About the position
Position open to all races
Reporting to: Chairman of the Board of Directors
Role Purpose
Role Purpose
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and continuous improvement of the farm's packhouse and post-harvest operations. While the CEO manages day-to-day agricultural production, the COO will focus on running the packhouse as a high-performance manufacturing and logistics operation, ensuring efficiency, quality, compliance, cost control, and customer satisfaction.
The role requires a strong manufacturing background with solid financial and commercial acumen.
Key Responsibilities
Packhouse & Operations Management
- Lead all packhouse operations including intake, grading, packing, storage, dispatch, and logistics coordination.
- Implement and manage production planning, throughput optimization, and workflow efficiency.
- Drive lean manufacturing principles, continuous improvement, and waste reduction.
- Ensure optimal equipment utilization, maintenance planning, and capital improvement initiatives.
- Manage peak-season scaling and labor productivity.
Quality, Food Safety & Compliance
Ensure compliance with all food safety, quality, and certification standards (e.g., GlobalG.A.P., HACCP, retailer protocols, export standards).
Oversee traceability systems, audits, corrective actions, and continuous quality improvement.
- Ensure cold-chain integrity and post-harvest handling best practices.
People & Leadership
- Lead and develop packhouse management team and supervisors.
- Oversee workforce planning, training, performance management, and succession planning.
- Promote a strong safety culture and ensure compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.
- Foster a results-driven, accountable, and engaged workforce.
Financial Management
- Full responsibility for packhouse cost control, budgeting, and financial performance.
- Monitor and manage labor costs, packaging costs, utilities, and operational overheads.
- Analyze margins by product, customer, and process to support profitability improvement.
- Develop and justify capital expenditure proposals and ROI analyses.
Commercial & Customer Interface
- Work closely with sales, marketing, and logistics teams to meet customer specifications and service levels.
- Support pricing, product mix, packaging formats, and value-added initiatives.
- Manage service-level agreements and operational performance metrics for key customers.
- Contribute to strategic planning and growth initiatives.
Systems, Data & Reporting
- Implement and optimize ERP, packhouse management, and traceability systems.
- Establish KPIs for productivity, quality, cost, waste, and service levels.
- Provide accurate operational and financial reporting to the CEO and board.
- Use data to drive decision-making and process improvements.
Strategic Contribution - Participate in overall business strategy alongside the CEO and senior leadership.
- Support expansion planning, new market requirements, and infrastructure development.
- Drive modernization and automation where appropriate.
Qualifications & Experience
Essential
- BCom or degree in Manufacturing, Operations Management, Engineering
- Minimum 8-10 years senior management experience in manufacturing or industrial processing environments.
- Proven track record managing large production teams and complex operational workflows.
- Strong financial management skills: budgeting, cost control, and performance analysis.
- Experience with quality systems, audits, and compliance-driven operations.
- Demonstrated leadership and people development capability.
Highly Advantageous - Experience in food processing, FMCG, or fresh produce packing environments.
- Experience with automation and process engineering projects.
- ERP / production planning system implementation or optimization experience
You are welcome to contact me directly for more info. Our contact details are on our website.
Please note that we review all applicants' CVs. If you do not receive communication from us within 2 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful.
Desired Skills:
- Manufacturing
- Supply Chain
- Finance
Desired Work Experience:
