Director of Operations at Good Nature Agro

The position will be responsible for Good Nature’s Production, Processing, Grower Services, and Quality Control operations including managing the four heads of these Departments. By extension, he/she will be responsible for overseeing 22 full-time staff, 140 Private Extension Agents, and 4,800 smallholder farmers involved in GNA’s business. The position will oversee these vital functions and serve as a key member of our strategy-setting Senior Management Team.  His/her ideas and management skills will help the organization advance its mission of moving its small-scale farmers out of poverty.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Operational Leadership:  Lead the teams responsible for growing seed crops, processing the seed, ensuring quality, and shipping the packaged seed product.  Work with four team managers to recruit, retain and develop staff at all levels.
• Quality:  Ensure all aspects of the seed supply chain are of the highest quality possible. Lead efforts with all stakeholders to steadily improve seed quality to meet and exceed market expectations and international quality standards.
• Company Strategy:  Serve on the company’s Senior Management Team to determine strategy, budgets, and make decisions about company priorities and resource allocations.  Collaborate with CEO, Head of Talent, CFO and others to deliver on annual and long-term company goals.

• Information:  Along with your team leaders, design and manage analytics and information flows that provide key stakeholders with an accurate, timely picture of needed information such as farmer demographics, farmer training, crop projections, seed volumes, seed quality data, seed processing updates, shipment reports as well as performance indicators of all operational staff.
• Efficiency:  Continually improve upon operational processes and service models with the goal of reducing costs while still delivering timely, high-quality products (seed) to our customers.
• Equipment:  Be responsible for acquisition and maintenance of all equipment used in production, processing, and shipping.
• Representation:  Be one of GNA’s chief ambassadors!  You will represent Good Nature to farmers, customers, investors, partners and others.
• Other:  Lead special projects such as managing Good Nature’s first operational season in Malawi including partnerships and research and development

Qualifications:

• Degree in Agricultural Economics, Business, or Agriculture; or significant prior work experience.
• Willingness to re-locate to Chipata, Zambia.
• At least four years of experience managing operations for fast-growing business, including a demonstrated ability to lead projects across multiple departments. Preferred: Operations Management within agriculture/food processing, or with smallholder farmers.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, develop and motivate high-performing teams that span diverse education and professional backgrounds.
• Strong interpersonal skills – strong networker and customer relationship manager. Preferred: Experience working with investors and grant-making agencies.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and combine multiple data sources (e.g., financial information, farm-level data, staff feedback) to independently identify and solve operational problems with limited resources.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and implement solutions for small scale farmers and other key stakeholders.
• Willing to travel up to 40 percent within Zambia and the surrounding region
• Excellent administrative skills with demonstrated expertise in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Access, and familiarity with accounting systems.
• Fluent in written and spoken English. Preferred: Proven ability to learn multiple languages.
• Additional experience:
  • Strong understanding of crop production practices and agriculture in Zambia. Preferred: Knowledge of African agricultural value chains to understand and identify opportunities
  • Demonstrated experience in entrepreneurial environment with a pioneering mindset and determination to succeed in a rapidly-evolving business model.

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