- Lead NZ’s largest free-farmed pig farm
- Grow the business as a premium New Zealand brand
- Shape strategy, performance and team culture
- Medbury, Canterbury + competitive salary + vehicle
About the Company:
Patoa Farms, owned by Hurunui Investments Limited, is New Zealand’s largest free‑farmed pig operation, producing around 100,000 finishing pigs annually and holding 16-18% of the domestic market share.
Established in 1998, it has grown into a significant rural enterprise with substantial landholdings across its Piggery, Forest View, and Hurunui Plains blocks - properties that reflect substantial long‑term investment in high‑quality buildings, eco‑barns, automation, and animal welfare systems.
Its core philosophy remains key: ethical, sustainable pig farming, grounded in a free‑farmed, farrow‑to‑finish with strong relationships with the community. The farm is certified by the SPCA.
With approximately 60–70 staff including contractors, three senior managers, and a large‑scale, technologically advanced production system, Patoa Farms is a sector leader committed to innovation, environmental responsibility, operational excellence and community relationships.
About The Role:
Reporting to the Board, the General Manager will lead one of New Zealand’s most significant rural enterprises through its next phase of growth. This role carries responsibility for overall commercial, operational, team, and strategic performance.
Key priorities include:
- Building a cohesive, high‑performing culture across a diverse operational workforce.
- Developing and implementing a clear farm strategy in partnership with the Board and translating that into practical plans.
- Improving the return on capital of land owned by Patoa Farms that is not used for pig farming.
- Strengthening market position, enhancing sales, and elevating Patoa Farms products as the premium New Zealand pork brand.
- Embedding operational excellence through modernisation, technology‑enabled efficiencies, and high standards of quality, biosecurity, and animal welfare.
- Representing Patoa Farms with integrity and credibility across industry, community, regulatory, and customer forums.
This is a hands‑on leadership role, requiring a consistent on‑farm presence. The General Manager would be required to be on-site most of the time. A house is available.
Skills & Experience:
Patoa Farms seeks an experienced manager with proven capability in leading complex rural, production, or comparable operational environments. As the successful candidate you will have:
- Extensive experience engaging, motivating, and uniting teams across operational and technical functions.
- An ability to build and model a values-based culture grounded in safety, care, integrity, and performance.
- Proven understanding of rural communities, their dynamics and drivers of success.
- Proven leadership experience in complex rural, production, or operational environments.
- A sound understanding of pig farming, the value chain and pig industry dynamics.
- Sound commercial acumen with experience driving revenue, profitability, and market expansion.
- An ability to implement strategy, drive organisational efficiency, and lead operational improvement.
- Understanding of regulatory, environmental, and compliance frameworks.
- Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills.