Job Purpose
Provide direction, technical guidance and leadership in estate agricultural optimisation, including agronomic business systems and data management, to ensure the estate realizes its full potential
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
- Support the development and implementation of the Agriculture strategy especially with respect to the optimisation of the sugarcane production and supply chain
- Drive agricultural modernisation and optimisation improvement plans through innovation and new farming systems,
- Reduce the cost of production through yield and efficiency improvement
- Develop best practice adoption and embedding methodologies with HR to support capability building in the Agricultural team
- Develop and update standardized work procedures in line with Head Office best practices and on-site constraints
- Ensure the crop nutrition, pest and disease and variety specialists fully leverage available support from the lllovo Group (Head Office and other Countries)
- Optimise crop production performance by holding agronomy teams accountable to the highest standards, whilst meeting the required cane crop volume and yield at the optimal cost
- Ensure accurate agricultural data is managed effectively in all data management systems, and is used effectively in farm management, estate performance monitoring, and decision making
- Ensure Agricultural Optimisation is managed profitably (yield and cost synergies)
- Promote a culture of continuous improvement across all farms
- Ensure talent and performance management are embedded in local ways of working, whilst leveraging support functions and resources to develop capability
- Model Leadership behaviours, collaborating, partnering and communicating effectively within and between teams and support functions
- Promote cross-functional and stakeholder engagement & team work
- When requested, to provide assistance to Grower Agriculture at Kilombero
- Promote and adhere to lllovo’s procedures, policies and guidelines, including, without limitation, those relating to SHERQ, Competition Law and Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC)
JOB QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE:
- Bachelor’s degree in Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Agriculture, Agronomy or Agricultural Engineering
- 5-10 years of experience in sugar cane production on an estate size or equivalent enterprise, with 5 years in a leadership/management role
- Proven track record of effectively developing and implementing strategies through managing budgets, people and resources to meet business KPIs
- Good business acumen and agricultural expertise, with ability to anticipate and interpret changes impacting on functional area
- Strong agriculture data analysis skills
- Experience in addressing multi-variable agronomic problems
- Ability to translate ways of working into standard tools and templates
- Presentation and facilitation skills to be able to engage with diverse stakeholders and communicate concepts to enable decisions to be made.
- Proven ability to effectively engage, and positively influence, a range of stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability in delivering results and meeting business expectations.
- Self-driven, with the ability to work independently.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written).
- Professional, dedicated and a good team player
- Above average proficiency in MS office / CanePro
TERMS OF SERVICE: The successful candidate will be engaged on a permanent contract.
HOW TO APPLY
All interested candidates, who meet the above requirements, please send your CV to email; NGowelle@illovo.co.za to apply for the position on or before 4th September 2021. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Kilombero Sugar Company Limited is an equal opportunity employer. Women and people with disability are highly encouraged to apply.
