The Company An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Head of Operations to lead two established food processing and packing facilities in Bundaberg, QLD, as the business embarks on a significant phase of capacity expansion, automation and operational improvement.

With a strong national presence and continued investment in its processing capabilities, the business is focused on expanding production capacity, improving operational efficiency and supporting future growth.

With significant expansion and automation initiatives planned, this is an opportunity to lead the next phase of operational development across two key processing facilities.

The Role

Reporting to the senior operations leadership team, you'll take responsibility for the overall performance of two fresh produce processing and packing facilities, overseeing production, maintenance, safety, people leadership and operational budgets.

You'll play a key role in driving operational performance, strengthening leadership capability and delivering capacity expansion and automation projects to support future growth.

Key responsibilities include

- Lead day-to-day operations across two processing and packing facilities, ensuring safe, efficient and cost-effective production.
- Drive improvements in throughput, yield, labour productivity, equipment effectiveness and operational costs.
- Oversee production planning and scheduling to optimise capacity, resource utilisation and customer delivery.
- Lead facility expansion, capital investment and automation projects, ensuring delivery against budget, timelines and quality requirements.
- Manage operational budgets, maintenance expenditure and overall site performance.
- Champion a proactive safety culture, ensuring compliance with WHS, food safety and regulatory requirements.
- Develop and empower operational teams, strengthening leadership capability, engagement and accountability.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives,



embedding Lean manufacturing principles and operational best practices.
- Collaborate with quality, procurement, supply chain and broader business functions to optimise operational performance.

Your Background

You'll be an experienced manufacturing or processing leader who combines strong operational expertise with a hands-on, people-centric leadership style. Comfortable operating in a growing and evolving environment, you'll bring a proven ability to improve performance, develop teams and deliver operational improvement projects.

You'll bring

- Proven senior operations leadership experience within food manufacturing, fresh produce processing or a similar environment.
- Experience overseeing complex manufacturing operations, ideally across multiple facilities.
- Strong financial acumen, including operational budget ownership and cost management.
- Demonstrated success improving throughput, yield, labour productivity and manufacturing efficiency.
- Experience delivering capital projects, facility expansions or manufacturing automation initiatives.
- A strong track record of developing operational teams, building capability and driving accountability.
- Sound knowledge of food safety, quality systems and regulatory requirements, including HACCP and GMP.
- Experience implementing Lean manufacturing principles and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Robust planning, problem-solving and stakeholder management capabilities.
- A qualification or trade background in Engineering, Manufacturing or a related discipline would be advantageous.

What's On Offer An opportunity to lead two established processing facilities within a growing Australian agricultural and food processing business. With significant expansion and automation initiatives ahead, you'll have the autonomy to influence operational strategy, strengthen leadership capability and deliver meaningful improvements in capacity, efficiency and overall performance.

For a confidential discussion, contact Chade Cupit-Love at Sonder Executive on [email protected].

📌 Head of Operations (Bundaberg Central)
🏢 Sonder Executive
📍 Bundaberg Central