Operations Manager

About our client

Our client is a second-generation, family-owned and operated New Zealand business with a long-standing reputation in the irrigation industry.

Established in 1995, the business has grown from selling its first Zimmatic lateral move irrigator into a specialist irrigation business supporting farming operations across the South Island. Today, they provide solutions across irrigation design, installation, servicing, repairs, upgrades and precision irrigation technology, working with centre pivot and lateral irrigation systems across a range of farming operations.

They are an authorised Zimmatic dealer and have built their reputation around providing practical solutions, quality workmanship and reliable after-sales support. Their Ashburton-based team also provides 7-day emergency breakdown support during irrigation season, helping keep customers operating when they need it most.

The business is now being led into its next chapter by the second generation of the family, while continuing to build on the strong foundations established over the past 30 years.

About the role

Based in Ashburton, with the flexibility to work from home one day per week, this is a senior operational leadership role focused on people, planning, performance and profitability.

You’ll lead operational managers and teams across installation, service, repair and engineering, providing clear direction and ensuring the wider operation is well planned, resourced and performing effectively.

While an understanding of field-based, engineering or trade environments is important, this is not a hands-on tools role. Your focus will be on leading the people who deliver the work, monitoring performance, identifying issues early and making sure the operation runs efficiently, safely and profitably.

A key part of the role will be keeping a close eye on job performance and margins, ensuring work is delivered efficiently and opportunities to improve profitability are identified. You’ll also be responsible for making sure teams are well planned and productive, with labour capacity being used effectively across the business.

Just as importantly, you’ll look at quality and rework, understanding where jobs or processes are creating unnecessary repeat work, addressing the underlying causes and helping the teams improve how work is delivered.

Working closely with the General Manager and other areas of the business, you’ll bring together the people, planning and commercial side of the operation to keep work moving and continuously improve performance.

Key responsibilities

Review job budgets, actual costs and gross profit across installation, service, repair and engineering work.

Identify margin risks early and work with managers to address labour, material, subcontractor and scheduling issues.

Ensure variations and additional work are documented, approved and invoiced.

Oversee work in progress and ensure completed jobs are closed out accurately and promptly.

Plan workloads and allocate resources effectively across teams and locations.

Monitor productive and chargeable hours and identify opportunities to improve labour utilisation.

Work with managers and team leaders to improve scheduling, job preparation and resource allocation.

Ensure staff record time, materials and job notes accurately and promptly.

Support managers to set clear expectations, manage performance and develop their teams.

Ensure effective handovers between sales, design, estimating and operations.

Monitor rework, callbacks and defects and identify recurring causes.

Work with the relevant teams to put practical improvements in place and reduce repeat issues.

Lead regular planning and performance meetings with operational managers and team leaders.

Support safe work planning, training, supervision and health & safety compliance.

Work collaboratively with Sales, Design, Estimating, Inventory, Administration and the General Manager.

Maintain clear communication with customers and contractors when plans or completion dates change.

Provide regular reporting to the General Manager on operational performance, job margins and emerging risks.

Identify opportunities to improve processes and systems where they will help the business deliver more consistent and profitable work.

About you

We’re looking for someone who is commercially minded, organised and confident leading people and operations.

You’ll ideally have

• Experience managing field operations, construction, engineering, irrigation, trades or a similar service or project-based business.
• A strong understanding of job costing, gross profit, labour planning and work in progress.
• Experience leading managers, team leaders and operational teams.
• Confidence having constructive performance conversations and following through on agreed actions.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities.
• A practical approach to scheduling, quality control, problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• Confidence using job management, reporting or ERP systems to understand performance and support decision-making.
• A strong commitment to health and safety and delivering work to the required specification.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively across different areas of a business.
• You’ll be someone who enjoys bringing structure, accountability and consistency to a busy operation.
• You’ll be comfortable looking at the bigger picture while still understanding the detail behind job costs, labour utilisation, scheduling and quality.
• You don’t need to be the person fixing the problem yourself, you need to be able to identify the issue, work with the right people to resolve it, and make sure it doesn’t keep happening.
• This could suit someone who has progressed from an operational, engineering, construction, irrigation or trades environment into operations, project or people leadership, and is now ready for broader operational responsibility.
• What’s on offer
• Ashburton-based senior leadership role
• 1 day working from home each week
• Company vehicle
• Very competitive salary on offer
• Join a second-generation, family-owned and operated New Zealand business
• Be part of a business with 30 years of industry history and an established South Island customer base
• A genuine opportunity to influence the way the business operates
• Leadership responsibility across multiple operational teams
• Close partnership with the General Manager and senior leadership team
• The opportunity to have a direct impact on profitability, productivity and operational performance
• The opportunity to play an important role in the next stage of a well-established Canterbury business
• If you’re an experienced Operations Manager, Engineering Manager, Service Manager, Project Manager or senior operational leader looking for your next challenge, we’d love to hear from you.