General Manager - Supplier Services

at  Westland Milk Products

Born on the beautifully raw West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, Westland Milk Products has an excellent international reputation that embodies the West Coast spirit in all that it does. It’s taken some good old-fashioned hard work to get where we are, and our committed team is a huge part of our ongoing success. We process over 700 million litres of milk a year and proudly produce a wide range of top-quality consumer and foodservice products, and dairy ingredients.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Due to the retirement of our current incumbent, we are looking for a new General Manager Supplier Services to fill the big shoes he will leave behind. Reporting to the GM Environment and Milk Supply and based in our Christchurch (Hornby) office (with frequent travel required to the West Coast), the GM Supplier Services is a critical role for Westland, providing a key interface and liaison between Westland and the lifeblood of our organisation - our suppliers.
The GM Supplier Services will work to achieve a value-added approach that delivers a sustainable, competitive pay-out, ensuring that Westland has security of milk supply while at the same time guaranteeing that every farm and farmer practice meets high standards of animal welfare, lower environmental impact and high levels of food safety and traceability. As such, the role is responsible for providing motivational leadership to a dedicated & diverse team that provide our suppliers with a wide range of effective and efficient support services related to milk supply management, on-farm asset management and milk quality management.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, YOU AND YOUR TEAM WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR:

• Maintaining effective communication throughout the supplier network
• Advocating with external organisations and rural professionals on behalf of suppliers
• Assisting suppliers with statutory compliance requirements, particularly Resource Management Act, Code of Practice, Farming Excellence programmes, Environmental Management Systems, Food Safety, animal welfare and sustainable Dairy Water Accord
• Promoting and fostering existing and new relationships and commercial opportunities
• Enhancing current relationships building on trust and commitment
• Maximising collaboration between the Milk Supply and Milk Collection/Transport teams
  Key for us - and what will drive success in this role - is a down to earth nature, the desire and ability to get stuff done, along with the ability to build meaningful relationships and make real and lasting connections with a wide range of people. A natural affinity for the rural sector is therefore essential as is the ability to achieve a position of genuine trust and credibility and provide a level of influence that is respected by all parties.