Operations Manager

About the Company

NZ Safety Blackwoods, part of Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety, is one of New Zealand’s leading suppliers of industrial, safety, and engineering products, serving customers nationwide through an extensive distribution and trade network. The business is investing in its future, modernising its technology and consolidating its distribution footprint into a new Drury facility to support growth and service.

This is an organisation that backs its people, invests in capability, and is building a genuine high-performance culture across its supply chain.

The Role

Reporting to the Northern Distribution Centre Manager, you will lead the safe, efficient, and cost-effective operation of the Drury Distribution Centre. You will drive operational excellence across inbound, inventory, fulfilment, and dispatch, while building and developing a high-performing leadership team beneath you.

This is a role accountable for the full operational picture, service, productivity, quality, inventory accuracy, and cost, and for the safety and engagement of the people who deliver it. With a new site and ongoing investment in automation and systems, there is real scope to shape how this operation runs.

You will lead daily performance through your Team Leaders, optimise labour and equipment against demand, and use data to lift results. Just as importantly, you will set the standard for a safety-first, accountable, high-performance culture, coaching your leaders and building the capability and succession the operation needs as it scales.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who wants to own a significant operation and drive it forward, not simply maintain it.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead daily warehouse operations to deliver service, productivity, quality, and cost targets
• Champion a safety-first culture and ensure compliance with H&S legislation and site standards
• Lead risk management, incident investigations, and corrective actions
• Lead, coach, and develop Team Leaders and operational teams, building a high-performance culture
• Drive capability development, succession planning, and leadership growth
• Optimise labour, equipment, and resources, managing performance through KPIs and data
• Lead continuous improvement and effective use of warehouse systems and automation
• Ensure high inventory accuracy and quality across receiving, storage, fulfilment, and dispatch
• Key Skills & Experience

Required

• Proven leadership experience in warehousing, distribution, logistics, or supply chain operations
• Demonstrated success leading large operational teams in a fast-paced environment
• Strong understanding of warehouse operations, systems, and performance management
• Sound knowledge of Health and Safety requirements and operational compliance
• A proven track record of driving continuous improvement and operational excellence
• Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills
• Experience with warehouse automation and WMS platforms is desirable
• Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience, and exposure to related industry sectors with complex supply chains – e.g. building products, hardware, retail, FMCG, or large-scale distribution, are all advantageous

About You

You are an experienced operational leader who leads through your leaders and stays close enough to the floor to drive results. You put safety first, you hold people to account, and you build engagement and capability as you go. You are comfortable in a fast-paced, high-volume environment, you make decisions based on data, and you are energised by the chance to stand up and shape operations at a new, modern site.

You bring commercial awareness, a continuous improvement mindset, and the influence to align stakeholders behind a high-performing operation.

What’s In It For YouThis is a genuine opportunity to lead a significant distribution operation at a well-established New Zealand business that is investing in its future. With a new Drury facility and ongoing investment in automation and systems, you will have real scope to shape how the operation runs and to build a high-performing leadership team beneath you.

For an experienced operations leader who wants ownership, scale, and the chance to drive real improvement, this is a role with lasting impact.

• Leadership role at a new, modern distribution centre
• Drury, Auckland-based, with on-site parking
• Genuine investment in automation, technology, and capability
• Real scope to shape operations and develop your leadership team
• Established NZ business with a high-performance culture
• To be considered for this position, please submit your CV via the link below.
• For a confidential discussion, contact Joe Francis on 021 197 9121 or email joef@huntercampbell.co.nz