Head of Dairy Sourcing - Hawthorn East

We’ve been trusted to serve Aussie communities since 1914 and grown to become a top 30-listed on the ASX with over 115,000 team members and a portfolio of iconic brands. At Coles Group, you’ll not only get to make a difference to millions of Aussie lives—you’ll also get to see your impact.

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

The Head of Dairy Sourcing is a newly created role and will report into our General Manager, Bakery, Dairy & Frozen. You will hold responsibility for all Dairy sourcing activities and play a key role in embedding our vision to create a sustainable vertically integrated dairy business.

Your day-to-day responsibilities will include but not limited to:

• Lead the Coles Direct milk procurement process, overseeing farmer selection strategies, pricing and market competitiveness  
• Manage and optimise Coles third-party supply agreements
• Manage the partnership with Coles MilkCo to optimise end-to-end business outcomes
• Lead the Farmer Engagement strategy and sustainable development initiatives to strengthen external relationships and to advance Coles’ reputation in the dairy industry  
• Create and implement program governance across the portfolio
• Design and manage a variety of customer-centric and network projects simultaneously ensuring alignment with BU vision and strategy

About you and your skills

In this exciting role no two days will be the same. Our ideal candidate is someone with a long-term strategic lens who is highly collaborative and can demonstrate hands-on experience with dairy supply chains. You’ll build trusted partnerships with suppliers and farmer networks alongside having a vested interest in upholding compliance and governance standards.  

Your skills should include:

• 10+ years’ senior leadership experience in supply chain, sourcing, procurement or agribusiness (Dairy or broader food/FMCG industry preferential)
• Strong track record of delivering complex projects that align with long-term strategic impact
• Outstanding influencing, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills
• Strong commercial acumen and excellent financial expertise
• Strong ability to analyse and evaluate sourcing models and identify business improvement opportunities

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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: 157534

Employment Type: Full time