My Client is looking for an experienced Technical Manager to lead orchard advisory services, producer compliance, export quality standards, and their technical field team. This role suits a skilled agricultural professional with strong technical, compliance, and people-management experience in the citrus export sector.
Key Responsibilities
• Provide orchard advisory services on irrigation, nutrition, pruning, canopy management, pest/disease control, and harvest readiness.
• Lead and develop the technical team through coaching, objective setting, and performance management.
• Oversee rollout of all technical programmes, including production, monitoring, and phytosanitary initiatives.
• Compile and distribute production data, crop estimates, maturity updates, technical reports, and market insights.
• Ensure strict QC compliance from orchard to packhouse alongside quality teams.
• Manage producer accreditation for GlobalG.A.P., SIZA, PPECB and related schemes, including audits and corrective actions.
• Investigate claims, analyse quality issues, and recommend corrective actions.
• Identify new citrus cultivars and evaluate suitability for future programmes.
• Manage the local marketing programme, including allocations, supply planning, and market intelligence.
• Oversee procurement of packaging materials, forecasting needs and ensuring export-spec compliance.
Required Competencies
• Deep technical knowledge of citrus production, crop protection, nutrition, maturity indexing, and export standards.
• Strong understanding of GlobalG.A.P., SIZA, food-safety and PPECB protocols.
• Skilled in quality risk identification, data interpretation, claims analysis, and market trend evaluation.
• Strong communicator with the ability to translate technical insights and build trust with growers and partners.
• Experience leading field/technical teams and coordinating multi-farm seasonal programmes.
• Strong organisational and commercial awareness of market dynamics and grower-return structures.
Previous Experience
• 7–10 years in citrus or fruit export (production + post-harvest).
• Proven technical advisory experience.
• Hands-on exposure to GlobalG.A.P., SIZA, PPECB and compliance audits.
• Experience working with packhouses, QC, logistics, or export partners.
• Team-management experience.
• Exposure to marketing programmes or packaging procurement advantageous.
Education
• Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture/Horticulture/Plant Production (Honours advantageous).
• Additional training in post-harvest physiology, quality systems, or food-safety beneficial.
Email CV in WORD format: cvs@agricruitment.co.za
If you do not hear from us within two weeks of the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.