Operations manager - soft services

We currently have an opportunity for an Operations Manager – Soft Services. Join our Health & Education team and lead the safe, compliant and customer-focused delivery of Cleaning and Catering services across six schools within the SA Schools PPP portfolio. Reporting to the Contract Manager – SA Schools PPP, you’ll help ensure contractual obligations, service standards and key performance indicators are consistently achieved.

What You'll Do

This role offers a broad scope, with key responsibilities including:

• Lead Cleaning and Catering operations across six schools, with a strong focus on catering quality, consistency and customer experience.
• Oversee menus, food offerings, food quality and presentation, special events and service improvements in partnership with Canteen Managers and Catering Leads.
• Maintain food safety, hygiene and allergen controls, including inspections, audits, records, incident review and timely corrective actions.
• Manage rosters, labour coverage, budgets, purchasing, stock, suppliers and operational performance while protecting service continuity and value for money.
• Build effective school and client relationships, resolve service issues and lead dispersed teams to meet contractual obligations, service standards and KPIs.

What You'll Bring

• Demonstrated operations leadership experience in a multi-site catering, hospitality, cleaning or integrated facilities services environment.
• Strong catering capability, including menu planning, food service delivery, functions, stock control and supplier coordination.
• Working knowledge of food safety, HACCP principles, hygiene, allergen management and food safety audit and corrective-action processes.
• Proven experience managing frontline workforces, complex rosters, labour costs, budgets, forecasts, procurement and performance-based service outcomes.
• A current Working with Children Check, or the ability to obtain and maintain one, plus flexibility to support service delivery and standby requirements outside standard hours.

More than anything, you’ll bring a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, sound judgement and a commitment to delivering safe, high-quality outcomes for our clients and school communities.

Desirable Qualifications

• Qualified Chef or Commercial Cook Certificate.
• Food Safety Supervisor Certificate, or willingness to obtain and maintain the qualification following appointment.
• A relevant tertiary or vocational qualification in Facilities Management, Operations Management, Hospitality, Cleaning Management, Business or a related discipline.

Why Downer?

Downer plans, creates and sustains essential public services across Australia and New Zealand. From hospitals to data centres and defence partnerships, we manage critical infrastructure that keeps communities thriving.

What it means to belong at Downer

We’re proud of our high-performance culture and commitment to diversity, offering:

• Training and development to support and diversify your career.
• With 30% of vacancies filled internally, you’ll find real opportunities to advance your career.
• Perks@Downer, including healthcare discounts and savings on retail and car purchases.
• Employee Assistance Program providing professional support for you and your family when you need it most.

You want your work to matter and so do we. With over 26,000 people across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, our team is made up of individuals with unique perspectives, backgrounds and ideas.

We know that diversity makes us stronger and we actively celebrate it through our commitment to inclusion and belonging.

We’re committed to building a team that reflects the diverse communities we serve and welcome people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, abilities and lived experiences. We especially encourage applications from those whose voices have traditionally been underrepresented in our industry, including women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Māori and Pasifika Peoples, veterans, people with disability and neurodivergent individuals. Even if your experience doesn’t align perfectly with this role, we’d still like to hear from you. If it feels like the right fit, apply. Potential counts, and so do you.

As a WORK180 Endorsed Employer, we support flexibility that works for your life, inclusive leadership that values your voice and equitable access to opportunity so you can do your best work and bring your whole self to it.

If you need support or adjustments through the recruitment process, just let us know. We’re here to help you put your best foot forward.

At Downer we plan, create and sustain. Downer is the leading provider of integrated services in Australia and New Zealand. Through trusted relationships and world leading insight we work closely with our customers to design, build and sustain assets, infrastructure, and facilities.