ABOUT OUR BUSINESS

Bodalla Dairy Cheese Factory is a family-owned dairy manufacturing business on the South Coast of New South Wales. We produce cheddar cheeses, bottled milk, yoghurt and ice cream. Our factory supplies the Bodalla Dairy Shed café, cheese shop and ice creamery, as well as wholesale customers.

We are committed to maintaining our established recipes, flavour profiles and product quality while improving production efficiency, reducing waste and developing our employees.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Production Manager is responsible for planning, organising and managing daily manufacturing operations across all dairy product lines. Reporting to the business owners, the role coordinates production schedules, employees, materials and equipment to ensure products are manufactured safely, consistently and efficiently.

The position requires balancing customer demand, milk availability, staffing, processing times, equipment capacity, stock levels and product shelf life. The Production Manager maintains established manufacturing standards, provides practical leadership on the factory floor, resolves production issues, oversees food safety and equipment maintenance, and supports continuous improvement across factory operations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Production Planning and Coordination

- Plan and coordinate daily and weekly production schedules for cheddar cheese, bottled milk, yoghurt and ice cream.
- Prioritise production according to customer orders, stock levels, product shelf life, milk availability, processing times and equipment capacity.
- Coordinate ingredients, packaging, labour and equipment to meet production targets efficiently.




- Balance fresh dairy production and storage requirements with cheesemaking and cheese maturation schedules.
- Coordinate product availability with the Dairy Shed café, cheese shop, ice creamery and wholesale customers, particularly during peak trading periods.
- Adjust schedules to address changing demand, staffing constraints, equipment breakdowns and material shortages.

2. Dairy Manufacturing and Product Quality

- Oversee milk handling, pasteurisation, processing, cheesemaking, packaging and storage across all product lines.
- Manage cheese production in accordance with established methods, including flavour incorporation, pressing, maturation and packaging.
- Ensure employees follow approved recipes, processing procedures and product specifications for bottled milk, yoghurt and ice cream.
- Monitor production conditions, batch consistency, product yield and finished product quality.
- Maintain Bodalla Dairy’s established recipes, flavour profiles and product standards, referring proposed changes to the owners for approval.
- Investigate manufacturing variations, defects and product losses, implementing corrective actions to maintain consistent results.

3. People Leadership and Training

- Lead and supervise factory employees, allocating duties according to production priorities, skills and safe staffing requirements.
- Communicate production targets,



responsibilities, quality expectations and workplace procedures.
- Manage staff rosters, coordinate staffing requirements and review timesheets for accuracy.
- Train employees in manufacturing methods, equipment operation, hygiene, food safety, recordkeeping and safe work practices.
- Monitor performance, provide practical feedback and address operational or performance concerns.
- Develop employees’ capabilities across production tasks to improve workforce flexibility and operational continuity.
- Promote teamwork, accountability, respectful communication and a safe workplace culture.

4. Food Safety, Quality and Traceability

- Maintain food safety procedures, including HACCP-based controls, Positive Manufacturing Practices and required production documentation.
- Ensure critical checks for pasteurisation, processing temperatures, storage conditions and other relevant controls are completed and recorded.
- Oversee cleaning, sanitation, personal hygiene and contamination-prevention practices.
- Maintain ingredient identification, allergen controls, batch coding, date marking and product traceability.
- Ensure accurate records of raw materials, production batches, cleaning, process checks and corrective actions.
- Investigate product defects, non-conformances and quality complaints with the owners and relevant technical advisers.
- Coordinate food safety inspections and audits and implement required corrective actions.
- Ensure products affected by food safety or quality concerns are identified, isolated and managed appropriately.

5. Equipment, Maintenance and Workplace Safety

- Monitor the condi

📌 Production Manager (Bodalla)
🏢 Ironbrij
📍 Bodalla