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Technical Officer/Quality Lead

General Information

Date Published
15-Oct-2025
Advertising Ends
23-Nov-2025
ID#
13771
Role Type
Quality & Safety
Work Type
Permanent Full-Time
Workplace Type
On-site
Country
Australia
Location
Northern Victoria

Position Description

We are Fonterra, one of the world's largest dairy nutrition companies. Here in Australia, we collect milk from Aussie Farmers across Victoria and Tasmania, and our manufacturing sites turn this into the dairy foods you know and love in our supermarkets, including Perfect Italiano™, Mainland™, Western Star™, and Bega™. We also sell dairy ingredients to many of the world's leading food companies and partner with food services businesses across the country to get dairy foods into chefs' hands.

As a Co-operative created and owned by New Zealand dairy farmers, our collaboration, innovation, and passion have enabled us to share the goodness of our dairy with the world. We're committed to caring for the land, our animals, and every drop of milk, producing nutritious food with safe, quality ingredients loved here in Australia and around the world. 

As part of the Fonterra Co-op, you'll be solving for a better future alongside a team connected by solid values as we strive to be a leader in dairy sustainability, dairy innovation and science, with a focus on New Zealand milk.  

When you join Fonterra, you'll open yourself to a career of opportunities where you can grow with us by developing your skills, sharing your knowledge, and exploring diverse career paths that ignite your passions. 

About us

Located in northern Victoria, the Stanhope site is one of Australia’s leading cheese manufacturing facilities. It produces a range of high-quality cheeses—including mozzarella and cheddar—for both domestic and international markets. Stanhope is known for its commitment to quality, with dedicated teams overseeing every stage of production to ensure consistency, taste, and performance.

About the opportunity

The Technical Officer/Quality Lead is responsible for developing, implementing and improving the sites quality systems to ensure that all finished products meet specified requirements. The Technical Officer/Quality Lead role is equivalent to an Assistant Quality Manager role with seven direct reports.  The role also contributes to the development and maintenance of the site Quality Management System ensuring compliance with regulatory and food safety requirements, and corporate guidelines. Other key responsibilities include:

  • Provides Site Food Safety & Quality Team leadership.
  • Managing a team of seven quality technicians
  • Monitors and reports on plant compliance to relevant regulations, food safety, quality and customer standards
  • Assure the food safety & quality status of the site through inspection and audit
  • Implements, maintains and improves the effectiveness of the food safety & quality system.
  • Exception management is proficiently co-ordinated, including interim controls and short term corrective action
  • Actively promotes a behaviour based food safety & quality culture at all levels within the plant through coaching conversations, daily feedback and leadership
  • Responsible for the maintenance of the quality system and supporting site compliance to FSQ standards. Assists in maintaining operational requirements and manages internal auditing and consumer complaints
  • Ensuring sampling, product release, tracebility and raw material approvals are processed in SAP ERP system

About you

We are looking for candidates with strong backgrounds within quality and food safety ideally within a similar food manufacturing background. You can also demonstrate:

  • 5 years’ experience in a similar role
  • Good understanding of food safety principles, and quality control methods and processes
  • Leadership experience desirable
  • Detail-oriented mindset with exceptional problem-solving and analytical abilities
  • Good IT skills with work experience in SAP ERP system is preferred
  • Bachelor’s degree in science or related field, Advanced HACCP training
  • Ability to work independently, prioritize tasks, and manage multiple projects simultaneously
Are you excited about this opportunity but may only meet some requirements?

At Fonterra, we are committed to building a diverse workplace and, therefore, open to looking at applicants with excellent transferable skills. If that's you, we encourage you to apply as you may be the right candidate for this role or one of our other opportunities. 

Or join our Talent Community by clicking here, to be notified about new and relevant job opportunities. 

The benefits of life at Fonterra

Our people and what they bring to our Co-op shape our success. We have a collaborative culture, inspiring leaders, and passionate people, making Fonterra a great place to work. We also offer competitive remuneration and a range of benefits, regardless of your role or location. 

Fonterra is a place where everyone can be themselves, feel empowered to do their best, and are empowered to create goodness for generations.  

Sound good to you? Come and join us, and let's solve for better, together. You, me, us together.