Operations Manager Manufacture

Wellington - New Zealand

Monthly Salary: Not Disclosed

Posted on: 8 hours ago

Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Department:

Manufacturing

Job Summary

Our Manufacture crew are world-builders artists craftspeople and creative thinkers - building creatures armour costumes props robots prosthetics and more all from our Miramar workshop.

Were looking for a highly collaborative Operations Manager to lead a continuous improvement safety and people-first culture and bring their systems thinking and process optimisation experience to enable streamlined delivery of cost-efficient and high-quality production across a diverse array of manufactured work.

Unlike traditional production environments our work is highly bespoke and creatively driven requiring systems that support craftsmanship and innovation alongside delivery discipline.

In this role youll have responsibility for:

Safety risk and compliance

Championing safe systems of work across machinery CNC spray finishing welding lifting/rigging and hazardous substances.
Leading critical risk verification and near-miss learning.

Planning scheduling and delivery

Governing the production schedule across eight manufacturing departments.
Evolving strong daily and weekly operational rhythms and change-control practices.
Improving OTIF WIP flow and queue times across multiple buildings.

Workforce planning & resource utilisation

Ensuring a flexible resourcing model for 80120 crew (employees and contractors) implementing skills matrices and cross-training plans.
Maximising utilisation and minimising non-chargeable time.

Continuous improvement & operational excellence

Reviewing and maintaining SOPs for high-risk and high-frequency activities.
Supporting consistent quality standards and simple QC processes.
Driving productivity waste reduction cost efficiency and delivery certainty.

Financial management & planning

Managing operations within approved budgets developing and leading annual capex plans and business cases and supporting capacity and capability planning.
Partnering with Finance to monitor expenditure and provide insights.

People leadership & culture

Leading coaching and developing leaders and teams.
Supporting recruitment onboarding and performance processes.
Championing capability development and cross-skilling and fostering an inclusive psychologically safe high-performance culture.

Facilities & assets

Overseeing maintenance and lifecycle planning for buildings vehicles and equipment.
Maintaining high workshop and workspace standards.

We are looking for a seasoned leader with significant experience in manufacturing or operational leadership.

You can find more details in our job description here .

Youll ideally bring:

Proven ability to stabilise delivery and implement structured planning and operational cadence
Strong health & safety leadership particularly with machinery and hazardous substances experience
Sound business and financial acumen
A calm structured credible and low-ego leadership style
Experience collaborating effectively across diverse functions and building cohesion across teams
Systems-thinking and the ability to standardise processes and create disciplined operational practices.

It would be an advantage if you have experience in continuous improvement/Lean. Experience working in an environment with ERP/MRP is another plus (especially if youve used Odoo previously).

More information:

Were based in Miramar Wellington and we really need our Operations Manager here in our wonderful Workshop with us. Relocation assistance may be available for the right candidate.

You can find out more about the details of the role in our job description here or reach out to with any questions.

We look forward to hearing from you applications close 8 March 2026.

Additional Information :

If we can do anything to accommodate you during the recruitment or interview process please let us know.

Successful applicants will undergo background checks as part of our recruitment process.

Remote Work :

Employment Type :

Full-time

Our Manufacture crew are world-builders artists craftspeople and creative thinkers - building creatures armour costumes props robots prosthetics and more all from our Miramar workshop.Were looking for a highly collaborative Operations Manager to lead a continuous improvement safety and people-first...