Chief Operating Officer (COO) in Tanzania , Tanzania

Role responsibilities:
The Chief Operating Officer will be responsible for the following activities with all company operating entities (e.g., both in Tanzania and Uganda):

Team Management
● Together with the Managing Director, directing the company, developing strategic initiatives, managing investor relations, securing growth funding, managing costs within board-approved annual budgets, ensuring healthy profits, and having accountability for the effective and efficient operation of each team and function (sales, production, quality assurance, supply chain, finance, HR and legal).
● Developing and managing each team towards achieving the objectives of each team and the company as a whole.
● Developing and improving the operational systems, processes and policies for all teams, optimising their processes and workflows (particularly cross-cutting processes), enforcing compliance with policies, applying lean ops/Kaizen principles to reduce wasted time and resources, and generally optimise the performance of each team.
● Developing the capacity and capabilities of all staff, both informally and through the formal performance management process.

Process & Operations Management
● Ensuring excellence in the management of the production, quality assurance, logistics and supply chain teams, particularly in regards to the vanilla and cocoa value chains, and manufacturing thereof, and ensuring all short and long term company and team objectives are met and underlying risks mitigated.
● Support all teams in:
○ Procuring, cost-effectively, adequate equipment, consumables and raw materials (e.g., raw vanilla and cocoa, production consumables, ancillary equipment & spares, technology systems, lab materials, etc.);
○ Improving the supply of key raw materials (e.g., vanilla, cacao), in terms of increased quality, volumes, productivity and land under cultivation, in a cost-effective manner;
○ Ensuring outstanding company reputation and quality of service with all relevant stakeholders (farmers, government authorities, customers, donors, investors);
○ Managing technology solutions, and related reporting and analytics, e.g., for mobile-enabled field team management, inventory management, workflow enhancements, etc;
○ Ensuring the company monitors and meets social impact indicators and targets, including indirect beneficiaries;
○ Supporting the teams for certification of, and compliance with, national and international standards (e.g., regulatory, occupational safety, food safety like FSSC 22000, organic, kosher, halal, etc);
○ Ensuring continual operational improvement (e.g., Kaizen, lean operations);

Compliance, Internal Controls & Audit
● Supporting internal service functions (Finance, HR and Legal) in adhering to, and improving upon, the company’s policies and procedures, particularly in regards to strategic growth
(new initiatives and international expansion), internal controls and regulatory compliance (e.g., Labor, Immigration, TRA, NEMC, EPZA, Municipal and District bylaws, Crop Boards,
various Ministries, Bank of Tanzania, Fair Competition Commission, etc);
● Assisting in the execution of said policies and procedures, including, for example, recruitment, employee relations, grievances, inventory control, etc;
● Auditing adherence and compliance with internal controls across all teams, departments, divisions, subsidiaries and related companies;
● Reviewing and ensuring correctness of financial and operational reports to team leads, management, the Board of Directors, shareholders, other investors/financiers and donors;
● Supporting the management of any subsidiaries, holding companies and franchise companies, both within Tanzania and abroad.

Government Relations
● Leading the continual engagement of government authorities, supporting and representing all teams who deal with regulatory and compliance topics;
● Providing input to government ministries and regulatory bodies in respect of the Company’s primary value chains and how these can be positioned and strengthened within the global
competitive context;
● Staying abreast of updates on government policies and legislation, particularly monitoring publications in Tanzania’s Official Gazette;
● Raising the profile of the company at national level, e.g., by engaging with relevant ministries.

