Bonnievale: Production Manager

About the Role

A well-established dairy manufacturing business in the Western Cape is seeking an experienced Production Manager to lead their cheese and butter manufacturing operations. This hands-on leadership role requires someone who thrives in a fast-paced food production environment, knows how to build strong teams, drive efficiency, and embed a food safety culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate weekly production schedules and personnel shifts aligned with customer demand and supply chain requirements
• Report daily, weekly, and monthly on production yields, operational efficiency, overtime, and downtime
• Coordinate raw milk and cream intake and ingredient availability
• Manage planned shutdowns and preventative maintenance programmes with the maintenance team and external contractors
• Drive continuous improvement across labour, production costs, ingredients, packaging, and machinery
• Ensure full compliance with food safety regulations and dairy industry standards
• Work closely with the Quality Department on product integrity, critical control points, and non-conformances
• Coordinate across Finance, HR, Quality, Sales, Logistics, and Maintenance departments
• Evaluate, develop, and performance-manage production staff
• Ensure full OHS compliance and promote a safe, professional working environment

Requirements

• Grade 12
• Formal degree or diploma in Operations Management, Project Management, or a relevant dairy qualification (Option A)
• Minimum 8 years of production management experience (dairy or FMCG experience is advantageous)

Qualifications

• Formal education/certifications: None mentioned

Salary & Benefits

• Negotiable basic salary
• Old Mutual Superfund pension (3% employer contribution)
• Annual performance bonus paid in November, pro rata
• Relocation assistance and first month accommodation covered