Technical Manager

SUMMARY:
We require a Technical Manager from the Agriculture industry. Previous technical experience with berries, grapes, stone fruit or soft fruits required.

POSITION INFO:
Requirements:

1. Grade 12
2. Suitable tertiary qualification in Agriculture / Management or similar
3. Experience managing a team
4. Experience with: estimate planning, pruning, irrigation, fertilisation, plant health and Pest decease management

• Maintain contract integrity by updating annexures and addendums to reflect structural changes or as part of annual review processes.

• Manage relationships with plant suppliers to ensure consistent, high-quality plant material.
• Implement quality control systems and monitor supplier performance.

• Track variety development and facilitate the adoption of new practices among growers.

• Aligning fruit supply R&D with the overall technical R&D strategy.
• Developing and implementing a specific R&D strategy for fruit supply.
• Building relationships with external partners to advance fruit supply research.
• Managing the research budget for fruit supply related projects.

• Cultivate a strong leadership culture and drive human resource development

• Collecting and analyzing data to create insightful reports.
• Developing systems to manage and utilize data effectively.
• Ensuring data quality and integrity through governance.
• Training employees to understand and use data effectively

• Evaluating regional performance of growers
• Identify key strengths and weaknesses.
• Creating regional improvement plans: Prioritizing actions to enhance performance
• Defining goals for the upcoming season and communicating them to growers.

• Producing precise and timely fruit estimates.
• Building strong relationships with growers to gather accurate data.
• Maintaining up-to-date grower information and supply chain data.
• Providing insights on fruit supply and quality to inform logistics and marketing.
• Continuously improving estimation skills through professional development.

• Identifying shortages in fruit supply.
• Developing strategies to address supply gaps.
• Sourcing new growers and evaluating their potential.
• Building strategic partnerships to secure fruit supply.
• Providing growers with support and expertise for orchard development.

• Identifying and addressing knowledge gaps within the team.
• Developing and sharing technical information and resources.
• Staying updated on industry best practices and trends

• Regular farm visits to offer technical support and guidance.
• Resolving grower issues and challenges efficiently.
• Collaborating with growers on seasonal plans.
• Coordinating with internal teams for packaging, harvesting, and quality control.
• Addressing grower concerns related to quality and post-harvest processes.

• Creating detailed performance reports for each grower.
• Collaborating with other teams to analyze overall performance.
• Collecting accurate harvest data for future analysis.

• Provide technical assumptions on budget requirements to operate role
• Monitor budget expenditure monthly and report deviations pro-actively
• Correctly and timeously submit expenditure sign offs