Strategy & Funding
● Setting the strategic direction of the company (together with the MD) and of the constituent teams (together with team leads), developing strategic initiatives, securing funding for such
initiatives, and ensuring completion and effectiveness of such initiatives, as will benefit stakeholders including the organisation as a whole, suppliers (e.g., farmers and processors), investors and shareholders, and ultimately the regional economy;
● Assisting the MD in securing all manner of growth funding to achieve the company’s vision and mission, analysing financials and operational data, and writing investor and donor reports/proposals

Other
● Following up on meetings and with external contacts to assist the Managing Director and Board Directors;
● Assisting in the preparation of general paper work for submission to government entities, parastatal organisations, investors, donors and other parties, as may be needed by the Company;
● Any other duties as may be required from time to time by the Managing Director or Board Director(s), and to assist peers and other team leads/officers as needed

Desired Competencies:

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications and competencies:

● Minimum criteria:
o Undergraduate degree or equivalent in Engineering or Science, with a Masters in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Operations Management or equivalent.
o At least 10 years of experience, preferably 15, in executive-level management positions, including significant experience at a multinational company;
o Expertise in agribusiness, outgrower networks, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), engineering (mechanical, process, chemical), manufacturing, and/or food technology;
● Must have food processing background with ISO and FSSC certifications,
● Exceptional organisational skills, able to manage and move forward multiple projects/initiatives simultaneously;
● Excellent entrepreneur drive, interpersonal skills, able to relate to multiple foreign cultures, and manage people effectively in difficult circumstances;
● Outstanding ability to negotiate effectively with all stakeholders, including customers, contractors, farmers, farmer associations, service providers, agents, government (all levels), donors, investors, shareholders, directors and staff;
● Outstanding communication skills, both spoken and written, in both English and Swahili;
● Highly proficient with general computer productivity packages such as Microsoft Office, Google G Suite and ERP systems;
● Demonstrated strong leadership, able to inspire and influence others, set their teams’ strategy and lead their work independently;
● A passion for economic development, social impact and data-driven decision making.

Are you interested in becoming a Chief Operating Officer (COO) in Tanzania? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Managing Director Ghana , Ghana

For one of our European clients, who is using innovative systems and software, to improve the lives of people, we are recruiting a Managing Director for their Head Office in Accra.

Purpose of the role

• Manage day-to-day operations of the company and its overall performance.
• Strive for an excellent customer satisfaction and maintain effective relationships with clients in the public sector in Ghana and other African countries
• Coordinate all existing and new projects with clients in the whole of Africa and the Service Level Agreements and service contracts
• Creating a positive and motivating atmosphere in the company and providing better growth opportunities for employees and making sure they are providing positive results for the company

The ideal candidate

• Excellent team player and resourceful manager with a proven ability to develop and strengthen teams in order to grow and built a company and create motivation amongst employees
• Good interpersonal skills and trustworthy, someone transparent and reliable with a high respect of time
• Good communicator, both verbally and written and analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent organisational and leadership skills
• Customer focussed and ability to manage projects with efficiency and with a good customer satisfaction
• Hands-on and good decision maker
• Patience when needed and ready to take challenges and deal with challenging situations
• Should believe in teamwork and effectively interact with the clients and the employees
• Both local and international jobseekers are welcome to apply. For international applicants Africa experience is required.
• The ideal candidate is having a technical management experience within a service delivery environment, preferably with medical and/or clinical equipment, X-ray, Systems and Software etc.

Qualifications

• Minimum of BSc/BA in Business Administration or relevant field
• He or she should have required past working experience of 5+ years in the field of successfully managing the responsibilities and different departments of a company in Africa

Are you interested in becoming a Managing Director Ghana? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Country Manager Ivory Coast , Ivory Coast

The organization
Our client is active in sustainability programmes in cocoa, coffee, and cashew.
For them we are seeking a new Country Manager in Ivory Coast.

The job
Our client is looking for a Country Manager to oversee the local projects and to liaise with the stakeholders, today mainly in cocoa. The Country Manager primarily has an operational role in leading the office and managing 25+ office and field staff, and a representation role towards local farmer groups and partners. Additional, in your role, you will be working in collaboration with the procurement team, Project managers responsible for various portfolio’s. The role of the Country Manager is to facilitate and enable the execution of all on the ground sustainability activities from certification to projects on reforestation and starting savings groups for farmers in Ivory Coast.

