Director of Plant Management – Upper Hutt Operations

About the role

As General Manager of Upper Hutt Operations, you will provide enterprise leadership, strategic direction and operational excellence for the Upper Hutt manufacturing and distribution site. You will be accountable for planning, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, ensuring a compliant, uninterrupted supply to global markets while aligning cost structures with corporate objectives.

Key responsibilities

• Define and deploy site strategy in line with Global Animal Health Manufacturing priorities and sponsor capital and transformation programmes.
• Lead and develop the Site Leadership Team, building Lean capability and fostering a safety‑focused, inclusive culture.
• Oversee daily management through S&OP, issue escalation and compliance with safety, quality, legal and financial requirements.
• Develop annual operating and capital plans, manage site profitability, cost and inventory performance, and steward equipment and infrastructure.
• Represent Upper Hutt in enterprise forums, build partnerships with Global Supply Chain, Commercial, Regulatory and other functions, and act as Director of New Zealand‑based legal entities.

Required profile

• Proven senior leadership experience in a GMP‑regulated biological or pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
• Strong communication, collaboration and stakeholder‑management skills across cultures and functions.
• Ability to lead through complexity, ambiguity and change in a matrix organisation.
• Demonstrated capability in strategy deployment, continuous improvement and performance management.
• Strong business acumen with solid financial understanding.

Required skills

• Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance.
• Lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Manufacturing operations and operational excellence.
• Financial management and cost stewardship.
• Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) systems.