General Manager

General Manager - Scaling Sustainability at Critical.
Skip to content General Manager - Scaling Sustainability at Critical.
Location: Onsite, Auckland Commitment: Permanent, Part-time 3 days a week to start, to full time as we close our Series A.
Start Date: January - February 2025 Follow us on Instagram (@Critical.things |Linkedin |Facebook |Criticaldesign.nz)About Us At Critical., we're rewriting the narrative for plastic waste.
With our innovative material, Critical.
Cleanstone, made from 100% recycled plastics, leading the charge in sustainable building materials.
Think of us as the "Apple of green design and circular building materials"—cutting-edge, beautiful, near carbon neutral, circular and transformative With 40% of global carbon emissions from the building sector and only 9% of the 400 million tonnes of plastics recycled, climate change and plastics pollution are arguably two of the biggest challenges of our generation.
We started Critical.
because we want to be good tīpuna (ancestors) so that generations beyond us can thrive for thousands of years to come.
And out of this desire to change the world we spent the last 6 years developing our novel/ world leading technology to transform hard to recycled plastics into near carbon neutral and beautiful materials to accelerate the built environment towards circularity.
And it’s taken a hell of a journey to get to where we are today: Rui was a designer and when working on an airport fit out in the mid 2010s he felt frustrated because he couldn’t find beautiful materials that were also sustainable.
So he quit his job to start Critical.
Our journey started in a spare room of a flat, then we spent 4 years running science experiments in an old wood workshop of an intermediate school to build our MVP.
The day after we setup the first version of our pilot plant (with all the money we had), the Papatoetoe Tornado in 2021 ripped the roof open like a can opener and destroyed our factory Climate Change is real.
We had a cry but didn’t give up, rebuilt it with almost no money and launched Critical.
in 2022.
We were selected to receive investment from the Startmate Accelerator in 2022 (only 16 was chosen out of 550 startups across NZ and Australia)Off the back of that we raised a seed investment round to resolve the difficult material science challenge and by solving it enabling Critical.
to scale.
While we did that, we grew love for our brand from our target customers.
Within 18 months, our pilot plant underwent 3 major technological transformations while we had to juggle consistent demand for our products.
This was a difficult challenge.
We are currently making preparations towards our Series A round and working to grow our presence in Aotearoa first then Australia.
Our goal is to scale our technology and products into every city in the world so every city or region will have the capability to transform their plastic waste into high value building materials.
As a Māori company we exist to uplift the mauri (life force) of te taiao (the natural world) as our health and wellbeing is dependent on the wellbeing of our natural world.
Therefore when the waiora, or the wellbeing of our land, rivers and oceans are affected, it affects us all.
As we scale in Aotearoa, we plan to foster and grow partnerships with iwi Māori and as we scale globally we will seek to grow partnership with indigenous organisations and communities as we deploy our technology and products around the world.
The Role We are looking for a General Manager to take the reins ofoperations, supply chain, team management and maintaining profitability, ensuring our day-to-day functions run seamlessly so our founder can focus on scaling Critical.
globally.
This role is not for the faint of heart—it’s for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, loves building systems from scratch, and knows how to align operations with ambitious growth strategies.
As our GM, you’ll play a pivotal role in establishing the processes and structures we need to scale while fostering a high-performance culture.
You’ll oversee everything from supply chain optimisation to factory operations and HR, ensuring our mission translates into efficient, impactful results.
Key Responsibilities:1.
Operations Leadership Working with our teams, take full ownership ofend-to-end operations from the moment an order is placed to delivery.
Work alongside our engineer and overseefactory production to ensure efficiency, quality, and timelines are met.
Implement and optimise systems and processes for maximum productivity in both factory and operations - internal and customer facing.2.
Supply Chain Management Build and nurturerelationships with suppliers, ensuring access to quality recycled materials at the best prices.
Streamline thesupply chain to reduce inefficiencies, improve sustainability, and mitigate risks.3.
HR and Team Development Create a culture ofhigh performance, overseeing recruitment, onboarding, and management of staff.
Develop and implement systems for employee accountability, growth, and wellbeing.4.
Strategic Support Collaborate with the founder onstrategic initiatives, offering operational insights to inform decision-making.
Provide the operational backbone that enablesinternational expansion and large deal closings.5.
Metrics and Accountability Define and track key KPIs for operational excellence, reporting progress regularly to the founder.
Continuously assess and improve processes to drive scalability and profitability.
Setup, run and track a P&L for operational excellence, reporting progress regularly to the founder, supporting Critical.'s continuous improvement with data we can rely for growth.
Ability to plan budgets adjustments to control and manage performance variances.
Who You Are/ Who We Need You To Be You’re more than a manager—you’re abuilder, aproblem-solver, and aleader.