Key activities and responsibilities

1. Represent our client in Ivory-Coast towards clients, donors, govt agencies and sector partners
• Be a spokesperson at sector events/conferences, and feeding sector developments to HQ
• Keep meaningful relationships with govt offices (CCC) and sector partners (WCF, IDH)
• Identify and develop new partnerships with local funding or implementing partners (GIZ, ICI)
• Organize partnership events and field trips for client representatives

2. Manage the country office with sustainability team of 25+ of program managers and field teams
• Ensure internal communication (meetings, documents) to document and align with the team on project targets and planning, procurement volumes and task division between
the team members.
• Manage recruitment, HR performance management, personal development for all staff
• Support office processes, such legal entity establishment, rent, insurance, CAPEX procurement
• Ensure alignment within the team, facilitating exchange and coordination among different portfolio’s

3. Team Management & Support of the local Team by ensuring activity coordination + alignment with the vertical heads in HQ.
• Act as support and sparring partner for the Project Managers and Certification Managers in IVC
• Monitor progress of certification, mapping and traceability activities of their cocoa suppliers and coordinate M&E digital data collection
• Ensure necessary operational support & inputs e.g., equipment & financing from HQ.
• Directly manage the certification officer in the planning and execution of field activities (such as farmer trainings, certification audits, premium payments)
• Provide support to M&E project manager on the strategy and execution of farmer database management, mapping and traceability recordkeeping to ensure up to date reporting to HQ
• Report to HQ on project indicators and with narrative reports for client/donor programs

4. Supplier relation management and support on procurement and shipment of traceable cocoa
• Maintain relations with farmer group management to facilitate project execution and procurement
• Coordinate annual contracting with farmer groups on cocoa volume + sustainability premiums
• Manage and Ensure the deliveries by Cooperates of the of traceable cocoa volumes

5. Finance and project audits
• Manage and optimize the expenditure of country budget and cash request, by identifying cost savings and synergies and finding solutions when budget lines risk to be
exceeded
• Ensure accurate financial administration for management reports and coordinate financial project audits (financial report, time sheets etc)
• Coordinate contracted premium payments to suppliers and liaise on cashflow for operations with financial management of suppliers

The team
You will be working in a dynamic sustainability team. In Ivory-Coast, you will be working with a team of 10+ at the office in Abidjan, and a 60+ strong field team across the country. Internationally, you will be in contact with our head office team and other origin teams and work in close collaboration with our sector partners and cocoa suppliers.

Qualities our client is looking for:
• A bachelor’s or master’s degree, preferably in Business, International Development or related field
• At least 5 years’ experience in operational management and leading a team
• Experience in managing field activities in rural context
• Affinity with intercultural communication (Africa, Europe)
• You thrive in a fast-paced working environment, and you are able to balance different priorities
• Self-starter and all-round mentality; willing to execute simple tasks as well as manage big portfolios
• A passionate and ambitious worker; accurate, efficient and problem-solving
• You need to be innovative and driven to continuously improve our projects and procedures
• Fluency in French & English

What is offered to you:
You will be part of a fast-growing organization and broad network with excellent future career opportunities. Our client offers substantial freedom in your work, engagement in a broad range of sustainability topics, and personal development opportunities. The client offers a competitive salary, housing and transportation and good other secondary employment conditions. Work status 40 hours per week. Based in Abidjan, Ivory-Coast, with regular travel to the field, and business trips to other offices in West Africa.

Are you interested in becoming a Country Manager Ivory Coast? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Managing Director in Burkina Faso , Burkina Faso

Our client is an established organic and fair-trade player and we are recruiting a Managing Director for their Burkina Faso entity.

