Production Area Manager

In Australia, the J.R. Simplot Company’s core operations are food manufacturing and agriculture, encompassing potato, vegetable, seafood and sauce operations. We supply a wide range of frozen, shelf-stable and chilled products to Australia and New Zealand’s major retail and foodservice customers and are part of Simplot’s Global Food business. With 17 food manufacturing and processing sites, Simplot Global Food serves retail and foodservice customers in 37 countries, and employs 8,000 people across North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

In Australia, we are a leading provider of quality, nourishing and sustainable food, focussed on creating food that maximises value from the best Australian-grown produce and global seafood. Our iconic brands have been an integral part of Australian life for generations, and include Leggo’s, Birds Eye, Edgell, John West and Chiko.

**Culture and Benefits**:
At Simplot, we are fueled by our purpose: We Contribute to Feeding Our World. We imagine a better future and set goals to reach it. We are committed to working as one Simplot and are guided by our shared values:

- Respect for Resources
- Spirit of Innovation
- Passion for People

We embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. We care about creating an environment that promotes safety and wellbeing and where our people feel supported, respected and empowered. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination and are committed to providing equal opportunities for all our team members.

Simplot is passionate about cultivating a future where good ideas and inspiring possibilities have the chance to grow. We want our team members to build exciting and fulfilling careers with us and offer professional and personal growth opportunities.

**The Perks**:

- Annual incentive (bonus) program
- Discounted health insurance options
- Income Protection Insurance
- Novated car leasing agreements
- Fully supplied & laundered uniform, boots & PPE
- Training & development opportunities
- Opportunity to purchase additional annual leave

**About Our Role**:

- Production team management in an operational environment
- Permanent afternoon / night crossover shift, Mon-Fri 1800 - 0200hrs
- Located at Bathurst, NSW

An exciting opportunity exists in the role of Production Area Manager at our Bathurst food processing facility.

Reporting to the site Production Manager, in this Mon-Fri role you will lead and manage a group of Team Leaders and Production Operators across afternoon / night shift (incl. shift handover) operations, whilst working to defined processes to meet the production plan and ensuring safety, quality, environmental and cost targets are met. This permanent, full-time position will work on a daily shift from 1800 - 0200hrs (noting that you may be required to support weekend site operations from time, notably during our peak vegetable seasons).

Simplot Bathurst employs over 200 people and having been a part of the local community since 1926, continues to produce Edgell products, as well as products for Birds Eye and Chiko. An investment of $90 million is currently being made at the site. This investment will transform the site into a frozen vegetable centre of excellence, enable increased production capacity, and ultimately help boost local and export volumes. The works which are anticipated to be completed in 2024, will see the site's facilities upgraded, the extension of existing production areas, and the installation of new equipment, including new vegetable processing technologies.

**What You Will Do**:
In conjunction with the wider Production team, duties will include;
- Delivery of the production plan whilst meeting all safety, quality, environmental and cost targets
- Daily reporting on metrics for area / shift
- Supporting new product and production trials
- Leading the team to deliver key performance metrics and drive performance improvements utilising the Simplot Work System (SWS) methodology
- Ensuring that all finished product meets required specifications
- Collaborate with site Engineering, Maintenance and Continuous Improvement teams on operational activities
- Assisting in developing SOPS, problem solving, RCA, and continuous improvement activities
- Setting clear direction for the team on a daily basis
- Ensuring the output and behaviour of team members meets the role requirements
- Providing training and development opportunities to team members to enable growth in team capacity
- Providing regular feedback and coaching to team members on performance
- Managing the resolution of people issues (in consultation with HR and the Production Manager)

**About You**:

- 100% commitment to health, safety and wellbeing in the workplace
- Demonstrated leadership experience within a manufacturing (preferably FMCG / food) environment
- Knowledge of Lean / Six Sigma methodology (green or yellow belt would be advantageous)
- Ability to work on a permanent afternoon / evening shift from 1800 - 0200hrs daily (in addit