Purpose of the role
BerryWorld SA (BWSA) seeks a Technical Manager to drive blueberry fruit supply planning and fruit security (technical support) in South Africa, working within a team of technical advisors. This will include activities such as:
Manage and coordinate the efforts of technical advisors in specified regions, to effectively manage grower technical queries and secure the crop supply.
Pre-harvest visits to provide technical (agronomic and harvest) support to growers, generate estimates, and update estimates for supply planning in Zimbabwe and South Africa (Western Cape, Highveld and Lowveld areas).
Advise growers/ marketing in conjunction with the post-harvest team on the impact of climatic/ practices on fruit supply and quality.
Identify regional agronomic issues and improvement opportunities – propose these opportunities for commercial or academic research.
Act as the link between BWSA and the primary variety company in terms of plant census & new planting updates.
In collaboration with the variety development team, facilitate training of the BWSA Fruit Supply team and BWSA growers on new variety agronomics.
Prepare post-season review reports identifying improvement areas and lead post-season review sessions with growers.
Grower relationship management.
Manage technical advisors, by driving a consistent leadership experience and human resource development.
Drive the Fruit Supply Technical information and systems strategy.
Submit, track, and report on personal and team operational budgets.
Formal qualification
BSc Masters (Desirable)
BSc Horticulture/Agronomy/Viticulture/Soil Science
Job-related experience
Technical agronomic advisor to growers (any export crop): 5-10 years
Team management: 2-5 years
Project management: 2-5 years
Mapping and implementing systems and processes: 2-5 years
Job-related knowledge
Drivers of value in agriculture
Export fruit quality
Export fruit crop industry
Strong Agronomic and Horticultural background
Job-related skills
Driver's license
Computer literacy (MS Excel, Word & PowerPoint)
Critical thinking skills
Management skills
Creating strategies/ goals for teams considering company objectives
Mapping and implementing processes
Competencies
Integrity
Creativity
Logical and analytical
Interpersonal skills
Resilience
Planning and organising
Quality orientation
Energy and drive
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