Job Description

Kraft Heinz is looking for Agriculture & Seeds Manager, Africa & Trading

Reporting to: Direct and Indirect Procurement Lead MEA

Location: 6 October Factory and on field

Job Purpose

As the Agriculture & Seeds Manager for Africa & Trading, you are responsible for creating and implementing farming systems that deliver a secure and sustainable supply of tomato and peppers that meet the quantity, quality, and cost requirements of the Kraft Heinz business from our partner farmers as well as driving the commercial and sales strategy of Heinz Seed in Egypt.

In this role you will:

• Lead and Develop the Agriculture Operations Team: Manage a team of agronomists to provide technical expertise to partner farmers, drive productivity improvements, and implement farm production plans that meet OTIF, cost, and quality targets in alignment with the Kraft Heinz “In Our Roots” manual.
• Lead and develop the Seed Development Team: Lead the Heinz Seed trialing and development strategy and team.
• Drive Heinz Seed Business Growth: Develop and execute the sales and commercial strategy for Heinz Seed in Egypt, leading to business expansion and growth.
• Own the Agriculture & Seeds regional Agenda: Provide regional and global leadership with updates on agriculture development and Heinz Seed business performance through the Agriculture & Seed MPR.

You will be part of the Global Agriculture team and will report into the Head of Agriculture of East (Türkiye, Egypt, Poland), with a dotted line to the Head of procurement Africa & Trading as part of the local procurement team.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Egypt Agriculture & Seed team (2 direct Reports + 4 Agronomists)
• Ensure On Time in Full (OTIF) delivery of required tomato and pepper supply from partner farmers
• Provide procurement with insights to support contract negotiations with farmers
• Develop and implement regional agriculture strategy focused on grower optimization and transforming the farming system to improve predictability, productivity, cost, quality and sustainability.
• Lead the seeds development strategy and process
• Lead the Seeds Sales commercial strategy, to meet annual sales targets
• Set the seeds pricing policy for Heinz Seed in Egypt
• Define the short (1-year) medium (3-5 years) and long-term (5+ years) Heinz Seed variety portfolio for Egypt in close alignment with Heinz Seed Regional and Global leadership, operations, R&D and other functions as needed to deliver on the Heinz growth strategy and functional productivity targets.
• Accountable for the contracting process with new customers, working with seeds operations manager
• Accountable for seeds sales forecast to global, providing seeds forecast to the seeds operations manager
• Oversee demand generation trial execution and organize grower demand generation events as needed
• Lead the Agriculture & Seed Monthly Performance Review (MPR)
• Ensure implementation of the traceability system and sustainability certification
• Report on all KPIs as required
• Compliance with all responsibilities related to supplier guiding principles, occupational safety, health and environmental protection as specified by Kraft Heinz

Experience & Skills

• Bachelors in plant science, agriculture, agronomy, or related field with seven (7) years of hands-on experience in tomato or similar crop production and two (2) years in a management position.
• You must have a passion for production agriculture and activities for improvement in the field
• Good command of the English language
• Very results oriented and relentless drive for excellence
• Competency in computer skills including Microsoft Officer 365 Suite (Word, Excel, & PowerPoint)
• Communication skills and presentations
• Ability to work independently and self-manage to achieve objectives on time

Work Environment & Schedule

This position is considered a Field based environment; role requires frequent travel and interaction with growers at their production sites. It also includes domestic and international travel for extended periods of time and working in outdoor field conditions throughout the year. 

Physical Requirements 

• Physical demands include but are not limited to
• Ability to engage in physical farming activities.
• Ability to work outdoors in all seasons.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain all duties or responsibilities that are required of the role. Duties or responsibilities may change or be added with or without notice.

Location(s)

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Underrepresented Ethnic Minority Groups/Women/Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity and other protected classes.