Head of Engineering - Food Manufacturing

Location: melbourne
Job Type: permanent
Salary: $200000 - $250000 per annum
Contact: Scott Logan
About the company
This is a company steeped in history which operates large and longstanding facilities, some of which are among the oldest production sites in Australia. They are in one of the largest product categories in the food industry for both the local and export market, and they are the dominant player in the space with the highest market share. Their sites are an engineer's playground - as with any site that has been around for extended periods they have large complex assets and processes some of which are very old and in need of replacement, they are also investing significantly in decarbonisation and sustainability with a drive towards carbon neutrality. They're also an extremely unique site with a broad asset base, not your typical food manufacturing plant.

About the role
You'll be accountable for driving the strategic objectives of the business through the lens of capital engineering projects, across a National site footprint, through your capable and established team of project engineers and managers. With substantially increased capital expenditure comes the critical need for greater governance and assurance in the delivery of capital projects in the form of a fit for purpose project framework across the whole organisation, which you'll need to create and embed effectively, and will require strong change management. You'll develop short, medium and long term capital plans and forecasts which are aligned to site and business strategy and have the engagement of the executive team, ensure the delivery of that portfolip to achieve performance metrics (such as safety, budget, schedule, operability) and increase the excellence of the project team by introducing concepts like vertical startup, total cost of ownership, full operability etc. You'll create a strong culture within your team (and influence the broader organisation) ensuring your people are growing, engaged, and have career and development plans.

About you
We're seeking an established engineering leader from a manufacturing background who has run large capital programs across multiple sites - responsible for both the strategy behind the portfolio as well as the execution. You will likely be in an Engineering Manager role with a National or multi-site remit right now. 
  • Engineering qualification preferred, or trades background
  • Background in manufacturing (likely food, or beverage, ingredients, chemicals, pharmaceutical)
  • Has had multi-site accountability
  • Broad asset experience (ideally has worked on old or aging sites, as well as new)
  • Ideally, experience on both old and new sites and understanding of how to drive change
  • Experience implementing a capital governance framework, or experience in a PMO type role

Why apply?
It is not hard to find manufacturing sites where the operations team been there for decades, but it is significantly rarer to find executive, technical, and professional functions where you can say the same thing - this is one such business, showing a strong and engaging culture. This is a great role for a confident engineering leader who wants to have an impact, who wants to deliver projects that drive meaningful improvement, and implement systems that can genuinely transform a business that has been around for longer than most. For the sustainability minded, this role will offer a chance to decarbonise a big operation and to reduce or eliminate reliance on unsustainable and costly resources. You will own a large capital budget year on year, and be one of the organisation's most senior leaders. Having said all of this, the team is down to earth and easy to get along with, you'll have the support of executives that are from operational backgrounds and are seasoned veterans across Australian manufacturing. 

How to apply
Click on the APPLY button, email me at scottl@sde.com.au , or contact me for a confidential discussion on 0431 557 927.

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