POSITION DESCRIPTION
Warehouse & Production Leading Hand
Work Type
Full Time 7 Month contract, with view to becoming permanent based on performance.
Department
Operations
Reports To
Head of Operations
Primary Role Focus
Frontline people leadership and daily warehouse/production execution
Award Classification
Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 [MA000084] — Storeworker Grade 4, subject to confirmation against the employee’s actual duties and applicable award coverage.
Salary Guide
$80,000-$90,000 + super (depending on experience)
This position has been designed with a structured career progression framework. Depending on experience, capability and demonstrated performance, appointments may be made at different levels within the Warehouse & Production Team Leader pathway. Progression is based on demonstrated ownership, leadership, planning capability and contribution to continuous improvement, rather than length of service alone.
Reporting Relationships
Direct Reports: Senior Storeperson & Inventory Controller; Storeperson; General Hands; casual staff; labour-hire personnel; apprentices (if applicable).
Works Closely With: Warehouse Planning & Logistics Coordinator; Senior Production Specialist; Technical Standards & Quality Lead; Operations Coordinator; Sales & Operations Coordinator; COO.
Position Summary
The Warehouse & Production Leading Hand is responsible for leading, directing and resourcing the daily execution of warehouse and production work so that customer commitments are achieved safely, efficiently and to VE Furniture's required quality standard.
This is first and foremost a frontline leadership role.
The Leading Hand is accountable for ensuring the team knows:
- what needs to be achieved;
- who is responsible for what;
- what the priorities are;
- what standard the work must meet;
- what tools, materials and information are required;
- where additional training or support is needed; and
- when an issue needs to be escalated.
The Leading Hand is expected to actively direct the operation rather than simply participate in it.
While this is a hands-on role, personal production output must not come at the expense of leading the team, planning resources, monitoring workflow, developing capability or controlling quality.
Purpose of the Role
To ensure the right people, with the right skills, tools, materials and information, are doing the right work at the right time and to the right quality standard.
The success of the role is measured primarily through the performance of the team and production system, rather than the individual output of the Leading Hand.
THREE CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES
1. LEAD & DIRECT THE TEAM
Objective
Create a productive, accountable and well-directed warehouse and production team that understands what is expected and takes responsibility for delivering it.
The Leading Hand is accountable for:
- Leading daily warehouse and production activity.
- Conducting a clear daily start-up/toolbox meeting.
- Translating the operational plan into clear individual and team priorities.
- Allocating work according to skill, capability, workload and urgency.
- Giving clear instructions and confirming understanding.
- Maintaining visibility over what every team member is working on.
- Monitoring progress throughout the day rather than waiting until the end of the shift.
- Reprioritising people and work when circumstances change.
- Delegating appropriately rather than personally absorbing work.
- Addressing poor performance, behaviour or workmanship promptly.
- Recognising strong performance and reinforcing expected standards.
- Initiating difficult or necessary conversations.
- Escalating issues that cannot be resolved at Leading Hand level.
- Building accountability so team members understand that they own the work allocated to them.
What Good Looks Like
At any point during the day, the Leading Hand can clearly answer:
What is the team trying to achieve today?
Who is doing what?
What is ahead, behind or at risk?
Where does the team need intervention?
What needs to change to achieve today's priorities?
The team should not need continual direction from the Head of Operations or other senior managers to understand what needs to happen.
2. RESOURCE & CONTROL PRODUCTION
Objective
Ensure production is properly planned and resourced so work can flow efficiently without avoidable delays, confusion or rework.
The Leading Hand is responsible for translating the production requirement into a practical daily resource plan.
PEOPLE
Ensure sufficient people are available and appropriately allocated to achieve the production requirement.
This includes:
- reviewing upcoming production requirements;
- understanding available labour capacity;
- matching people to tasks based on competency;
- balancing labour between warehouse and production;
- identifying labour shortages before they become production failures;
- identifying when additional labour, overtime or reprioritisation may be required;
- escalating resource shortages early.
The question is:
Do we have enough capable people in the right places to achieve the plan?
TRAINING & CAPABILITY
Understand what each team member is competent to perform safely and to the required standard.
This includes:
- maintaining visibility over team competencies;
- identifying skills gaps;
- providing practical on-the-job training;
- arranging technical support where required;
- checking competency after training;
- avoiding allocation of work to people who have not been adequately trained;
- cross-training team members to reduce dependency on individuals;
- identifying future capability requirements.
The question is:
Does everyone assigned to this work know how to do it correctly?
TOOLS, EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS
Ensure production has the physical resources required to proceed.
This includes checking:
- required materials;
- components;
- hardware;
- tools;
- jigs;
- machinery;
- equipment;
- drawings;
- production instructions;
- PPE;
- workspace.
Potential shortages or failures should be identified before the work reaches the production floor wherever reasonably possible.
The question is:
Does the team have everything required to complete the work?
WORKFLOW
Maintain active control over the flow of work.
This includes:
- understanding production priorities;
- sequencing work appropriately;
- coordinating warehouse preparation and material availability;
- monitoring work-in-progress;
- preventing unnecessary queues or bottlenecks;
- moving labour when constraints emerge;
- protecting critical customer commitments;
- identifying dependencies between jobs;
- communicating changes clearly;
- escalating risks before deadlines are missed.
