National Livestock Manager - Hawthorn East

We’ve been proudly serving Australian communities since 1914 and have grown to become a top 30-listed company on the ASX with a portfolio of iconic homegrown brands. At the heart of our continued success is over 115,000 team members working across the country, all contributing to bringing our customers smiles. You’ll not only get to see your work make a difference, you’ll be part of a team working together to help Australians eat and live better every day.

About the team

Our Commercial team is a large, but a close-knit group of trading experts, who are ready to shape the future of Coles. We pride ourselves on the long-lasting supplier relationships we build, the new ideas we develop and how passionately we work to help Australian eat and live better every day. And the best part? We’re all so different. We bring diversity of thought, backgrounds, and experience to every Business Unit across Coles Supermarkets and Liquor.

About the role

Take the lead in this pivotal leadership role as National Livestock Manager. You’ll lead the cattle and lamb procurement strategy, building strong producer and supplier partnerships while driving quality, availability, responsible sourcing and long-term commercial value across one of Australia's largest and most complex livestock supply chains.

Reporting to the Head of Livestock, Commercial & Producer Partnerships, this is a highly influential national procurement role where you’ll help shape the future of Coles’ livestock supply network.

You’ll also:

• Lead the national livestock sourcing strategy to deliver quality, availability, value and sustainable supply outcomes
• Drive procurement performance through forecasting, pricing, supplier partnerships and commercial decision-making
• Provide market insights and strategic direction to optimise cost, manage risk and identify opportunities
• Lead and develop a high-performing livestock buying team, building capability and accountability
• Partner across the business to deliver sourcing, sustainability, compliance and continuous improvement initiatives
• Monitor performance and governance to ensure delivery against financial, operational and responsible sourcing targets

About you and your skills

You’re a commercially minded livestock professional with a passion for building strong industry partnerships and delivering sustainable, long-term outcomes. Combining your strategic thinking with a hands-on approach, you thrive in fast-paced environments and bring the leadership, market and expertise needed to drive performance across a complex national supply network.

You’ll also have:

• Extensive livestock sourcing and supply chain experience, ideally across cattle and lamb, with a strong understanding of production, pricing, processing and market dynamics
• Demonstrated experience leading procurement strategy, budget and forecast outcomes, supplier relationships, commercial negotiations, responsible sourcing and value creation
• Strong people leadership capability with experience coaching, developing and leading high-performing teams
• Demonstrated success delivering strategic projects, change and continuous improvement in a complex environment
• Strong understanding of forward contracting, supply planning, forecast management, transport and logistics, market intelligence, sustainability, responsible sourcing and risk management
• Highly analytical and commercially astute, with the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights and decisions
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills with the ability to build effective relationships across internal and external networks

What’s in it for you?

• Flexible working options: We know that work is only one part of your life, so we actively encourage a positive work-life balance and provide hybrid working options to help you achieve it.
• Office perks: Take advantage of our gym facility and fitness classes, free parking, BBQ area, mini-Coles supermarket, fooderie hub where you can sample new products before they hit the shelves, school holiday program and so much more when you come in.
• Discounts: Eligible team members receive 5% discount all year round on your Supermarket and Liquor online and in-store purchases. We also offer additional periods of double discount (10%) at various times throughout the year. As well as hotdeals exclusive to team members that translate into additional savings.
• Reward through recognition: Give and receive recognition, linked to our Coles values, through our digital recognition platform ‘mythanks’. You can accumulate points to redeem in the online shop for exciting gifts and electronic gift cards from an extensive range of retailers.
• Opportunities for learning and development: No matter where you start within our diverse business, you’ll have experiences, exposure, and education to satisfy you. Discover and explore a variety of career development programs and job-specific training.
• Paid parental leave: We understand how important your life outside work is and offer permanent team members paid parental leave to support you in balancing work and family.
• Investment in your future: Our annual team member share plan offer allows eligible team members to make regular pre-tax salary sacrifice deductions to purchase Coles Group shares.

About the recruitment process

We’re continuing to build a gender equitable team, and a culture that is just as diverse, inclusive and welcoming as the communities we serve. We are committed to creating a workplace that is safe and respectful for our team. We encourage applications from people of all ages, cultures (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), abilities, sexual orientation and gender identities.

We’re happy to adjust our recruitment process to support candidates with disability. For further information and additional contact details visit the ‘Our Recruitment Process’ section of our careers site or email inclusionrecruitment@coles.com.au

Job ID: 198308

Employment Type: Full time