Agronomy Director

Regional Agronomy Director Job Overview

HR Genie is seeking a highly skilled Regional Agronomy Director to lead our agronomy strategy across Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia. As a key member of our team, you will oversee the implementation of best-in-class agronomic practices, ensuring alignment with our sustainability and growth objectives.

Main Responsibilities

• Develop and implement agronomy strategies tailored to the agricultural landscapes of each country, in collaboration with regional teams.
• Ensure alignment with overall organizational goals, focusing on production volume targets, yield improvement, quality indices, cost, and sustainability initiatives.
• Drive innovation in agronomic systems, utilizing research & development (R&D) and technology to enhance business intelligence, data analysis, and forecasting.
• Oversee, continuously update, and improve our client's programs.
• Optimize the cost of regional inputs purchases.
• Foster partnerships with external stakeholders, including industry bodies, farmers, policymakers, and industry leaders, to advance our client's programs across the region.
• Lead and mentor regional agronomy teams, ensuring they are trained in the latest agronomic techniques, sustainability, and equipped to address local challenges, in collaboration with the relevant global functions.
• Manage budgets, resource allocation, and logistics related to agronomy and production operations across the three countries.
• Establish and monitor KPIs, conduct regular performance reviews, and provide feedback to management to ensure alignment with strategic objectives.
• Ensure effective farmer and community member training in line with the corporate programs and goals.
• Ensure all agronomic activities comply with environmental and human rights regulations and corporate policies, to reach compliance and support improvement of sustainable agricultural practices.
• Promote sustainable environmental practices, such as reduced chemical usage, collection and disposal of empty chemical containers, efficient curing fuel, and reforestation initiatives.
• Promote sustainable farmers and workers-oriented initiatives, such as the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for chemicals spraying and Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), enhancement of livelihoods, complementary crops, and fair labor practices.
• Lead efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change, soil erosion, water scarcity, and human rights violations, promoting resilience in farming systems across the region.
• Ensure effective farm data collection and monitoring system, to support the development of the corporate risk management system and reporting, in line with the due diligence cycle.
• Ensure implementation of Community Support Programs, in line with the findings from the data collection and monitoring systems in the field operations.
• Support the implementation of sustainability studies, assessments, and innovative initiatives in field operations.
• Stay informed of global and regional agricultural trends to keep the organization ahead of market, environmental, and human rights shifts.