Spices Manager , East Africa

About:
We are seeking an energetic and dedicated Spices Manager for our client that is active in the agriculture sector in Malawi. The Spices Manager will oversee the development, implementation, and ongoing operation of our community smallholder farmer scheme. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in elevating the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, working with the local community to build relations that ensure the sustainability of the scheme and the delivery of high-quality crops to our customers.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Program Development and Implementation:
- Plan and implement a scalable smallholder farmer scheme which will efficiently and safely grow product of the right quality in a sustainable way to be available at the right time to meet our customers’ needs.
- Build an environment conducive to the training and development of farmers and personnel.
- Collaborate with district agriculture officials, area extension officers, community leaders (e.g. village heads), village development committees, water user authorities and other local farming entities to ensure the scheme integrates with local agricultural practices, cultural norms and objectives of local government offices.

Operational Management:
- Ensure effective recruitment and registration process accompanied by an efficient seed delivery and disbursement program.
- Follow up to confirm successful germination of seed and record effective hectares of crop transplanted for the growing season.
- Oversee the daily operations of the scheme, ensuring that resources are efficiently utilized.
- Manage a team of field officers and support staff, setting objectives and appraising performance providing regular feedback, mentoring and training as needed.
- Establish a robust system for monitoring crop growth and report on crop estimates.
- Regularly report on the scheme’s progress, challenges, and successes to the Agriculture Director, Finance Director, General Managers, and Human Resources Manager.
- Gather and disseminate practical farming techniques and seek to identify technological and agricultural improvements to drive higher quality, yields and reduce the per kg costs of outgrower production.
- Build good relationships with farm operations to obtain information on grading quality and provide feedback of information to farmers on issues originating from the fields.

Health and Safety:
- Encourage proper Health and Safety practices amongst farmers and always adopt a safety-first approach when undertaking farm visits, buying and transporting of product back to the farms for processing.

Supply Chain Awareness:
- Develop connections with farmers and share opportunities in supporting the company’s markets, ensuring fair prices and access to new market opportunities.
- Work with farmers to build trust and better understanding of the benefits of a stable market being provided by the company.
- Ensure compliance of farmers with the company’s child labour policies and code of conduct to ensure all farming sites are always audit ready in case of any unannounced audit.

Stakeholder Engagement:
- Establish and maintain relationships with local smallholder farmers, community leaders, NGOs, and government entities.
- Organize training sessions, workshops, and feedback sessions to ensure continuous improvement.
- Interact with customers during site visits.
- Support Investor Relations as required.

Financial Management:
- Prepare and manage the scheme's budget, ensuring financial sustainability.
- Ensure timely registration and signing of contracts with all farmers on an annual basis.
- Prepare KPI and statistics reports for communication to relevant stakeholders.
- Prepare weekly debtors reports to show the status of any outstanding inputs loans with farmers categorised by risk of possible short payment for the season.
- Seek out grant opportunities and other funding sources to expand the scheme’s reach and impact.
- Identify potential risks related to climate, pests, market fluctuations, etc., and work with the Ag Director and Commercial manager develop strategies to mitigate them.

Required qualifications and experience:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Agriculture, Rural Development, Business Management, or related field.
- Minimum of 5 years' experience in agricultural program management, community development, or a related field.
- Proven track record in team management and stakeholder engagement.
- Proficient in local languages and dialects (as applicable).

Your profile:
- You have excellent communication, organizational, and leadership skills.
- You have a strong understanding of smallholder farming challenges and opportunities in the region.
- You have the ability to work in challenging conditions and remote locations.

Are you interested in becoming the Spices Manager for our client in Malawi? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

HR Manager , East Africa

About:

We are seeking an experienced and culturally savvy HR manager for our client that is active in the agriculture sector in Malawi. The HR Manager is responsible for not only the wellbeing of the company and its employees but also the wellbeing and effective engagement of local communities. You will work and support and add value to the senior team to ensure the way we manage our people management supports the sustainable delivery of the company’s objectives. This will be supported by the setting of an HR strategy with operational responsibilities including overseeing the performance management, recruitment, training and development and disciplinary procedures in the company. The HR Manager will ensure the company has robust, well communicated and understood policies in place. The HR Manager will work with and supervise a direct team, reporting into the Managing Director of the company.

Duties and Responsibilities:

HR Operations:
- Develop an HR strategy and structure to ensure the company can meet its long-term sustainable goals through effective people management and within a company culture conducive to this.
- Oversee the day-to-day HR operations, including employee and community relations, payroll, benefits administration, and recruitment.

HR Policies and Procedures:
- Review and update Conditions of Service and Code of Conduct.
- Ensure all HR policies required from a regulatory and strategic perspective are in place and fit for purpose within the business.
- Create and submit for approval new policies, where considered necessary,
- Review and update existing HR policies and procedures to ensure compliance with labour laws and industry standards and build relationships with relevant Government officials.

Organisational Structure and Development:
- Review the organizational structure of the company with to ensure it is aligned to the delivery of the companies strategy with a view to making suggestions on any changes that may improve performance and accountability.
- Review, update and rewrite job descriptions to ensure that they take a uniform approach, are up to date and is relevant for each role and department.
- Support MD and key management team in setting up development initiatives, including performance management, succession planning, and employee training programs.
- Develop and monitor overall HR strategies, systems, tactics and procedures across the organization.
- Assist to develop, implement and manage a performance appraisal system that drives high performance.
- Support the company in fostering a culture of Management the central HR staff and provide support and training for farm-based HR staff.

Recruitment:
- Review recruitment processes to ensure that it is ethical, impartial and complies with the employment opportunity policies of the company.
- Manage the recruitment and selection process.

Salary Band and Scale Review:
- Benchmark of salaries and grades against for similar skill levels in Macadamia, Tea and other industries.
- Recommendations for updates to current salary bands and scales to ensure that they are in line with market.
- Benchmark of industry versus company tasks for different activities.

Employee Engagement:
- Nurture a positive environment where employees can raise genuine concerns and make suggestions where processes can be improved.
- Work with senior management team to assist them in carrying out effective management of their people and teams. This will assist in working on employee relations by improving employee awareness of their rights and also their contractual obligations.
- Support managers to train their teams and employees on how to complete tasks and the impacts of not doing so. The managers will train and instruct the employees but as HR Manager you will support the development of the managers to be able to provide this awareness and training.
- Provide refresher training to employees on their contractual obligations and responsibilities.

Community Relations and Social matters:
- Oversee the company’s community relationships and support the farms in meetings and other community engagements.
- Assist in handing community grievances.
- Act as the point of contact for all external facing administrative matters (this excludes engaging with media, politics, etc)

Grievances:
- Review grievance procedure and effectiveness of implementation and level of awareness.
- Suggest ways to improve grievance handling and train staff and workers on the grievance process.
- Of particular importance will be the need to train employees on the need to follow their reporting lines.

Reporting:
- Report to MD on monthly basis including KPIs and other metrics to provide decision support to the management team.
- Weekly and month meetings to provide progress update to the MD.

Required qualifications and experience:

- A suitable high-level qualification in the field of Human Resources.
- Proven experience in dealing with community matters and an understanding of the leadership structures in rural village environments.
- Demonstrable experience with Human Resources in an agricultural environment.
- Experience in handling complex disciplinary matters that may have gone to court to be resolved.
- A good understanding of Health and Safety matters.
- Experience and ability creating a performance management system to track and communicate performance of supervisors, junior managers and senior managers.
- Ability to understand different roles within the farms and the company at large, and draft job descriptions to confirm supervisor, administration staff and other employees’ roles.

Your profile:

- You have excellent communication abilities and cultural awareness.
- You have the ability to build trust and effectively manage interpersonal relationships at all levels of the company.
- You have a strong understanding of various strategies that can help build employee productivity and well-being.

Are you interested in becoming the HR Manager for our client in Malawi? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

H/F pour transcription en français , Africa

La société Innova Academy recherche, pour un projet de transcription de l'audio au texte en langue française, des personnes de langue maternelle française et d'origine des pays suivants: Bénin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Tchad, Comores, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Djibouti, Guinée, Guinée Équatoriale, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritanie, Ile Maurice, Niger, République Centrafricaine, République du Congo, République Démocratique du Congo, Rwanda, Sénégal, Seychelles et Togo.


Nous recherchons 2 types de profils:

- Une personne pour la gestion du projet, de préférence avec une précédente expérience dans une mission similaire.

- De nombreux agents chargés de la transcription et du contrôle qualité des audios transcrits.

La mission sera réalisée à domicile et l'organisation des horaires sera flexible. La durée du projet est de 3 à 6 mois avec la possibilité de prochaines collaborations dans le futur. La rétribution sera proportionnelle au nombre de transcriptions effectuées.


Conditions pour participer au projet :
- Être en possession d'un ordinateur et d'une bonne connexion internet car la mission s'effectuera en ligne sur une plateforme dédiée.
- Être à l'aise avec l'outil informatique et l'écriture sur clavier.
- Être de langue maternelle française et posséder un bon niveau d'orthographe et de grammaire.

Pour postuler, merci de nous envoyer un mail avec une présentation et/ou un CV à l'adresse suivante : innova.academy.france@gmail.com

Operations Manager - Energy Sector Kinshasa , Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

About the company
We bring power to the people! Our mission is to provide reliable, affordable and sustainable access to energy in regions that do not have this today. We offer an innovative turnkey solution that relies on the most efficient, affordable and sustainable source of energy: Hydropower. Together with our trusted partners, we develop small hydro power plants that harvest the power of running water and then transform it into electricity for rural households in developing countries. We believe that electricity will be the engine towards welfare and growth in rural Africa.

Job Summary
We are a dynamic start-up company in the renewable energy sector developing both on-grid as off-grid renewable energy projects. We are currently looking for an Operations Manager to establish and run our new office in DRC. This includes Operations management, Sales & Project development, Finance/Admin/HR management.
Reach out to us with your application and motivation letter!

Minimum qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management or Engineering
Experience level: Mid-level
Experience length: Min. 5 years

Duties & Responsibilities

Operations management
- Set up the Hydrobox DRC operations including office set-up (office location, furniture, facilities), recruitment of initial staff, accounting, payroll, logistics, … and coordinate day-to-day management.
- Interface between various stakeholders, including upper management, regulatory agencies, customers, and suppliers and keep them informed of developments, seeking advice and counsel.
- Develop & implement processes and oversee implementation.
- Establish, update and monitor in-process and output measures.
- Prepare regular reports for management detailing operational performance, efficiency metrics, and key performance indicators.
- Lead and manage a team of engineers, technicians, operators, and other staff members. Provide direction, training, and support to ensure that team members are performing their tasks effectively and efficiently.


Sales & Project development
- Identify potential hydro power generation projects through customer engagement, site visit and data collection. Liaise with the back office in Kenya for assessment of the potential projects.
- Prepare commercial presentations and proposals as assigned in close collaboration with the management team.
- Prepare contracts with partners, suppliers, and clients for review with management.
- Initiate and follow through on permits & license applications.
- Oversee DRC project execution by managing timelines, budgets, resources, optimizing all processes within the company to maximize production output while minimizing operational costs.

Finance, Admin & HR
- Monitor budget versus actuals at the end of each month and generate reports.
- Ensure timely and accurate compliance with all legal and tax requirements.
- Install controls to ensure all daily operations happen in line with our company principles & values, professionalism & quality expectations, tax and legal obligations.
- Procurement of supplies for the operating sites
- Coordinate and follow through on inbound and outbound logistics.

Skills & requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management or Engineering
- Bilingual in French & English. Swahili or Lingala is desirable
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office - Excel, PowerPoint and Word is a must
- You have proven to be successful in operational support roles and can provide 2 references from your previous employer(s)
- Experience in renewable energy is a plus
We offer
- An entrepreneurial and dynamic work environment.
- Flexibility and autonomy to organize your work while meeting deadlines and expectations.
- Opportunity to grow along with the company and take more senior responsibilities.
- Competitive salary.

If you know this is a role you would succeed in, apply using the link: https://bit.ly/3OS4BCJ

Account & Trial Manager , West Africa

For one of our clients; a leading breeder of vegetables and flowers (Headquartered in The Netherlands) we are seeking an Account & Trial Manager.

Across multiple countries our client manages breeding stations, production sites and sales offices contributing to the supply and promotion of a wide assortment of vegetables and flower varieties to professional growers and to the home garden market. Driven by their corporate philosophy, they are committed to create, produce and supply high value varieties and excellent service.

They pride themselves in delivering what they promise in accordance with their core values, comprising of Quality, Reliability, Innovation and Respect. They believe that their people, with their expertise, enthusiasm and team spirit, are the foundation of their success. In this role, you are given the opportunity to work in a professional environment with a high level of autonomy, where initiatives are being encouraged and results are being rewarded.

You will be responsible for generating revenue from allocated customers and you are responsible for timely coordination, execution and evaluation of experimental and commercial trials at key growers in the mentioned areas and contribute to the positioning of new bred varieties in the market. We are looking for candidates who have knowledge of a product portfolio list to guarantee the necessary innovation, quality and quantity of our products, to ultimately optimize our long-term sales and profits targets.

Responsibilities as Account Manager:

* Generating turnover within customer portfolio
* Expanding the network of distributors in challenging markets
* Maintain and optimize relationships and network with current customers, prospects and growers
* Realise proposed budgets and monitor expense budgets and progress
* Summarise opportunities, threats, competition, market potential and laws
* Specify commercial opportunities to be able to respond to these developments and needs.
* Develop and manage product specialisation
* Connect the assigned product assortment to market/customer needs
* Position assortment and experimental varieties in the market
* Advise on cultivation, new varieties, screening tests, sales analyses and forecasts

Responsibilities as Trial Manager:

* Receive varieties from responsible Portfolio or Product Manager and determine the test design (where, when, varieties for comparison)
* Organize sowing, planting and crop care of those trials of experimental - and commercial varieties at key growers, cooperatives and institutes in the key production areas
* Make use of the Product Management tool for trial setup and evaluations
* Supporting the growers with technical advice on the key crops and advice on the right positioning of varieties for the market

We are looking for a candidate with:
* A bachelor’s degree in plant science, Horticulture or in business related studies such as International Agribusiness & Trade, business economics, business administration, commercial economics, etc.
* An interest to travel a minimum of 60% of working hours (domestic and foreign travel) and therefore irregular working hours.
* 3+ years' experience in a similar commercial position, affinity with cultivation techniques of the key crops, know-how to setting up trials.
* Good verbal and written command of both English and French
* International experience
* Strong communication skills, including empathic power.
* A customer oriented & Results driven personality

Are you interested in becoming the Account & Trial Manager for our client in Western Africa? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Chief Financial Officer , Ghana

About:

Our client is a European-African startup in Ghana that creates sustainable and affordable e-mobility solutions with the aim of being at the forefront of the automotive industrialisation in Africa. We’re seeking a CFO to lead the company from a financial perspective. You will report to the CEO and work alongside other C-Suite team members and take ownership of all company fiscal and regulatory matters. To do well in this role you should have experience as a CFO or similar role in a company with complex financials, fundraising, and a strong ability to lead the implementation of financial controls.
It's a global, fast-paced, dynamic environment in a unique and pioneering enterprise with a sustainable mission. We hire outstanding professionals and give them the opportunity to thrive in a collaborative atmosphere that values learning, growth, and hard work.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Developing fundraising strategy for growth
• Overseeing the company's fiscal and planning activities, budgeting, reporting, auditing and administration
• Setting up internal controls
• Ensuring regulatory compliance
• Establishing supply chain strategy and inventory management best practices
• Identify and address financial risks and opportunities for the company
• Work well with the senior management team to develop a strategic plan, optimize processes and ensure financial viability of each product line
• Travel to various locations to support networking and fundraising opportunities

Required qualifications and experience:

• Chartered Accountant, master’s degree in a relevant discipline, or MBA
• 10 years + experience in relevant finance roles with at least 5 years at senior management level
• Proven examples of successful fundraising strategies in startup companies or similar enterprises in Africa
• Strong financial and accounting background, designing financial controls and commercial strategies
• Strong experience in supply chain management, preferably in manufacturing
• Experience with corporate governance
• Experience working in a multinational environment

Your profile:

• You’re an excellent communicator and proven negotiation skills
• You have the ability to inspire confidence and create trust with multiple stakeholders at different levels
• You have the ability to work under pressure, plan personal workload effectively and delegate
• You’re passionate about startups, social impact and sustainability

Are you interested in becoming the CFO for our client in Ghana? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Production Director - Cameroon , Cameroon

For one of our clients, a family-owned enterprise specializing in the production of vitamins, minerals, and additive blends (premixes) for the animal feed industry, we are seeking a Production Director who thrives on excellent sales, operational results, and team leadership.

This role requires a passionate and diplomatic professional who oversees quality of materials and finished products, while improving the feed production efficiency.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Overseeing animal feed production
• Ensuring quality of raw materials and finished products
• Enhancing feed production efficiency
• Procuring raw materials
• Managing the machinery fleet
• Motivating staff
• Managing the sales of animal feed locally and increasing sales volumes
• Supervising the sales team and overseeing regional depots

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE:

• Understands a production environment and business in general
• Has experience in a managerial position in the Agro-industry or flour milling industry or in backeries
• Has at least 5 years of experience as an expat, of which at least 2 years in Africa
• Has affinity with technical aspects (machinery) and quality control (systems) implementation
• Is proficient in the French language

Our client offers a competitive remuneration package and excellent benefits.

If you can demonstrate that you meet the criteria above and you are interested in becoming a Production Director in Cameroon, apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Business Unit Head (Timber) in Gabon , Gabon

Our client, who is a developer and operator of world-class industrial ecosystems in Africa, is looking to appoint a Business Head for their flagship company in timber in Gabon. The business is one of the leading timber suppliers in Africa as well as internationally. To further grow this business, we are looking for candidates with strong experience in timber or other related wood products.

The Business Head will be responsible for developing and executing the commercial and sales activities of the subsidiary in new markets. The Business Head ideally has a background in logistics, sourcing, processing, and distribution of timber or related wood products as this role works closely with the operations teams to ensure a seamless and robust operation on the ground.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Managing and growing the timber Business Unit within the Gabon cluster. This entails picking up existing operations and growing this profitable timber business for the global market.
• P+L responsibilities, monitor, anticipate, and respond to changing market conditions to proactively grow the timber business unit. Manage the business based on market intelligence, in-depth knowledge of customers and insightful and creative strategic planning.
• Ensure the development of strategic business plans and budgets that meet or exceed set goals while optimizing market share. Prioritize and focus the business direction and energy on those activities that will ensure sustained commercial and operational success as well as profitable returns on investment.
• Lead teams in the development of executable plans. Optimize brand positioning, market share, pricing, packaging improvements, distribution, communications, and customer segmentation.
• Develop an in-depth as well as practical understanding of customer needs and challenges within the timber industry, by championing a customer-focused environment.
• Be responsible for accurate forecasts of the timber business portfolio in relation to sourcing, demand, and planning.
• The Business Unit Head needs to be a leader within the business; while actively coaching and developing people to strengthen both individual capabilities and the team’s ability to provide value to suppliers and customers.
• Manage finance and HR departments, following local rules and regulations, tax systems and reporting.
• Stakeholder management with governments, investors and management within the cluster of Gabon.
• Oversees and manages export / import activities.

Your profile:

• You have strong commercial sales experience within the timber/related wood products industry with a focus on new markets
• You have a strong finance background and as well as general management experience in the industry
• You are an exceptional team-leader with proven organizational skills
• You are hands-on and proactive
• You are adventurous and make the most of opportunities in challenging environments
• You are fluent in English (French would be beneficial)

Required skills:

• Problem solving abilities within a fast-paced, growing business
• Stakeholder management within a culturally diverse environment
• Strong decision making and negotiation skills

Are you interested in becoming a Business Head for this Timber business in Gabon? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.