Farm General Manager (1 Post) at Bindura University of Sciences and Technology

Duties and Responsibilities

In general, the Farm General Manager is responsible for the following tasks:
-Overseeing the daily operations of the farm, including planting, harvesting, farm equipment maintenance, and caring for crops and livestock;
-Developing and implementing strategies to increase productivity and profitability;
-Conducting research to identify new market opportunities and consumer preferences to support the agricultural produce and products of the University on the local and international market arena;
-Ensure team engagement at the university farm is at the level where there is a collective understanding of the farm targets and an understanding of how they contribute to the overall success of the farm business; the team are inducted to their role and receive a structured orientation and regular feedback on their performance; feedback needs are recorded, reviewed and used to support individual training and development plans; individual skills and competencies are developed by establishing performance and development goals;
-Ensure that production targets and indicators of success are set out in the farm’s Annual Operational Plan;
-Ensure that any risk areas/areas of concern are discussed with the University management and proactively managed;
-Maintaining financial records, including budgets, expenses, and profits; Identify, capture and evaluate key farm management information to increase farm productivity and profitability, including weather data
recording and identification of climatic trends/predictions;
-Hiring, training, and managing farm workers and other employees;
-Ensure stock movement records are accurately maintained and up to date and contribute to the development of the farm’s annual asset and maintenance plans;
-Implement the agreed annual asset and maintenance plan to ensure all plant and equipment is in good repair and in a safe operating state;
-Ensure all assets, including irrigation equipment and fitments, are regularly maintained in line with manufacturer’s specifications and farm maintenance procedures;
-Ensure environmental requirements are met as outlined in the farm environment plan;
-Ensuring that the farm is complying with all laws and regulations related to agricultural operations, including health and safety standards and environmental protections;
-Coordinating with suppliers and buyers to purchase necessary supplies and sell farm products on local and international markets, including procurement and sustenance of the Global Gap License/Certificate;
-Reporting key farm performance data on a 7 day basis;

Skills and Attributes
-Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
-Ability to foster open communication structure;
-Strong analytical and decision-making skills.