Priestley’s Gourmet Delights is an Industry leading Australian dessert manufacturer with a 30-year history of creating cakes, desserts and sweet treats that Australian’s love. Based in Brisbane, the business supplies an extensive range of products to cafés, restaurants, hospitality groups and major national brands across Australia. Operating from a large-scale manufacturing facility alongside a modern head office, Priestley’s combines production capability with creativity and commercial thinking. The portfolio spans classic favourites through to trend-led innovation, with a strong reputation for quality, consistency and reliability. What sets Priestley’s apart is its personality. The brand is bold, colourful and playful, with a culture that values ideas, collaboration and doing things properly. This is not a business stuck in tradition for tradition’s sake, it’s one that enjoys evolving, experimenting and staying relevant, while remaining grounded in strong operational foundations. As the business enters its next phase, innovation and strategic thinking are front and centre. About the role This is an exciting, newly created Strategic Portfolio Manager role — a rare opportunity to establish a new position, build the remit, lead a team and own the portfolio strategy for the business. The role has been created to bring sharper structure, commercial discipline and long-term thinking to Priestley’s product portfolio. You’ll be responsible for setting direction across core products, renovation, innovation and limited releases, ensuring the business is investing in the right products, at the right time, for the right customers. This is a senior, influential role sitting at the intersection of marketing, innovation, sales and operations. You’ll work closely with the executive team and play a key role in shaping the future of the brand and portfolio. What you’ll be doing Own the end-to-end portfolio strategy and innovation pipeline (1–5 year horizon) Establish and govern portfolio priorities, trade-offs and decision-making Lead and develop a high-performing team across Innovation and NPD Bring a strong commercial lens to growth, margin and long-term value Analyse portfolio performance and make informed optimisation and rationalisation decisions Stay across competitor activity, food trends, flavours and formats Translate insight into commercially viable opportunities and customer-led innovation Partner closely with Sales, Operations, Supply Chain and Finance to ensure ideas can scale This role is ideal for someone who enjoys strategic thinking, commercial decision-making and leadership in equal measure. What we’re looking for This is a senior role suited to someone who can bring depth, commercial acumen, confidence and curiosity. To be competitive, your background and experience will likely include: 10 years’ experience in marketing, portfolio, innovation or commercial roles Recent experience owning or shaping portfolio strategy Strong commercial acumen, including P&L and business case ownership Experience operating cross-functionally in complex FMCG-style environments Backgrounds in FMCG, food, QSR, pharma or adjacent industries are all welcome. The Perks (and yes… there’s cake!) A creative, colourful and genuinely fun FMCG environment Strong values, great culture, and a practical, non-hierarchical way of working Free onsite parking and EV charging stations Paid parental leave ESG and sustainability policy in place Perk Box Membership A daily 10am tasting panel — part innovation lab, part quality control, and a very good excuse to pause your morning and taste what the team’s been working on. In other words, you really can have your cake and eat it too. If you believe you have the skills for this role and would like a candidate pack, please email cassbarker@gybeconsulting.com.au Note – due to Christmas closures, applications will be formally assessed from 8th of Jan 2026.
