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About dnata
dnata, part of the Emirates Group, is one of the world's largest and most trusted air services providers. With operations across 34 countries, dnata delivers world-class catering, ground handling, retail, and travel services.
dnata Catering Australia & Southeast Asia has undergone remarkable growth in recent years, expanding from $250M to $1B revenue in just three years and now employing more than 4,500 people across Australia and Singapore. The organisation provides catering and in‐flight retail to the world's leading airlines and is a recognised leader in aviation services across the region.
With this continued growth, dnata is focused on strengthening operational leadership across its largest sites. The Sydney operation is a critical part of the network, supporting major airline customers and managing high‐volume, complex catering operations across multiple facilities.
This role represents a rare opportunity to lead dnata's largest catering operation while shaping the next phase of operational excellence and transformation.
About the role
The General Manager – Sydney Operations will report directly to the Chief Operations Officer and will be a key member of dnata Catering's Senior Leadership Team.
This role is responsible for the end‐to‐end operational leadership of the Sydney catering operation, overseeing a workforce of approximately 1,000 employees across multiple sites and leading a team of senior operational leaders. The GM will drive operational performance, deliver financial outcomes, and embed a disciplined culture of safety, accountability and continuous improvement.
A critical part of the mandate will be leading operational readiness and transition planning for dnata's major infrastructure investment in Sydney, including the consolidation of existing facilities into a new large‐scale catering operation.
The role will also partner closely with airline customers, internal functional teams and national leadership to ensure dnata continues to deliver exceptional service performance in a fast‐paced, highly regulated aviation environment.
This is a highly visible leadership role that requires a balance of strategic thinking, operational discipline and the ability to lead large frontline teams in a complex 24/7 operational setting.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead the Sydney catering operation, delivering financial targets and operational performance across multiple sites.
* Drive productivity improvements across labour planning, rostering and operational efficiency metrics.
* Build a disciplined culture of safety, food safety and compliance across the operation.
* Strengthen workforce planning, attendance management and retention strategies in a challenging labour market.
* Lead major operational projects including site consolidation and infrastructure transition.
* Build capability and accountability within the operational leadership team.
* Partner with airline customers and internal stakeholders to maintain strong commercial and operational relationships.
* Embed clear reporting rhythms and data‐driven decision making across the operation.
The Person
To succeed in this role, you will be a highly experienced operations leader with a strong track record of managing large‐scale, labour‐intensive operations.
You will be comfortable leading complex operational environments with significant frontline workforces, where safety, quality and service delivery are critical. Equally important will be your ability to lead cultural change, improve productivity and build leadership capability within large teams.
You will be confident operating in a fast‐moving environment and able to balance strategic leadership with practical operational execution.
Your leadership style will be clear, disciplined and pragmatic. You will bring the ability to translate operational data into clear actions and will be comfortable holding teams accountable while building trust and engagement across a multicultural workforce.
Essential attributes and experience
* Proven leadership experience managing large‐scale operations (500+ employees).
* Strong operational and financial management capability with P&L responsibility.
* Experience in high‐throughput industries such as aviation services, food manufacturing, logistics or large‐scale hospitality operations.
* Demonstrated ability to improve operational performance through workforce planning and productivity initiatives.
* Experience delivering major operational or infrastructure projects.
* Strong safety leadership and experience operating in regulated environments.
* Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills.
* A data‐driven leadership style with strong operational reporting discipline.
This role represents a rare opportunity to lead one of the largest aviation catering operations in Australia and play a critical role in shaping dnata's operational future.
For a strictly confidential discussion, please contact Callan Raine at callan.raine@troocoo.com. Alternatively, you can request a candidate pack by emailing executive@troocoo.com.
To submit an application (CV and cover letter) please do so via the apply button.
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