Iconic dairy brands, exciting dairy future!
Mainland Dairy is entering a bold, new chapter. Evolving from our roots as the business formerly known as Fonterra’s global Consumer and associated businesses, we are set to become part of Lactalis Group, the world’s largest dairy company known for its firm belief in the future of dairy and rapid, consumer-driven growth.
To be known as Lactalis – Mainland Dairy, we’re looking for highly skilled and knowledgeable people who are energised by the opportunity under new ownership, a change that is expected for the first quarter of 2026 (pending sale completion) but starting as soon as the right person is identified and available.
At Lactalis – Mainland Dairy, our passionate and talented team is committed to nurturing the future, unlocking new opportunities, and fostering innovation in nutrition and food. Come join us and help shape a consumer-focused future to be proud of.
About Us
This role will be based in the Gippsland region, with a home base at our Darnum site partnering with farmers across the area’s major dairy communities. You’ll engage directly with suppliers to provide day‑to‑day on‑farm support.
You’ll be joining a supportive and knowledgeable Milk Sourcing & Sustainability team that’s passionate about helping our farmers succeed. We value long‑term partnerships, practical on‑farm solutions, and a shared commitment to elevating sustainability, quality, and animal health and welfare standards across the dairy sector.
It’s a team that’s engaged, driven, and proud to be walking alongside our farmers every day.
About the Opportunity
We are seeking a highly capable Responsible Dairy Manager to support the development and delivery of programs that strengthen environmental performance, on‑farm sustainability, quality, food safety, compliance, and animal health and welfare.
This is a pivotal role within our Milk Sourcing & Sustainability team that blends technical expertise, relationship management, data‑driven insights, and on‑farm advisory support. Alongside our existing Milk Sourcing Professionals and supporting the teamyou will help farmers navigate evolving regulatory requirements, improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and adopt best‑practice farming systems — all while ensuring our milk supply remains strong, competitive, and sustainably produced.
You will play a key role in supporting our sustainability commitments, including scope 3 emission reduction, mandatory climate reporting, and improving on‑farm environmental outcomes. Key Responsibilities
* Act as regional lead for proactive on‑farm sustainability, quality, animal health and welfare, Farm Milk Collection activities and issue management.
* Work with Head of Responsible Dairy and Farm Performance Manager and contribute to sustainability and emissions projects for developing on‑farm emission reduction targets and tools for mandatory climate reporting.
* Extract and analyse data to support benchmarking, Insights Reports, and on‑farm emissions calculations.
* Support the development and delivery of Insights Reports and Action Plans for farmer suppliers.
* Provide technical environmental expertise across greenhouse gas emissions, nutrients, nitrogen, biodiversity, and on‑farm compliance.
* Assist farmers in adopting programs that improve production efficiency, livestock performance, and sustainability outcomes.
* Build productive relationships with farmers to support long‑term retention in a competitive market.
* Support suppliers and the Milk Sourcing & Sustainability team with on‑farm quality, food safety, and animal health and welfare requirements.
* Ensure compliance with EU and other quality standards.
* Represent Fonterra/Mainland Dairy at industry events, strengthening knowledge‑sharing and external relationships.
* Contribute to field days, supplier meetings, and farmer engagement activities.
About You
You’re a collaborative and motivated agriculture professional with a strong grounding in farm systems, sustainability, and environmental management. You thrive when working closely with our existing Milk Sourcing & Sustainability Professionals, Farm Performance Manager and farmers, providing technical guidance, and turning complex requirements into practical, on‑farm solutions.
You will succeed in this role if you enjoy variety, problem‑solving, building relationships, and making a meaningful difference in how dairy farms operate. You can demonstrate:
* A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in agriculture or a related field.
* Minimum 5 years’ experience in the dairy industry (highly desirable).
* Experience with DairyBase, Dairy Farm Monitor Project, and the Australian Dairy Carbon Calculator.
* Strong capability in data extraction, analysis, verification, and reporting.
* Knowledge of on‑farm quality systems, food safety, microbiology basics, and plant hygiene.
* Understanding of animal health, welfare, biosecurity, and basic nutrition.
* Exceptional communication skills with the ability to convey technical information clearly.
* Ability to influence, collaborate, and work effectively with farmers and industry stakeholders.
* A proactive, resilient, and results‑driven approach with strong problem‑solving ability.
* Commitment to continuous learning and staying current with evolving industry best practice.
Be Part of Dairy’s Future
Great people continue to power this business forward. Our people thrive within a positive working environment, a collaborative and caring culture and leadership that continues to inspire.
We believe in you bringing your best and most authentic self to work and we want you to succeed in a way that allows you to win, in every aspect of your life. We strongly encourage applications from First Nations people, as well as individuals of diverse cultural and social backgrounds. Our team is dedicated to supporting your professional development and personal wellbeing.
We look forward to the possibility of you joining our inclusive team.
Let’s make this your best move yet. Apply now!
Please note that applicants must have full working rights for Australia to be considered.
We are politely declining recruitment agency support and approaches for this role.