Senior Technical Manager, Grocery

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

We’re seeking a Senior Technical Manager to lead the technical and quality agenda for Coles Own Brand Grocery Business Unit. This is a senior leadership role responsible for ensuring food safety, quality, and compliance, while driving continuous improvement across products and suppliers. You’ll bridge technical expertise with business strategy, contributing directly to the future Group Own Brand Technical Strategy.

You’ll also:

• Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing team of technical professionals, fostering trust, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Provide technical validation and sign-off across product briefs, formulations, packaging, and supplier trials
• Oversee supplier technical capability assessments and drive improvements through structured feedback and training
• Ensure all products meet regulatory requirements and internal technical frameworks across governance and compliance, including food safety and quality standards
• Represent Product Technology in business forums, embedding technical standards into category strategies and range plans
• Identify opportunities to enhance product and supplier performance using data, insights, and best practices
• Embolden a growth mindset through a continuous improvement lens when approaching all tasks, processes and projects, enabling and championing change where necessary

About you and your skills

Our ideal candidate is a strategic technical leader with a passion for food safety and quality. You thrive in complex environments and have a proven ability to lead teams through change while maintaining high standards of compliance and performance. Your background includes Grocery-specific experience or broader Food Technical Management expertise with exposure to grocery categories. You combine technical mastery with strong commercial acumen, influencing stakeholders and suppliers to deliver outstanding results. You’re collaborative, resilient, and committed to fostering a culture of trust, accountability, and continuous improvement.

You’ll also ideally have:

• Tertiary qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, or similar
• Qualification in Food Thermal Processing highly desirable
• Proven leadership in Food Technical Management, ideally within Grocery
• Extensive experience in FMCG manufacturing and/or food retail, with strong food safety and quality expertise
• Deep understanding of food safety regulations and quality management systems
• Ability to balance technical rigor with commercial priorities
• Demonstrated success leading teams through change and driving cultural engagement
• Strong influencing, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement skills

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: 172875

Employment Type: Full time

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