The purpose of the job is to maintain a profitable business without losing track of social and environmental sustainability. Carefully managing the stakeholders, investments and the resource of the company, the leader is hands on and pragmatic. He or she aspires to maintain a lean and profitable organisation whilst driving the mission & vision of the company of which direct producer relationship and fair, transparent business practices are an important part. Additionally, the managing director will be actively involved in the planning and implementation of a new state of the art mango and cashew processing plant.

As Managing Director you will head the executive management team which consist of four directors overseeing the following departments:
1. Agronomy and Sourcing
2. Finance and Administration
3. Operations-processing - Exports
4. Quality Health Safety/Social Environmental

Your responsibilities include:
• Lead and sustain the Executive Management team of the company
• Undertake all company management responsibilities both from legal and organisational point of view
• Full P&L and balance sheet responsibility
• Coordinate and direct the preparation of the budget, the relevant forecasts
• Enhance, develop, and optimize business processes, policies, and internal controls
• Strategy formulation and contribution to develop a business plan
• Help, support, and coach the managers in achieving the companies’ goals
• Assess/fire/hire key staff members
• Identify key deliverables and implement KPIs to measure performance
• Enable the relevant reporting and information to the board of director as well as for international banks and other stakeholders.
• Establish fair relations built on partnership with external partners as well as employees
• Ensure full legal, statutory, and international standards compliance
• Product development
• Networking, public relations

Your requirements are:
• Bachelor / Master in relevant fields
• 5+ years working experience
• 3+ years experience in leading a team, preferably in food/organic products
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Relevant (West) Africa experience in managing employees
• Candidate with a long-term aspiration to live in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina-Faso
• Familiar and enjoying dealing with producers, clients, stakeholders
• Processing experience
• Great reporting skills
• Strong soft skills and understanding of African cultural challenges
• Highly motivated self-starter with strong work ethic
• Sensitive to social impact and to sustainable development
• Fluent in French & English (written and spoken)

The offer:
• Local contract, long term position
• Competitive Salary
• Start date ASAP
• Unique opportunity for both local and international candidates

Are you interested in becoming a Managing Director in Burkina Faso? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Sales Manager in South Africa , South Africa

For our client, a European company active in the food ingredients industry, we are looking for a Sales Representative who will be based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Tasks
• Support of existing customers and acquisition of new customers.
• Detailed negotiations with customers about contract contents
• Participation in the strategic development of the target markets
• Reliable budget and forecast planning
• Representing our company at the customer
• Competitive analysis and observations
• Visits to trade fairs and organization of local workshops
• Commercial training of on-site representatives and junior salespeople
• Commercial projects outside own sales area

Personal and professional requirements
• Ideally full degree, e.g. in business administration
• At least 5 years of professional experience in sales and ideally in MEA within the food ingredients industry
• Willingness to travel extensively for customer service and product presentations
• High customer orientation
• Intercultural competencies
• Business fluent English language skills
• Good MS Office skills

The MEA Sales Manager should...
• possess a high level of commitment, initiative and flexibility
• have the ability to learn fast
• Be able to adapt well and interact appropriately with different interlocutors
• be able to communicate proactively across all hierarchical levels
• be assertive
• be a team player
• be able to represent the corporate values internally and externally

Are you interested in becoming a Sales Representative in South Africa? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Group Sustainability Project Manager (GSPM)

Reporting to: Group Sustainability Manager
Departments: Operations
Duration: Permanent

Summary of therole
our client is investing in an ambitious, decade-long sustainability program covering human rights, carbon emissions, agroforestry and farmer support, with global workstreams planned in coffee producing countries all over the world. The sustainability strategy stands or falls on your ability to plan and coordinate the execution of multiple projects working across different time zones with global teams - the GSPM is the linchpin of the organization's sustainability program. Working with a number of workstream leads your task is to design an implementation roadmap for the global sustainability program and to create a global project management dashboard and a robust system of accountability and reporting.

