Woolworths Group:
We are Woolworths Group. 200,000+ bright minds, passionate hearts and unique perspectives connected by a shared Purpose – 'to create better experiences together for a better tomorrow.' It's that Purpose that fuels our ambition to explore new ideas, make brave commitments and innovate better ways to meet the food and everyday needs of more than 24 million customers every week.
If you're excited to transform today's blue sky thinking into a better tomorrow for future generations, you'll find yourself supported and enriched in a dynamic, inclusive and empowering workplace that reflects the diverse communities we serve. With a culture of genuine care, a flexible approach to work and opportunities across the group to grow your career and make a meaningful impact, the possibilities for what we can achieve together are endless
Why this role matters:
This is a rare opportunity to lead one of the most critical categories in Woolworths Group; a $6bn Fruit & Vegetables business that sits at the heart of our fresh food leadership. As Commercial Director, Fruit & Vegetables, you'll oversee the full "farm to fork" value chain, ensuring millions of Australians access fresh, affordable produce every day.
Woolworths is proudly known as Australia's Fresh Food People, and this role plays a pivotal part in bringing that promise to life. You will be responsible for ensuring the 24 million customers who shop with us every week across our network of over 1,000 stores have access to fresh produce that leads the market in freshness, quality, and price. You'll be accountable for delivering immediate trading results while embedding a long-term transformation strategy that strengthens Woolworths' leadership and influence in the market over the next 2–5 years.
Your influence will extend beyond Woolworths: as the ambassador for Fruit & Vegetables, you'll represent Woolworths in industry forums and play a pivotal role in how the sector continues to evolve.
Key accountabilities:
* Team leadership
– Inspire and develop a high-performing, geographically dispersed team of ~140 people across 9 distribution centres, including GMs of Fruit & Veg, Head of Strategic Sourcing, National Operations Manager, and Head of Marketing.
* Strategy
– Drive and embed the fruit and vegetables strategy, ensuring the category is future-fit in the face of technology advancement, climate volatility and shifting regulatory changes
* Operational excellence
– Lead automation, data and AI adoption to transform ways of working, increase resilience, and improve supply-chain efficiency.
* Partnership & influence
– Act as a Woolworths ambassador in the industry, building trusted supplier and grower partnerships and strengthening relationships across government and key stakeholders to improve outcomes across the sector.
* Customer impact
– Ensure Woolworths maintains its reputation as the fresh food people, ensuring we deliver on our customer promise for quality, freshness, and value in a highly competitive market.
About you:
We're seeking a bold, future-focused senior commercial leader who can balance immediate delivery with building for tomorrow. You will bring:
* Deep market expertise
– Strong knowledge of the Australian fresh produce market and end-to-end retail operations.
* Resilience & reputation
– The judgement, integrity and presence to represent Woolworths nationally and collaborate with others to shape the sector's future.
* Skill in building supplier partnerships
– that deliver long-term value, manage risk, and align with industry codes and ethical standards.
* Proven leadership
– A track record of leading large, complex businesses or categories and influencing diverse stakeholder groups.
* Change Agility
* The ability to stay calm, decisive and solution focused in the face of rapid environmental changes impacting produce supply
* Tech-savvy mindset
– Comfort with automation, digital and AI tools to drive performance and innovation. Experience of working with the media would be ideal but not essential.