Laboratory Team Leader | Christchurch

Job Description

The Company

At Goodman Fielder our purpose is simple. It's about making everyday food better for everyone.

Goodman Fielder is a leading global food company, and the custodian of a host of iconic Kiwi brands like Meadow Fresh, Puhoi Valley, Molenberg, Natures Fresh and Freya's that generations of New Zealand have grown up with and put in their supermarket trolleys every week.

We might be biased but we believe our team here at Goodman Fielder is an amazing place to work, and a great team to be part of! We're driven by our values - We Grow Together, We Keep Things Simple, We Get Stuff Done.

About the Role

We are looking for a Laboratory Team Leader to join our team! You will be responsible for leading and managing a multidisciplinary team of laboratory technicians delivering the food safety, quality, and compliance functions of the manufacturing site laboratory. The laboratory team is responsible for microbiology, chemistry and organoleptic analysis of domestic market and export liquid milk products.

Key accountabilities of the role:

• Lead and manage the on-site laboratory and staff on a day-to-day basis
• Proactively identify where Laboratory Quality Management Systems require improvement, with an eye to incorporating best practice innovation across both current and future needs
• Support the implementation of the site quality strategy and changes to improve wider business results such as validation testing, improvements and testing plan optimisation
• Support change and continuous improvement initiatives as requested and deliver projects on time, within budget, and to scope
• Manage and coordinate activities of microbiological, physical, chemical, and sensory testing via internal and external laboratories in line with GMP and HACCP principles
• Ensure precise and correct analysis to verify that products are compliant with specifications and legal requirements and released in line with requirements.
• Provide training support to the manufacturing team in laboratory GMP, aseptic sampling and be part of any root cause analysis process.
• Maintain IANZ accreditation
• Communicate laboratory outcomes to stakeholders and ensure workflows in the laboratory are running smoothly and efficiently
• Ensure availability of laboratory consumables and complete timely and accurate financial processing and reconciliation
• Manage the external laboratory supplier relationships

 About You

• Strong science, technical knowledge and understanding of dairy microbiology and chemistry
• Demonstrated ability to manage people, systems, budget, and resources to ensure service delivery of a high standard in an IANZ accredited laboratory
• A highly competent user of business systems including SAP, LIMS, Kronos
• A tertiary qualification in Science or Technology
• Proficiency at microbiological bench methods and experience in a food laboratory that supports manufacturing operations
• Excellent collaboration and interpersonal skills
• An ability to actively encourage continuous improvement by fostering openness and inquiry
• Enthusiastic and willing to take on new challenges

What we can offer

You will be joining a driven team of professionals who genuinely enjoy working together resulting in a highly collaborative and flexible work environment making delicious cheeses. In return for your passion and success, we will reward you with a competitive remuneration package and help you to achieve personal and professional growth and development.

At Goodman Fielder, we aim to be a destination employer in the food industry where we don't just offer jobs - we offer long-term careers.

What are you waiting for? Apply now.