The Leading Hand should not simply ask:
"Is everyone busy?"
The correct question is:
"Is everyone's work contributing to the right outcome?"
3. QUALITY, TRAINING & EXECUTION CONTROL
Objective
Ensure work is completed correctly the first time and that quality is controlled throughout production rather than discovered at the end.
The Leading Hand is accountable for:
- communicating quality expectations before work commences;
- ensuring staff understand the correct production method;
- ensuring current drawings, specifications and instructions are being followed;
- monitoring workmanship throughout production;
- establishing appropriate in-process QC checks;
- ensuring final QC occurs before work is released;
- identifying recurring quality failures;
- stopping work where continuing would create further defects;
- arranging retraining where workmanship indicates a capability gap;
- working with the Technical Standards & Quality Lead on technical issues and non-conformances;
- ensuring corrective actions are implemented;
- reducing avoidable rework.
Quality Principle
Quality is built into production — it is not inspected into the product afterwards.
Where a quality problem occurs, the Leading Hand should determine:
Was the instruction clear?
Was the person trained?
Were the correct materials and tools available?
Was the work supervised appropriately?
Was QC performed at the correct stage?
Is this an individual error or a system problem?
DAILY LEADERSHIP RHYTHM
Before Production Starts
The Leading Hand should understand:
- What must be completed today?
- What customer commitments are critical?
- What production is planned?
- Who is available?
- What skills are required?
- Are materials available?
- Are tools/equipment available?
- Are drawings/instructions available?
- What QC requirements apply?
- What risks could prevent completion?
Daily Start-Up / Toolbox
The Leading Hand communicates:
TODAY'S PRIORITIES
What must be achieved.
PEOPLE
Who is responsible for each area.
QUALITY
Important specifications or known risks.
SAFETY
Relevant hazards or requirements.
CONSTRAINTS
Anything requiring particular attention.
ESCALATION
What staff should raise immediately.
The objective is that every team member starts work knowing:
What am I doing, why does it matter, what does good look like, and who do I speak to if there is a problem?
During the Day
The Leading Hand actively monitors:
People → Progress → Workflow → Quality → Constraints
They should move around the operation, observe work and intervene where required.
The role is not fulfilled by allocating work in the morning and discovering the outcome at the end of the day.
End-of-Day Review
Before finishing, establish:
- What was completed?
- What was not completed?
- Why?
- What carries into tomorrow?
- What quality issues occurred?
- What resources are required tomorrow?
- What needs to be escalated?
- What could be improved?
This information feeds into the following day's resource and production plan.
LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS
Technical capability alone is not sufficient for this position.
The Leading Hand must demonstrate the following behaviours.
OWN THE OUTCOME
Take responsibility for ensuring work reaches completion.
Identify → Act → Escalate → Follow Through → Confirm
ESCALATE EARLY
The Leading Hand is not expected to solve every problem personally.
They are expected to recognise when something requires assistance and escalate it before it materially affects production, people, quality or customer commitments.
DIRECT RATHER THAN ABSORB
The Leading Hand should not become the person who simply takes on everyone else's work.
Their responsibility is to:
Prioritise → Allocate → Delegate → Monitor → Coach → Correct
Hands-on involvement should support leadership rather than replace it.
INITIATE THE CONVERSATION
If an issue requires a conversation, the Leading Hand initiates it.
This includes:
- team performance;
- conflict;
- unclear instructions;
- competing priorities;
- quality concerns;
- resource constraints;
- cross-functional issues.
Silence is not resolution.
REMAIN CALM & ORGANISED
Operational pressure is expected.
The Leading Hand must be capable of stepping back, determining the priority and directing resources accordingly rather than becoming overwhelmed by competing requests.
DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY
May Decide
The Leading Hand has authority over:
- daily allocation of labour;
- allocation of tasks;
- movement of labour between production activities;
- sequencing within approved production priorities;
- day-to-day workflow adjustments;
- practical coaching and training;
- immediate corrective feedback;
- stopping work where there is a safety or material quality concern;
- routine operational problem-solving.
Must Escalate
The Leading Hand must escalate:
- insufficient labour capacity;
- significant skills gaps;
- inability to meet production commitments;
- material shortages affecting production;
- significant equipment failure;
- repeated quality failures;
- unresolved interpersonal or performance issues;
- safety risks;
- requirements for overtime or additional labour;
- conflicting operational priorities;
- matters outside delegated authority.
Escalating a problem early is considered effective leadership. Allowing a known problem to develop without escalation is not.
KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Performance should be assessed across five areas.
1. TEAM LEADERSHIP
- Daily priorities clearly communicated.
- Work appropriately allocated.
- Staff know what is expected.
- Performance issues addressed promptly.
- Reduced requirement for senior management intervention.
- Appropriate escalation occurs early.
2. RESOURCE READINESS
- Labour requirements identified ahead of production.
- Skills gaps identified and addressed.
- Training requirements actively managed.
- Materials/tools/equipment ready for production.
