Manufacturing Manager

About Us
Primo Foods is Australia’s most recognised and trusted smallgoods brand, proudly part of JBS Australia, the country’s largest and most respected meat and food producer. From our beginnings in a small butcher shop in 1957, we’ve grown into the market leader in high quality smallgoods.

At Primo, our people are the key to our success. Their passion, skill and care go into every product we make, combining traditional methods with modern techniques to deliver food that’s simply made better to taste better.

Join a team that takes pride in what we do and is driven to keep raising the bar; there’s good, there’s great, and then there’s Primo.

About the Role

We’re seeking an experienced, hands‑on Manufacturing Manager to lead operations at our Chullora site across a two‑shift operation. You’ll oversee essential production areas including Thawing, Pumping, Trimming, Roast Pork, Ham, and Bacon and manage up to 100 team members, including team leaders.

You’ll be actively involved in the factory floor while also setting direction, embedding lean manufacturing practices, and shaping continuous improvement. You'll be responsible for:

• Championing safety, consistent quality, throughput, and operational excellence.
• Ensuring compliance with GMP, QCP, HACCP, and QA standards.
• Driving key KPIs across Safety, Quality, Service, Cost, Yield, and Throughput.
• Leading cross‑functional collaboration with QA, Continuous Improvement, Engineering, and Maintenance.
• Mentoring, developing, and empowering your team to identify and implement improvements and building resilience and capability within them.
• Fostering a culture of continuous improvement through shared vision, teamwork, and personal growth.

What You’ll Do:

• Own the safety culture, championing proactive risk management.
• Apply lean methodologies to elevate performance, measuring and managing critical KPIs like Safety, Quality, Service, Cost, Yield, and Throughput.
• Collaborate with internal teams to resolve issues quickly, maintain compliance, and ensure audit readiness, aiming for zero CARs.
• Support room leaders in capability-building.
• Embody Primo’s values and reinforce them at every level.

About You:

• You bring substantive experience in people leadership, ideally in FMCG or manufacturing, with preference for meat or smallgoods.
• You’re a resilient, hands‑on leader who thrives in modern, physically demanding, fast‑paced environments.
• You possess strong knowledge of food hygiene and manufacturing standards, and pair that with proactive communication and stakeholder skills.
• You’re solutions‑oriented, adept at conflict resolution, and focused on outcomes.

Why Join Us?

This is a key leadership opportunity at one of Australia’s most trusted food manufacturers. Here, you’ll deliver tangible improvements across safety, quality, and efficiency while leading with purpose.

At Primo Foods, we’re committed to creating a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace for everyone. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and abilities. If you require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process to support you, please let us know.

Applications close at 11:59pm 19 September 2025.