You are expected to be a highly motivated and thoroughly experienced project management professional and team leader who works very well in a multicultural context. You are able to adopt flexible working hours and have experience in leading teams in a complex matrix organization. In your previous jobs you have managed global multi-million dollar rural development programs and/or worked as a professional project manager and team leader in projects within large organizations with global coverage.

Experience of coffee or similar agricultural value chains would be a strong advantage but as the chosen candidate you must first and foremost be an experienced project manager with a proven track record of delivering largescale global projects in emerging markets, on time and on budget.
You will have the opportunity to work in a dynamic growing global family business, being part of a transformation that will ultimately put sustainability at the center of their mission, improving engagement with all value chain partners.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Core responsibilities:
• Responsible for overall project management of the global sustainability program, managing multiple project streams, team leaders, progress reporting and data.
• Daily coordination with subject matter experts and the global execution teams to establish and monitor work plans and deliverables for each region
• Participation in development and refinement of the overall sustainability strategy as a key member of the sustainability leadership team
• Preparation of regular progress reports and participation in update meetings to senior internal and external stakeholders (you will be supported by a global M& E Manager and team)
• With support from a strategic communications manager, you will be responsible for implementing a 360 degree communications strategy on the activities of the sustainability department.
• Contribute directly to helping position the business as an industry leader in sustainability (vis a vis roasters, banks and farmers)

Education, Qualifications & Experience
• At least a bachelor’s degree
• Advanced training and certification in Project Management
• At least 5 years of experience in a senior management position, preferably related to project implementation, with a track record of leading teams
• Experience building and running large, complex projects - ideally multicountry, multi-stakeholder projects in agriculture and/or rural development.
• Lengthy experience of working in emerging markets

Skills
• You have gravitas, an obvious sense of experience, but remain approachable and comfortable as a mentor, team leader
• Ability to work across different cultures and nationalities (excellent EQ and CQ)
• Ability to work in partnership and across boundaries to achieve results.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
• Confident and assertive with a self-motivated approach and flexible attitude.
• Comfortable working in a matrix reporting environment – you are focused on getting the job done and ensuring “no-one is left behind” when communicating objectives and expectations

Languages
Strong verbal and written English; fluency in other languages (Spanish, French) is an asset.

Are you interested in becoming a Group Sustainability Project Manager (GSPM) in Uganda? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Farm Manager in Ethiopia , Ethiopia

Our client, who is a well-established exporting company in horticulture produce, is searching for an experienced Farm Manager for one of their locations in Ethiopia.

The farm manager will be responsible for the daily management of the farm. He / she will play a pivotal in driving team spirit, cooperation between teams on the farm, as well as ensuring good quality and timely output.

Must haves:
• Proven management skills and experience (5+ yrs.)
• Great communicator
• High energy, hands-on
• Agricultural background
• Has managed a farm or large operation before
• Experience in developing countries

Nice to have:
• Horticultural experience
• Experience in Ethiopia

Are you interested in becoming a Farm Manager in Ethiopia? Apply now at the top or bottom of our page.

Chef(fe) du département des infrastructures , Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Le département des infrastructures

Le département des infrastructures a un rôle central au sein du parc. Il appuie tous les départements de l’organisation : sécurité, tourisme, agriculture, entreprenariat, aviation, charroi, etc. La liste n’inclut pas le programme électricité qui est géré par une structure distincte.

Les activités (projets) du département sont très variés. Ils incluent la construction de nouveaux lodges touristiques, de camps fortifiés pour les gardes, de clôtures électriques en bordure du parc, de parcs industriels, de conduites d’adduction d’eau pour la population riveraine, de routes (pistes et dessertes agricoles), etc. Outre les activités de construction, l’entretien des installations existantes est centrale afin d’assurer leur pérennité.

Outre les compétences en architecture et gestion de chantier, chaque projet requiert la planification et le déploiement d’une logistique complexe. Ceci est particulièrement le cas pour les travaux dans des zones isolées à l’intérieur du parc qui sont parfois sujettes à une relative insécurité.

