Senior Operations Manager (Nursery)

• Be part of a global leading berry brand
• Manage a state-of-the-art 49 ha multi-faceted nursery facility
• Based in Pakenham Vic (S.E Melbourne)
• Attractive salary + performance incentives + fully maintained vehicle

THE ROLE
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced senior manager to provide leadership and management oversight of all day-to-day operational activities at our state-of-the-art commercial nursery site based in Pakenham.  Spanning over 49 ha, the site is equipped to produce over circa 10 million high health tissue culture and berry plants annually through incorporating outdoor and covered substrate, glasshouse, and tissue culture production facilities. You will have responsibility for the sites’ People, Safety, Quality, Technical, Financial and Commercial functions with circa 80+ regular employees.  You will be accountable for the delivery of high-quality plant material to our national network of commercial nurseries and independent growers ensuring key KPI’s are achieved. 

Some of your key deliverables include:

• Production Planning & Execution: Developing and executing production plans (extending to irrigation, husbandry, spraying, pest & disease, etc) to deliver on forecast yields, timing, quality and costing targets. This may involve short and long-range planning and efficient utilisation of assets, resources, labour, equipment, and capacity.
• People & Leadership: Providing sound leadership, guidance and direction to professional, technical, and operational teams and the creation of a high-performance workforce. Accountability for the site management of day-to-day people issues including coaching, disciplinary, performance management, and training. 
• Safety & Environment: Establishing a positive safety culture, executing the site safety and environmental programs, and promoting high standards of compliance as well as management of site contractors, audits, inspections, and preventative maintenance programs. 
• Plant Quality: Implementing stringent site plant quality, hygiene, and clean stock protocols to ensure the delivery of high-quality plant material. 
• Tissue Culture & Nucleus Mother Stock;  Managing the Company’s genetic material ensuring plant material is maintained to the highest health and available in suitable volumes   
• Financial & Reporting: Delivery of accurate production and costing reports as well as oversight for the sites financial budget and associated reporting. 

In return you will be joining a successful and growing company in a challenging yet rewarding role full of variety, providing strategic, operational and leadership opportunities. You will be part of a team of strong operational and technical staff, providing you with support to achieve your key objectives as well as working in a fast-paced environment where you can exercise autonomous decision-making. This is a senior leadership position with opportunities for professional growth. 

TO APPLY
We are ideally seeking applicants who meet most of the following criteria: 

• Previous experience in a leadership role managing large-scale horticultural or nursery operations for a minimum of 5 years
• Tertiary qualifications in agricultural studies preferred but not essential
• Strong commercial acumen 
• Strong negotiation and interpersonal relationship building skills 
• Previous experience in leading teams 

DRISCOLLS AUSTRALIA - WHO WE ARE
Driscoll’s Australia is an exciting joint venture company owned by Costa – Australia’s leading integrated growing and marketer of premium quality fresh produce and Driscoll’s (USA) – the world’s market leader in berries. Partnering with a broad grower base across a national footprint, Driscoll’s Australia supplies year round delicious, branded berries to consumers using exclusively patented varieties developed by our joint venture partners breeding programs. Since our inception we have successfully achieved significant yearly growth and market share, enabling us to become the market leader in our category.