Packaging Manager - Japan and Singapore

About Zespri

Zespri is the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit with over 800  people in New Zealand and throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas.
 

We  help people, communities and the environment thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit. We sit at the heart of an interconnected industry working with 2,800 growers in New Zealand and 1,500 growers in Italy, France, Greece, South Korea and Japan. We supply the world’s healthiest little superfruits to people in more than 50 countries. We are fruit on a mission.
 

Our values are at the heart of everything we do. We commit to guardianship; putting people, the community, and the environment first. We are results-driven, challenging ourselves to grow and deliver better value. We cultivate personal connections, listening and acting with empathy and humility – and treating each other better for it.
 

We are growing quickly, driven by our success in engaging more and more consumers and by offering the world’s best kiwifruit 12 months of the year. We have bold ambitions and aim to grow sales from approximately $3 billion in 2018 to $4.5 billion by 2025.
 

To achieve our goals, we’re empowering our people to achieve their goals, designing our work for wellbeing, through flexible work practices and self-leadership.
 

We have bold ambitions for the future and we want all of our people to live and perform at their best.
 

About The Role

Reporting to the Head of Supply Chain, APAC, The Packaging Specialist- JP and SG will be responsible for the maintenance, development and enhancement of Zespri Consumer packaging solutions, including materials, processes and systems to enhance the value, minimize cost, ensure food safety and relevant regulatory requirements are met, improve sustainability or increase functionality of the product being offered to consumers.  Specific areas of responsibility are to include: 

1.    Ownership of the end to end full packaging development process.
2.    Strategy execution: Develop in-market packaging strategy and collaborate with all related teams in order to operationalize the plan and optimize portfolio harmonization.
3.    Build a sustainable and replicable process, leading adherence and implementing enhancements to packaging processes, systems and technologies that will drive efficiencies across the business, while continuing to reduce the environmental footprint in line with Zespri’s strategy
4.    Lead the quarterly packaging steerco sessions and approval processes of stages of development.
5.    Compliance of packaging materials to local, regulatory requirements for food safety and sustainability and Zespri specific sustainability targets.
6.    Execution of Technical Packaging briefs that reflect and support the delivery of new consumer propositions in market working collaboratively across new materials, processes and systems, research partners and packaging suppliers to develop new packs and with the Growth team for development, validation and execution of future packaging solutions. 
7.    Create full visibility & data integrity of packaging produced for our Brand working closely to influence and guide distributors, suppliers and retailers to improve Zespri packaging SKUs. Includes collection of packaging data and entry into the system repository of packaging information analysis reporting. 
8.    Cost Optimization and Efficiency: Work with Procurement to develop and enhance business cases and contracts as required, including capital cost estimations, as well as packaging development and sourcing costs estimates for packaging solutions. 
9.    Process Compliance & Improvement: Leading adherence and providing suggested enhancements to packaging processes, systems and technologies that will drive efficiencies across the business, while continuing to reduce the environmental footprint in line with Zespri’s strategy
10.    Capability Building: Access, customise or develop new packaging equipment systems and technologies that increase packaging performance or deliver continuous improvement of packaging solutions. Lead the technical trials on site for implementation.

Accountabilities

Sustainable packaging strategy 
•    Support development of vision and strategies of sustainable packaging. 
•    Develop and execute sustainable packaging strategy actions plans 
•    Deploy a strong governance  model to monitor and communicate the progress made. Lead the quarterly packaging steerco sessions and approval processes of stages of development.

End to end ownership of sustainable packaging development
•    Take a end to end ownership of sustainable packaging development right from design,   execution of design, tracking overall projects using project management practices.
•    Ensure compliance of packaging materials to local, regulatory requirements for food safety and sustainability and Zespri specific sustainability targets.
•    Execution of Technical Packaging briefs that reflect and support the delivery of new consumer propositions in market working collaboratively across new materials, processes and systems, research partners and packaging suppliers to develop new packs and with the Growth team for development, validation and execution of future packaging solutions

Create full visibility & data integrity
•    Lead the quarterly steerco process, involving all stakeholders, creating the content and driving the sessions to approve and update on packaging changes in committee.
•    Follow up closely market activities/process on packaging creation to be compliance with every step of the process approval.
•    Maintenance of consumer packaging metrics in Frontier (Consumer Packaging Management system) for accurate reporting and organization of Audits around it.
•    Map out different types of packs Zespri Kiwifruit is packed in that are not designed by Zespri specifically -or  are produced by distributors.
•    Audit packaging data in Frontier system and ensure data integrity 
•    Ensure materials, formats, systems and packaging suppliers are in compliance with food safety regulations and Zespri’s quality standards for all new packaging
•    Perform Supply Chain assessments to understand the implications of new packaging, materials, technology or processes to Zespri Operations.

Create full visibility & data integrity
•    Maintenance of consumer packaging metrics in Frontier (Consumer Packaging Management system) for accurate reporting 
•    Map out the different types of packs Zespri Kiwifruit is packed in that are not designed by Zespri specifically -or  are produced by distributors.
•    Audit packaging data in Frontier system and ensure data integrity 
•    Ensure materials, formats, systems and packaging suppliers are in compliance with food safety regulations and Zespri’s quality standards for all new packaging
•    Perform Supply Chain assessments to understand the implications of new packaging, materials, technology or processes to Zespri Operations.

Qualifications & Experience

•    Bachelor’s degree in Packaging Engineering, Mechanical /Industrial Engineering, or similar degree (Desirable – Not mandatory)
•    Sound experience (8+ years)  of relevant work experience in packaging technology and/or business/packaging strategy development 
•    Strong technical competencies in packaging science including knowledge of substrates, structural design and manufacturing processes (across packaging formats / types)
•    Experience with project management tasks and timeline development
•    Ability to connect abstract thoughts and ideas and materialize into an actionable long-term packaging strategy
•    Experience working with multi-functional teams to formulate objectives and action plans
•    Analytical approach to problem solving and decision making
•    Excellent communication and facilitation skills 
•    High level of collaboration and teamwork

What's In It For You

• Competitive overall remuneration package, including a Short-Term Incentive scheme opportunity.
• FlexWELL flexible work ethos
• Additional paid annual leave day per year (Zespri Day).
• Additional paid volunteer day to volunteer within your community (Volunteer Time).
• Global Life and Permanent Disability Insurance.
• Group Medical Insurance benefits.

Agency

Zespri will not accept applications or contact from any temporary staffing agency, placement service or professional recruiter for this vacancy (“Agency”).

Where Zespri requires the support of an agency to fulfil a vacancy, we will proactively seek this support from our network of Agencies.  We respectfully ask that you do not contact Zespri or any of its affiliates/employees regarding vacancies, and reserve the right not to reply.

Zespri will not be responsible for, and will not pay, any fees, commissions or other payments related to such unsolicited resumes.