- Avoidable downtime due to poor preparation reduced.
3. WORKFLOW & PRODUCTIVITY
- Production plan achieved.
- Labour deployed effectively.
- Bottlenecks identified and addressed.
- Schedule adherence.
- Work-in-progress appropriately controlled.
- Customer commitments protected.
4. QUALITY
- First-pass quality improves.
- Rework reduces.
- QC occurs at appropriate production stages.
- Recurring defects are investigated.
- Training is provided where quality gaps relate to capability.
5. TEAM CAPABILITY
- Training completed.
- Competency increases.
- Cross-training increases.
- Dependency on individual employees reduces.
- Team members demonstrate increasing ownership.
FIRST-STAGE PERFORMANCE STANDARD
The immediate requirement of the role is to demonstrate reliable frontline leadership.
Before progressing into broader production management or continuous improvement responsibilities, the Leading Hand must demonstrate that they can consistently:
- Lead the team.
- Translate the plan into daily action.
- Allocate and redirect people effectively.
- Identify resource requirements.
- Identify training and competency gaps.
- Ensure tools, materials and information are ready.
- Maintain control over workflow.
- Maintain appropriate QC throughout production.
- Identify problems early.
- Escalate and follow through appropriately.
ROLE MATURITY
LEVEL 1 — STABILISE
Can I reliably direct today's operation?
Focus:
- daily leadership;
- labour allocation;
- clear priorities;
- resource readiness;
- training;
- workflow;
- QC;
- escalation.
LEVEL 2 — OWN
Can I reliably run production without continual senior management intervention?
Focus expands to:
- forward capacity planning;
- productivity management;
- skills matrices;
- cross-training;
- production KPIs;
- recurring quality analysis;
- process optimisation;
- labour forecasting;
- production system improvement.
LEVEL 3 — LEAD
Can I build a stronger production function for the future?
Focus expands to:
- workforce planning;
- succession;
- production strategy;
- budgeting;
- equipment and capital planning;
- manufacturing capability development;
- new product introduction;
- Lean and continuous improvement;
- long-term capacity planning.
THE FUNDAMENTAL TEST OF THE ROLE
The Warehouse & Production Leading Hand should ultimately make the warehouse and production operation more controlled, not more dependent on them personally.
The measure of successful leadership is not:
"How much work did I personally get done?"
It is:
"Did I create the conditions for my team to safely deliver the right work, at the right time, to the right quality standard?"
The daily leadership cycle is:
PLAN → RESOURCE → DIRECT → MONITOR → QC → ESCALATE → COMPLETE → IMPROVE
Skills and Experience
Essential
At least 5 years experience in warehouse, manufacturing or production operations.
Furniture, joinery, cabinet making, carpentry or related manufacturing experience.
Strong communication, judgement and organisation under operational pressure.
Commitment to safety, quality, accountability and continuous improvement.
Demonstrated experience directly leading, allocating and monitoring the work of a team.
Strong practical manufacturing, assembly, warehousing and logistics capability.
Evidence of effective prioritisation, delegation, escalation and operational follow-through.
Ability to initiate and manage practical performance, conflict and problem-solving conversations.
Demonstrated ability to relate with, coach and train others.
Experience with SAP Business One or a similar ERP system.
Desirable
Lean manufacturing, 5S, production scheduling or job-traveller experience.
Experience leading casual or labour-hire teams through peak production periods.
Forklift Licence (LF).
First Aid qualification.
Personal Attributes
Leads by example while remaining clear that leadership comes before personal task output.
Takes ownership and follows matters through to completion.
Builds trust through consistency, fairness and clear communication.
Remains calm, organised and decisive under pressure.
Is willing to initiate necessary conversations and ask for support early.
Is practical, observant and solutions-focused.
Enjoys coaching people and building team capability.
Takes pride in safe, efficient and high-quality work.
Career Progression
Progression reflects a genuine increase in role scope, authority and accountability. It is based on sustained performance, demonstrated capability, business need and formal approval - not length of service alone.
Salary guide
Level 1 - Warehouse & Production Leading Hand
Stabilise daily execution
Reliably directs people, workflow, resources, QC, communication and escalation.
$80,000-$90,000 + super
Level 2 - Production Manager
Own production performance
Independently manages capacity, planning, production data, productivity, quality and workforce capability.
$100,000-$120,000 + super
Level 3 - Warehouse & Production Manager
Lead the complete function
Owns warehouse and production strategy, budgets, workforce, capacity and long-term operational capability.
$115,000-$130,000 + super
Pay: $80,000.00 – $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Travel reimbursement
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Mulgrave VIC: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)
Application Question(s):
- What are your core values?
- How do you contribute to a positive workplace?
- What do you need to enjoy your workplace?
- Which of the following attributes best suits you, a) initiating change b)sustaining productivity, c) completing and improving, d) all attributes
Education:
- Certificate I - IV (Required)
Experience:
- similar: 5 years (Required)
- people management: 3 years (Required)
- furniture production: 3 years (Required)
Language:
Licence/Certification:
- Forklift Licence (Required)
Work Authorisation:
Work Location: In person
