Agricultural Services Manager
10 July 2024

Website Tongaat Hulett Sugar
Purpose of role
- Provide all agricultural services on field services development and irrigation systems management to ensure crop production.
- Executive responsibility for 18000 hectares of MCP and SSGs sugarcane (approximately 80% of Tongaat Hullett’s stock supply), in a geographically dispersed area comprising all Xinavane MPC and Cane Growers to ensure business sustainability and crop production.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead Field Services, Irrigation maintenance, and Irrigation system management teams.
- Carrying out irrigation and drainage system designs, implementation, and monitoring for both MCP land and as well for the SSGs.
- Manage existing and future contracting arrangements, ensuring that contracting arrangements, financial controls, and reporting are aligned.
- Lead and manage cane development projects ensuring they are competitively priced and within budget.
- Understand the competitive cane supply dynamics and provide support for the necessary schemes and mitigation arrangements.
- Lead and develop a strong working relationship with third-party growers (small-scale cane-growing sectors) in.
- Accountability for agricultural Services operations (including external service providers) to fulfill their responsibilities according to budget, but equally ensuring best agronomic practice, professionalism, and appropriate governance/ethical standards.
- Work closely and interface with the finance teams, milling and TH Developments, ensuring appropriate communication and alignment.
- Manage the interfaces between contract farming, land reform, and small-scale grower extension support services.
- Sensitivity towards the socio-political environment and ensuring that the cane development initiatives recognize and are responsive to this reality.
Qualifications
- BSc degree in agriculture, agricultural or development economics or similar.
- Postgraduate and/or Business degrees are an added advantage.
Experience
- Minimum of 10 years in a senior management position in a large sugar milling organisation.