Quality 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 a hands-on Quality Manager to lead quality and food safety across our Traralgon and Dandenong manufacturing sites. This is a Leadership Team role reporting to the General Manager, with a clear mandate to build a proactive, disciplined quality culture.
You will take ownership of the quality agenda: understand where we are today, close the gaps, and build the systems, standards and habits that make quality part of everyday manufacturing, not a separate compliance activity.
We are looking for someone who is passionate about food safety, takes pride in getting the detail right, and is just as comfortable investigating an issue on the factory floor as presenting an improvement plan to the General Manager.
The Role
Reporting to the General Manager, the Quality Manager will lead the quality and food safety function across both sites and lead two Quality Controllers. You will have the authority to place product on hold and prevent its release when requirements have not been met.
Key responsibilities will include:
Developing and delivering a quality strategy and improvement roadmap across both sites
Owning the Food Safety Management System, including HACCP plans, prerequisite programs, traceability and recall readiness
Leading regulatory inspections, external audits and customer audits, and making sure corrective actions are closed
Reviewing current quality systems, closing the gaps and building consistent standards, procedures and document control across both sites




Leading investigations into quality failures and customer complaints, getting to the root cause on the floor
Working with Production, Maintenance, Supply Chain and New Product Development so quality is considered in process changes, equipment and new products
Leading, coaching and developing the two Quality Controllers
Reporting on quality KPIs, risks and audit outcomes to the General Manager
About You
You will be an experienced quality leader within food manufacturing, ready to take on a hands-on role with real authority.
Ideally, you will bring:
A tertiary qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology, Food Engineering or a related discipline
Significant experience in a quality leadership role in food manufacturing, with dairy or other high-care experience highly regarded
Strong knowledge of food safety management systems, HACCP and quality assurance methods, with BRCGS or SQF experience highly regarded
Experience managing regulatory compliance, external audits and customer audits
A track record of leading improvement and lasting change, ideally building or rebuilding a quality function
A practical approach, with the ability to turn technical requirements into workable factory-floor processes
Strong communication and influencing skills, and the courage to challenge practices that are not good enough
Willingness to travel to our Dandenong site roughly fortnightly, and to attend site at short notice when needed
Why Join Village Dairy?
This is a genuine prospect to build the quality function at Village Dairy and shape how both sites approach food safety and quality as the business continues to grow. The role offers real autonomy, a place on the Leadership Team and the chance to make a visible, lasting impact.
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📌 Quality Manager - Village Dairy (Traralgon)
🏢 IMPACT- People and Culture
📍 Traralgon