Senior Research Manager

Motivate for and drive new projects aligned with the Company’s purpose and mission supported by commercial analysis and justification thereof. Develop and maintain pipeline of projects which will grow the business. Participate in all strategic initiatives of the business to grow the product and service offering to the market.
- Drive development of any IP required to understand working of a product or service which will assist in the marketing thereof to the industry.
- Participate in identification of market opportunities, potential products, actives and delivery mechanisms to exploit opportunities.
- Scan industry trends, threats and drivers, scientific literature, collaboration partners and research institutions to identify threats or opportunities.
- Set up contractual frameworks for projects or collaborations to protect IP, ensure legal compliance and a platform for future commercial transactions.
- Ensure Research Dept can provide research, formulation expertise, field trials and complaint investigation services to the business to support new and existing products, projects and services.
- Participate in all strategic initiatives of the business and evaluate need for GLP, ISO and any other relevant accreditations to service the business and if necessary set up motivation and implementation thereof.
- Determine source of AI’s and collection of all data such as 5 Batches and Tox packages, and participate in supply agreements with suppliers.
- Facilitate and oversee scale up and commercial production of any project approved or registered using existing or newly developed guidelines/protocols.
- Modify, create and enforce new product/project development protocols.
- Set up, maintain necessary infrastructure, resource base and skillsets to service current and future needs of the business as well as maintain and implement compliance systems.
- Customer complaints investigations
- Develop and maintain pipeline of new products to grow the business and oversee research on suitable Ai’s for solutions to certain problems in agriculture that have been identified.
- Source inerts for formulations as identified by Formulation Chemists.
- Check expiry dates of patents and patent contents of new Ai’s and investigate patentability of new formulations.
- Understand and develop knowledge of in-house products and their working to better market and support products in the field.
- Drive research activities for registration of products.
- Meet with Research Institutions to enquire about research activities and market opportunities for development, liaise w.r.t. agreements/contracts and track progress of projects
- Build knowledge base and IP unique to the business through research activities and trials and identify new avenues for research that would place the business in a strong position in current markets or open up new markets.

Develop a primary research capability for the business. Set up regular research meetings within business to evaluate progress on research topics or explore ideas across the various divisions within the business. Create a platform for sharing and management of innovation

**Qualifications & Experience**:

- MSc in a field relevant to the business including Chemistry, Agronomy, Microbiology and Plant Physiology.
- Minimum 7-10 years post graduate experience in a laboratory or research environment.
- Minimum of 5 years experience in product development and registration.
- Minimum of 5 years experience of laboratory and research management
- Knowledge of instrumentation used in the laboratory, i.e. HPLC, GC, etc.
- Knowledge of SHEQ Management Systems (e.g. ISO9001 and organic certification) standards/requirements.
- Knowledge of production processes and equipment.
- Good analytical and interpretive skills pertaining to laboratory results.
- Knowledge of general agricultural formulations in existence, e.g. EC, SC, SL, WP, TB, OD, ME, WDG, etc.
- Knowledge of registration requirements of Act 36 of 1947
- Knowledge of FAO specifications for actives and formulations.
- Ability to review chemical data for registration purposes
- Working knowledge of Syspro
- Working knowledge of SAP advantageous
- Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word/Excel.PowerPoint) at the intermediate level

Must be in possession of a valid driver’s license, have own reliable transport and be medically fit to drive