Hawera, Taranaki | Commercial Operations Leadership | On-site role
About the Comany
Our client is a well-established New Zealand business based in Hawera entering an exciting phase of growth and operational transformation. Renowned for delivering innovative supply chain, industrial supply, and inventory management solutions; the business partners with manufacturers across New Zealand to improve productivity, reduce downtime, and optimise operational performance.
The Opportunity
This is a newly dedicated Operations Manager position reporting directly to the General Manager with responsibility across customer service, inventory, procurement, supply chain, warehousing and distribution.
This isn't simply a logistics role. We're looking for a commercially minded operations leader who understands the connection between gross margin, working capital, stock performance, suppliers and customer outcomes.
There is plenty of opportunity to make an impact. Alongside leading day-to-day operations, you'll strengthen supplier performance, improve inventory disciplines, build more scalable processes and play an important role in an upcoming ERP transition.
This is an opportunity for someone who enjoys creating clarity and structure in a growing business. You'll be expected to confidently lead change, introduce stronger processes and operating disciplines, and bring people with you as new ways of working are implemented.
Key Responsibilities
You're an experienced operations leader with a strong commercial mindset. You're equally comfortable getting into the detail and stepping back to understand how an operational decision affects profitability, cash flow and the customer.
Ideally, you'll bring:
What's on Offer
This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of a business-critical function and work directly with General Manager, with scope to influence both operational and commercial outcomes.
You'll also receive:
Applicants must have the legal right to work in New Zealand. Pre-employment checks will form part of the recruitment process.
All applications will be treated in confidence.
About the Comany
Our client is a well-established New Zealand business based in Hawera entering an exciting phase of growth and operational transformation. Renowned for delivering innovative supply chain, industrial supply, and inventory management solutions; the business partners with manufacturers across New Zealand to improve productivity, reduce downtime, and optimise operational performance.
The Opportunity
This is a newly dedicated Operations Manager position reporting directly to the General Manager with responsibility across customer service, inventory, procurement, supply chain, warehousing and distribution.
This isn't simply a logistics role. We're looking for a commercially minded operations leader who understands the connection between gross margin, working capital, stock performance, suppliers and customer outcomes.
There is plenty of opportunity to make an impact. Alongside leading day-to-day operations, you'll strengthen supplier performance, improve inventory disciplines, build more scalable processes and play an important role in an upcoming ERP transition.
This is an opportunity for someone who enjoys creating clarity and structure in a growing business. You'll be expected to confidently lead change, introduce stronger processes and operating disciplines, and bring people with you as new ways of working are implemented.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day operations across customer service, inventory, procurement, supply chain, warehousing and distribution.
- Manage operational drivers influencing gross profit, working capital, stock turns, cost-to-serve and overall business performance.
- Lead supplier negotiations across pricing, rebates and commercial agreements, while strengthening offshore and domestic supplier performance.
- Optimise inventory, forecasting and replenishment to balance working capital, product availability and customer requirements.
- Improve supply-chain performance, including reducing lead-time risk, backorders and recurring service issues.
- Lead operational change and continuous improvement, introducing clear processes, structure and accountability across the function.
- Manage the performance and effectiveness of the business's third-party logistics relationship.
- Support the upcoming ERP implementation while strengthening operational reporting, visibility and scalable ways of working.
You're an experienced operations leader with a strong commercial mindset. You're equally comfortable getting into the detail and stepping back to understand how an operational decision affects profitability, cash flow and the customer.
Ideally, you'll bring:
- At least 5 years' senior operational leadership experience.
- Experience within distribution, wholesale, industrial supply, manufacturing support or another inventory-intensive environment.
- Strong commercial understanding of gross margin, working capital, inventory and operational P&L performance.
- Significant experience across inventory, procurement and supply chain, together with proven supplier negotiation capability.
- Confidence and openness to lead change across the business, bringing people along while challenging existing ways of working constructively.
- A structured, systems-focused approach, with the ability to introduce clear processes, accountability and operating disciplines.
- ERP and operational-systems experience, with ERP implementation or systems-transition experience particularly valuable.
- Strong analytical and reporting capability, with confidence using data to inform decisions.
- A hands-on, pragmatic approach and the confidence to build systems and processes in an evolving SME environment.
What's on Offer
This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of a business-critical function and work directly with General Manager, with scope to influence both operational and commercial outcomes.
You'll also receive:
- Participation in a company profit-sharing scheme linked to commercial performance.
- Company phone, laptop and parking.
- Relocation assistance may be available for the right candidate.
- Direct exposure to senior leadership and strategic business decisions.
- The opportunity to play a key part in an ERP and systems transformation.
- Broad scope to improve processes, supplier performance, inventory outcomes and operational capability.
Applicants must have the legal right to work in New Zealand. Pre-employment checks will form part of the recruitment process.
All applications will be treated in confidence.