Australian private investment group building a portfolio of high-quality food and beverage businesses.

We are seeking an experienced and hands-on Operations Manager to lead the day-to-day performance of our Traralgon site, working closely with the Site Manager and Production Manager to deliver safe, efficient and reliable operations.

Just as important as operational capability is the ability to lead people well. We are looking for someone who genuinely enjoys building a positive, engaged team environment where people feel supported and engaged to do their best work.

This is a highly hands-on role with genuine impact. The successful candidate will be comfortable on the production floor, solving problems in real time, and building the capability of a growing team as Village Dairy continues to expand.

The Role

Reporting to the Site Manager, the Operations Manager will coordinate production, warehouse, dispatch, people, equipment and resources across the Traralgon site.

Key responsibilities will include

- Coordinating daily site operations to meet production and customer requirements

- Working closely with the Production Manager to align production plans, labour, materials and resources

- Leading and developing operational teams and Team Leaders

- Driving continuous improvement, productivity and cost reduction initiatives

- Supporting the implementation and commissioning of new equipment and production capacity





- Maintaining a strong focus on safety, food quality and compliance across the site

- Ensuring effective inventory control and stock management

- Providing regular operational performance updates to the Site Manager

About You

You will be an experienced operations or production leader within food, dairy or broader manufacturing, ready to take on a hands-on site leadership role. Ideally, you will bring:

- Experience leading operations, production or a similar function within a food, dairy or manufacturing environment

- Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to develop and support a growing team

- Engineering or technical acumen, regarded but not essential
- A practical, solutions-focused approach to operational problem-solving
- The ability to build solid working relationships across production, maintenance, engineering, warehouse and dispatch

- Flexibility to work across a six-day operating environment as required

- Full Australian working rights

Why Join Village Dairy?

This is a genuine opportunity to build operational capability and shape how the Traralgon site runs, as Village Dairy continues to grow. The role offers real autonomy and the chance to make a visible, lasting impact on production, people and performance.

To Apply

Apply through SEEK or contact Impact People & Culture, APTA's retained recruitment partner for this appointment, for a confidential discussion.

If you're serious about this position, add a brief cover letter letting us know why you're the ideal candidate.

We look forward to hearing from you.

📌 Operations Manager: Village Dairy (Traralgon)
🏢 IMPACT- People and Culture
📍 Traralgon