You have the experience and foresight to build systems that anticipate future growth, paired with a hands-on approach to managing the details today.
Must-Have Skills and Attributes: Proven experience inoperations management, ideally in manufacturing, cleantech, or a fast-paced startup environment.
Strong understanding ofsupply chain management, including vendor relations and cost optimization.
Strong negotiation skills, contractual knowledge and experience.
Exceptional ability tobuild systems and implement processes for scalability.
Experience managingteams, with a track record of fostering a culture of excellence.
Strategic thinker with a willingness to roll up your sleeves andexecute on the ground.
Resilient and adaptable in the face of change and complexity.
Experience in working in and running a factory environment where productivity, details and efficiency is crucial.
Nice-to-Have: Experience in sales, marketing, or brand-building to support broader business needs.
Knowledge of sustainability, green building, or circular economy principles.
Experience working in a startup environment and have either scaled your own business or helped them to successfully scale.
At Critical.
we firmly believe in two principles that determine your outcomes in life.
The first principle is OUTWORK.
All of us have to work, but some of us are prepared to do more of it than others, and more often than not, you’re going to hear about the success stories of those who put in the hard yards.
At Critical.
we practice what we preach and want the same mentality for our team who work with us daily.
The second principle is OUTLEARN.
For those willing to do the work, sometimes that isn’t enough.
You need to learn where best to apply the work you’re putting in.
If you’re a lifelong learner in work and in life, you’ll go further than those who will only put in the work.
These principles apply to our team, and we incentivise paid-to-learn for our team members.
Here are the core attitudes and mindsets you’ll need to thrive with us: Honesty & candidness: Improvement comes from being open-minded and accepting hard truths.
You’ll need to be okay with this to work alongside us Proactive thinking: If something seems stupid and needs fixing, let someone know or solve it yourself Willingness to learn: Learning is pivotal to improvement in all areas of your life, and we value it strongly Willingness to admit when you’ve screwed up: Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s about how you deal with those mistakes that define your character and who you are as an individual Creative Pioneer: You see potential where others see problems.
You thrive on creating content that disrupts the status quo.
Growth Hacker Mentality: You’re obsessed with metrics and work to improve our operations everyday - sometimes bit by bit, other times large sweeping changes.
Resilient: Not every idea will work, and that’s fine.
You learn, iterate, and try again.
Why Join Critical.?Impact: Be a key driver in a company transforming the building materials industry and combating plastic waste.
Purpose: Work in a values-driven organization committed to tiakitanga (guardianship of the environment) and manaakitanga (care for people).
Growth: Shape the systems and culture of a startup with bold, global ambitions.
Flexibility: Start part-time and grow with us as we scale.
How to Apply Send your CV and a cover letter explaining why you’re the operational architect we need torui@criticaldesign.nz.
Bonus points if you include examples of how you’ve built systems or led teams to scale in your previous roles.
Our Values As a Māori company we exist to uplift the mauri (life force) of te taiao (the natural world) as our health and wellbeing is dependent on the wellbeing of our natural world.
Therefore when the waiora, or the wellbeing of our land, rivers and oceans are affected, it affects us all.
We started Critical because we want to be good tīpuna (ancestors) so that generations beyond us can thrive for thousands of years to come.
As we scale in Aotearoa, we plan to foster and grow partnerships with iwi Māori and as we scale globally we will seek to grow partnership with indigenous authorities and communities as we deploy our technology and products around the world.
We value great people above great ideas.
Therefore we believe working to create tūrangawaewae (a place to stand) for our people will empower leaders to do their best work for the communities we exist to serve.
At Critical, we expect our team to manaaki (care for) each other as we celebrate the highs and wade through the many challenges in our collective journey to achieve our mission.
Guided by Māoritanga, we believe people and te taiao (the natural world) are inextricably connected.
Therefore as our bottom line, the processes we invent, the products and technologies we build at Critical.
must restore our environment for our tamariki and for generations to come.
Kaihoahoa atawhai.
Invention by empathy By stepping in the shoes of the people we seek to serve, we use design, technology and business innovation with compassion to invent groundbreaking products and technologies that improve the quality of life for all.
Whāia te iti kahurangi.
Ambitious to change the world.
The treasure we seek most dearly is a future where products and technology create opportunities to empower people out of poverty while regenerating our planet for generations to come.
We believe ambition is good when the vision is generous.
Therefore we expect our team to continuously nurture in each other an ambition to carry us into our bold vision of the future.
Join us in creating a future where beauty and sustainability coexist.
Let’s make Critical.
the viral sensation that changes the world.
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Your application will include the following questions: Which of the following statements best describes your right to work in New Zealand? How many years' experience do you have as a general manager? How many years of people management experience do you have? Do you have experience in a sales role? How many years' experience do you have in supply chain management (SCM)? How many years of recruitment experience do you have?
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