Production Lead-Operation

Role Purpose

You will be responsible for labour planning and labour allocation for all production processes like harvesting, sticking, packing, cold room among others.

Accountabilities

1.Labour planning

• In consultation with the production manager, you will prepare an annual labour plan at the beginning of the season.
• You will oversee that the right and adequate people for temporary work (harvesting, sticking, planting) are hired.
• You will prepare a daily labour allocation schedule for each department and greenhouse based on labour demand report from the departmental heads and growers
•  In consultation with the capacity planner, you will prepare the leave plans for all permanent employees and submit to the Human Resources (HR) for implementation.

2. Labour optimization and motivation.

•  You will ensure that there are clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)for all activities in the farm.
• You will gather and analyse the labour data to ensure that all employees meet the required targets. You will follow up on labour hours registration and inputs into the system for decision making.
•  You will prepare the bonus report for each employee based on the collected KPIs at the end of every crop season.
• You will conduct performance appraisal for the operation team and identify areas of improvement for personal development.
• You will follow up and ensure that labour is distributed according to daily labour plan and redistribute if necessary.
• You will analyse the efficiency of operations activities including Performance Related Pay (PRP)by collecting data from the work done and comparing with the given targets for decision making.

3. Harvesting

•  You will coordinate harvesting of un-rooted cuttings giving priority to destinations, delivery groups and product sensitivity to meet quality, in time and in full.      

4.  Greenhouse preparation

• You will develop and implement crop uprooting and greenhouse preparation plan at the end of the season.
•  In consultation with the production manager, you will prepare planting media requirement plan for the season.
• You will order for the additional pumice needed for topping.
• You will coordinate the process of greenhouse sterilization before start of the season in preparation for planting.
•  In the peak harvesting season, you will coordinate and prepare harvesters performance report that would be used for weekly award of the best performers

5.   Training

• You will support and ensure that all employees are amply trained for every activity they undertake.
• You will support the HR team in coordinating the orientation and training sessions for the new employees.
•  You will support the Quality Assurance team in conducting harvester refresher training before the harvesting season.    

6. Safety and standards

• You will enforce the Health Safety & Environment rules and regulations and champion the implementation of Syngenta Health, Safety & Environment policy and standards.
•  You will ensure compliance with all Phyto-sanitary protocol to achieve high quality cuttings.    

7.     Any other tasks and projects as may be allocated from time to time

Knowledge, experience & capabilities

• Degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, or any other relevant degree in Agriculture related field.
• You must have at least 5 years' relevant work experience
• Have ability to plan and provide labour to deliver products in defined quantities, quality time and cost
• Demonstrate openness in communication to others and make timely communication
• Have a track record for building trust and giving reliable and correct information
• Have data entry and strong analytical skills with progressive analytical and reporting tools.
• Have good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Have strong supervisory and managerial skills with a growth mindset.
• Proactiveness in taking precautionary measures in the quality control and quality assurance process
• Demonstrated experience in Microsoft Office with excellent organizational skills.
• Must possess a proven track record of leading teams with good problem-solving skills.

Benefits Overview

Some of the benefits for this role include:

• Pension scheme enrolment
• Medical Cover for self and dependants
• Short Term Incentive based on your performance and business performance 
• Lunch and tea
• Transport to and from Thika town among others

Equal Opportunities Statement

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, tribe or any other legally protected status.

Syngenta is a Global Agribusiness Company with its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. We are a market leader in the breeding and production of Seeds and Cuttings for high quality pot and bedding plants. In Kenya, we have two production Sites; Kenya Cuttings Limited based in Thika and Pollen Limited based in Ruiru.