Le département compte 90 effectifs : ingénieurs civils, architectes, électriciens, plombiers, menuisiers, soudeurs, responsable administratif et financier. Quotidiennement, entre 200 et 300 travailleurs journaliers sont embauchés sur les différents chantiers.

Responsabilités et activités principales
Le Chef du département des infrastructures supervise 5 grands pôles d’activités.

Le bureau d’étude

Le bureau d’étude prend en charge la conception des dossiers d’avant-projet, des dossiers d’exécution (concernant l’architecture, la stabilité et les techniques spéciales) et le calcul des budgets. Il établit une prévision détaillée des états de besoin nécessaires pour chaque projet.

Le bureau d’exécution

Le bureau d’exécution est actuellement composé de 5 chef de chantiers. Ils prennent en charge l’exécution des projets : construire conformément aux plans d’exécution et aux règles de l’art de la construction, superviser les corps de métier présents sur le chantier, contrôler l’application des techniques spéciales, assurer la gestion financière et le recrutement de la main d’œuvre occasionnelle, gérer les stocks d’équipement et matériaux.
Les clôtures électriques

Les clôtures électriques préviennent les destructions des cultures par les animaux du parc. Elles totalisent une centaine de kilomètres à ce jour. La distance qu’elles couvrent s’agrandira fortement au cours des prochaines années. Une équipe de 8 personnes assure leur construction et leur entretien. Elles font appel chaque jour à 100 travailleurs journaliers en moyenne.

L’entretien et les petits travaux

Le parc construit et gère de nombreuses infrastructures. Un programme d’entretien et/ou de rénovation est indispensable. Une équipe de techniciens s’y consacre. Elle assure aussi les petits travaux.

Le bureau administratif et financier

Un Responsable Administratif et Financier (RAF) assiste le Chef de Département. Cette dimension du travail est susceptible de croître afin d’appuyer le nombre croissant de projets exécutés par le département.

Profil: Ingénieur civil, ingénieur en construction, ingénieur architecte ou architecte
Expérience: 5+ années d’expérience dans le domaine de l’architecture et/ou de la construction
Chef hiérarchique: Directeur des opérations du PNVI
Qualifications et compétences requises:
• Excellente maitrise des règles de construction
• Excellente maitrise des règles d’architecture
• Excellente maitrise dans l’élaboration des plans architecturaux, de stabilité et de techniques spéciales
• Sens créatif élevé pour la conception des projets
• Notions en électricité domestique et en plomberie

Pourquoi venir au Parc National des Virunga ?

Conditions contractuelles

• Salaire compétitif ;
• Contrat de 2 ans (renouvelable) avec 3 mois de période d’essai ;
• Couverture médicale ;
• Logement, restauration sur site et transport pris en charge par l’employeur ;
• Dispositif de sécurité pour la mise en œuvre des activités sur le terrain.

Outre des conditions contractuelles avantageuses, vous :
• Aurez l’opportunité de contribuer directement à l’amélioration et au développement du PNVI,
• Bénéficierez d’une indépendance importante dans la mise en œuvre de votre travail,
• Vivrez dans un endroit unique au monde (au départ du quartier-général du parc à Rumangabo), classé au patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO, tout en profitant des aspects plus sociaux d’une grande ville telle que Goma (1h à 3h de route des différents camps),
• Pourrez évoluer à long terme dans l’organisation.

• Bonne maitrise des logiciel Autocad, Sketchup, Word et Excel
• Excellente gestion d’équipes (autorité et sensibilité)
• Excellentes capacités d’organisation et de planification (logistique et budget) logistique
• Indépendance et attitude orientée vers la résolution de problèmes
• Une expérience pratique en RDC et/ou en Afrique subsaharienne est un avantage
• La connaissance du swahili est un avantage