Area Manager at LIPTON Teas and Infusions

PURPOSE OF ROLE 

The Area Manager deputizes the Estate Manager in the Estate to lead the Agricultural function in accordance with laid down company policies and procedures to ensure that the Estate is managed to highest agricultural standards & ensure quality of tea and productivity is maximized.

ACCOUNTABILITIES 

Policy

• To ensure that Company Policies, Guidelines, the CBA and labour laws are adhered at all times.
• To enforce all aspects of the Factories Act and statutes, as well as the Company’s Health & Safety regulations.
• To enforce all company policies including but not limited to Safety, Environment, Welfare and Code of Business principles.
• Implement all company policies and procedures in his/her area.

Planning

• Participate in the preparation of Estate budgets & performance. 
• Ensure that the financial expenditure is in line with the budget. 
• Deliver the business targets aligned to the Company Strategy
• Jointly with Area Managers, determine the labor requirements and overtime requests for the estate monthly
• Jointly with Estate Services Manager, plan and coordinate green leaf and general transport in the unit

Work Allocation

• End to end management of tea harvesting operations and processes in line with the Recruitment Policy and Guidelines.
• Determining number of employees to be deployed to harvesting jobs & harvesting support jobs in area of responsibility
• Planning and supervision of field related kando jobs in the area e.g. crop protection and husbandry, roads maintenance
• Jointly with the Estate Services Manager, carry out field work plans for agronomy crop protection (daily, weekly, monthly and annually).
• Receiving redeployment requests from employees and forwarding them to Estate services manager

Training

• Ensure job inductions are done across all harvesting teams. 
• Training/refresher for harvesting & harvesting related jobs
• Train & develop all staff & manage IR in area of responsibility 
• In consultation with the Estate Manager, identify and determine training needs, carry out the training and development for staff reporting directly to him/her.
• Induct, train and ensure implementation of safety and statutory standards for all contractors in the division 
• Assists the HR department as facilitator/trainer when required from time to time.

People

• Industrial/Employee Relations: Manages industrial/employee relations in the area of responsibility and reports any incidences that may flout good relations to the HR Department.
• Ensure discipline standards are to the required level for all employees in his/her area.
• Ensures there’s no bullying and harassment of employees in area of responsibility and that all employees are treated with fairness
• Participates in the counselling of employees.
• Provide coaching to employees on their jobs 
• Provide guidance and direct employees to the right support system counselling services to employees in the Estate 
• Responsible for cascading Company information to the employees.

Performance management

• Set targets for Team Leaders and employees reporting to them.
• Plan and carry out periodic performance reviews and feedback sessions to employees
• Prepares job descriptions, appraisals for staff reporting directly as per agreed work plan/targets.
• Drives productivity improvement programmes amongst employees
• Ensure attainment of the CBA minimum wage by all employees

Collaborations

• Main interface with many roles i.e., Area Managers, Factories, Field Technology, Finance, HRBP, Unions, Corporate Relations, R & D, Legal, Security etc.

Tea Harvesting and related accountabilities

• Ensure the estate is managed to the highest agricultural standards, tea quality & productivity improvement.
• Ensure quality and timely delivery of Green Leaf to the factory.
• Effective management of factory post-harvest feedback
• Ensure proper establishment and maintenance of good plucking tables by plucking at correct times and heights.
• Ensures that the correct tasks & quality of work are allocated to all employees on a daily basis.
• Ensure successful implementation of Tea mechanization in line with company strategy
•  Ensure that Tea bush productivity is increased without impacting negatively the health and long-term potential of the bush.
• Deliver the business targets aligned to the Company Strategy.
• Maintain optimum plant population by ensuring successful infilling operation is done.
• Carries out the best agronomic practices on soil conservation, crop protection, Nutrition and new planting.
• Planning and supervision of fertiliser application 
• Carry out road maintenance, drainage and its proper use.
• Maintains a system of accounting and control of pests and diseases and reporting any new occurrences to the Estate Manager. 
• Maintains estate tea, eucalyptus and indigenous tree nurseries to the required standards.
• Responsible for land preparation or new tea development areas.    
• Ensures that proper land preparation, planting, tasking and maintenance of young tea bushes are done as per set policy and budget provisions.
• Ensures that soil sampling and analysis is carried out on tea development areas prior to planting.

Fuelwood Operations

• Ensures that the eucalyptus plantations are maintained to the required standards and within the approved budget in order to maximize yields.
• Carries out in-filling in newly planted /infilling eucalyptus areas,
• Supervises contractors and the collection of firewood to the factories.

Assets & Unit machinery

• In collaboration with Estate services manager, checks that vehicles in use under his/her area of responsibility are always in a road worthy state and daily maintenance check is carried out.
•  In collaboration with Estate services manager, arranges for the regular servicing of all vehicle and equipment with the Service centres.
• Ensure that all the MTH machines are operational and to the required efficiencies. 
• Responsible for the Company assets in the Estate/Area 
• Regular checks of the estate beacons and boundaries to maintain integrity of property ownership in the Estate

 ERP & IoTea

• Responsible for data capture, creation and validation, extraction of relevant reports in ERP and IoTea systems
• Check the accuracy of payroll input documents from their area.

WCM

• Implement WCM activities and records in the area of responsibility

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED 

• Graduate in Agriculture, Horticulture, Agricultural Engineering or Bachelor of Science.
• 4 Years experience.
• Agronomy - Crop Production and Field Operations 
• Sourcing – Raw materials of agricultural origin
• Plant Breeding – Tea Nurseries
• Area Infrastructure Management
• Project Management 
• Industrial Relations/Employee Relations

TRAVEL

• As per job/site requirements, local travel likely.