Johannesburg North: Operations Manager posted by The Working Earth

As the Operations Manager, you’ll be responsible for ensuring seamless factory operations, maintaining worldclass food safety standards, optimizing costs, and steering continuous improvement. You will also play a critical customerfacing role—strengthening partnerships, understanding market demand, and ensuring toptier service delivery.
 
What You’ll Do
 
Production & Operations Leadership

• Oversee all factory activities including production, packaging, warehousing, and logistics.
• Manage production planning to meet customer demand while reducing downtime and waste.
• Drive continuous improvement to enhance efficiency, yield, and costeffectiveness.

 
Quality & Compliance

• Uphold stringent food safety standards (HACCP, FSSC 22000, GMP).
• Monitor product quality and quality control processes.
• Manage and resolve customer complaints with urgency and professionalism.

 
People Management

• Lead and motivate production teams to achieve operational excellence.
• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, and teamwork.
• Conduct performance reviews and develop succession pipelines.

 
Financial & Resource Management

• Manage budgets and optimize operational costs.
• Track key KPIs including production output, OEE, wastage, and downtime.
• Work with procurement to secure costeffective raw materials and packaging.

 
Health, Safety & Environment

• Enforce compliance with OHSA and internal safety policies.
• Champion sustainability efforts across energy, waste, and sourcing.

 
They are looking for someone with the following:

• Degree in Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Food Technology, or similar.
• 5–7 years’ experience in food manufacturing—ideally cereals, snacks, or bakery.
• Proven success in managing highvolume FMCG production.
• Strong understanding of HACCP, GMP, ISO/FSSC 22000, and South African regulations.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems and production planning platforms.
• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Analytical thinker with excellent problemsolving ability.
• Effective communication and relationshipbuilding skills.