Operations Manager - 16 month fixed term contract at Foodstuffs

Ko wai mātou – About us  Kia ora.  We’re Foodies.  You know New World, PAK’nSAVE and Four Square right? That’s us!     With 300+ stores and over 24,000 Foodies across Te Ika-a-Maui, our North Island Co-op has the privilege of helping New Zealanders get more out of life.  Locally owned, we reflect the communities we serve, and we celebrate our people - our taonga, every day for being uniquely them.      Every day, thousands of customers shop in-store or online. To make it happen, our supply chain – one of New Zealand’s biggest – keeps everything moving. With over 1,000 team members, we move more than 97.8 million cartons a year, covering 19 million kilometres — that’s nearly 24 round trips to the moon! Te Tūranga – About the role    Monday - Friday 8.00pm – 4.00am (on-call duties required)  Fixed-term contract - June 2026 – September 2027 Foodstuffs North Island (FSNI) is seeking an experienced leader for a fixed-term Operations Manager opportunity, working for our Upper North Island (UNI) Chilled & Frozen Distribution Centre. This opportunity sits within our future-focused Supply Chain Transport team and plays a critical role in leading safe, efficient, and high-performing chilled and frozen transport operations across multiple sites. As the Operations Manager – Chilled & Frozen, you will be responsible for the end-to-end leadership of despatch operations, people performance, carrier management, and operational execution. You will work closely with the UNI Transport Manager and wider Supply Chain Leadership Team to deliver operational excellence while embedding a strong safety culture aligned to our Journey to Zero strategy. This role requires a hands-on leader who can balance operational delivery, people leadership, financial discipline, and continuous improvement in a fast-paced environment. Key responsibilities Ensure safety is always the number one priority – HOME SAFE EVERYDAY Lead and manage Despatcher teams across multiple chilled and frozen sites Ensure all drivers and carriers are fully inducted and compliant on-site and online Plan, coordinate, and control daily operations including resources, equipment, pickups, overflows, OTR, and returns Drive strong compliance across transport systems (WMS, TMS, Microlise, e-road, PODs) Proactively manage operational performance against KPIs, service, and cost targets Maintain operations within budget, challenging existing processes to identify smarter ways of working Manage carrier performance, compliance, financial disputes, claims, and non-conformances Lead incident management, safety reporting, and corrective actions through SHED Build highly engaged teams aligned to Foodies values and Journey to Zero objectives Collaborate with Planning, DC Operations, Finance, and wider Supply Chain teams Act as a key liaison with Co-operative members and external stakeholders across the North Island Drive continuous improvement through process simplification and operational innovation  Ngā painga - What we offer  We’re committed to providing awesome experiences for our people, including offering a range of benefits: Free carparking - we’ve got over 1,000 carparks including 36 free EV plugs Southern cross health insurance, Foodies superannuation scheme Onsite café with subsidised meals, mini mart, 5% discount at our retail stores Flexible working options, a day off on your birthday, long service leave Inhouse learning and development programmes and courses, flu vaccinations, and social network groups (we call them Tribes). He kōrero mōu - About you      Previous Management experience or experience working in a similar leadership role (preferably within Transport) Strong people leadership capability with experience managing diverse teams Proven ability to lead in a safety-critical, high-volume operational environment Solid understanding of transport and logistics operations, ideally within chilled and frozen networks Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, claims, and performance reporting Excellent planning, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills A pragmatic problem-solver who can make timely decisions and manage competing priorities Comfortable working under pressure in a fast-paced, operational environment A continuous improvement mindset with the confidence to challenge the status quo We’re interested in your diverse experiences, your strengths and how adaptable you are to learn and grow.  If you don't meet every requirement, but feel this role could be for you, we’d still love to hear from you! Experience awesome. Achieve awesome. Be awesomely you. We’re proud to have a focus on Diversity & Inclusion here at Foodies and welcome courageous behaviour, encourage togetherness, inspire our people to be their best selves in our Foodies whānau.   We encourage you to apply with all your awesomeness and welcome your diverse background, including any disability, additional health and mental health needs, and/or neurodiversity.   If you require further information or reasonable accommodations to our recruitment process, please reach out to [Upgrade to PRO to see contact] so we can support you to freely participate equitably in our recruitment and selection process.   Accommodations could include, interview location, sign language interpreter, assistive technology.   Don’t ‘cart’ around – apply now!