Production Manager, Value Add Beef (Regional QLD)

About the Company
Our client is a privately owned, vertically integrated meat business operating across the full supply chain, from livestock through to processing and global export. The business has a strong domestic presence and a significant international footprint, with the majority of production exported to premium markets worldwide. Backed by a long-tenured leadership team and a strong record of reinvestment, the organisation continues to invest heavily in its flagship processing operation.

The Opportunity
This role sits within a modern, purpose-built value-add facility - a $50M+ investment featuring brand-new, best-in-class equipment, operating alongside one of Australia's most significant meat processing sites.

Reporting to the Plant Manager, this role owns production leadership across the value-add room, producing mince, burgers, steaks and marinades for retail-ready export markets. The facility has scaled quickly in the last 3 years, with further headroom to scale production - this is a genuine growth mandate, not a steady-state operation.

The Role
You will take ownership of a modern, high-output production environment, with a clear mandate to build on an already strong growth trajectory.
You will:

• Champion a proactive safety culture, ensuring compliance with WHS policies and leading incident investigation and corrective action
• Lead daily production planning, labour allocation and equipment utilisation to maximise throughput and minimise downtime
• Maximise raw material value through yield optimisation, trim utilisation and waste reduction
• Deliver operational performance against budget, managing labour costs, overheads and cost by product line, with a focus on EBITDA improvement
• Ensure products meet quality, food safety and export compliance requirements, including HACCP and support for regulatory and customer audits
• Partner with Sales and Commercial to align production capability with customer demand, new products and customer trials
• Manage raw material and finished goods inventory to support production planning and minimise aged stock
• Build, lead and develop a high-performing leadership team, embedding accountability and a continuous improvement culture

The Environment
This is a meat processing facility connected to an active site that includes livestock processing. Candidates must be genuinely comfortable operating across the full primary processing environment with a kill floor and slaughter operations.

About You
You bring proven production leadership from a value-add protein environment, ideally with exposure to retail-ready or major retailer supply models.
You will bring:

• Proven experience in a Production or Operations Manager role within a value-add protein facility (beef, pork, lamb or poultry)
• Background with businesses supplying retail-ready or major retailer-aligned supply chains
• Strong multi-line production leadership, ideally across 50+ headcount
• A cost and continuous improvement mindset, particularly around yield
• The ability to balance operational rigour with a genuine growth agenda

Why Apply

• Newly scoped growth mandate within a modern, purpose-built facility
• $50M investment with best-in-class, brand-new equipment
• One of the largest and most complex meat processing operations in its sector
• Stable, long-tenured leadership environment
• Relocation support available for the right candidate

How to Apply
To apply online, please click on the appropriate link below. Alternatively, for a confidential discussion, please contact Orrin Huang at ohuang@sharpandcarter.com.au or on https://www.linkedin.com/in/orrinhuang/.

Please do not send your CV via email.
This role is not open to international applicants outside of Australia and NZ.