Technical R&d Manager

PURPOSE

To turn product designs into reality through effective material selection, alignment to production capability and ongoing technical product support in this regard. Provide a one-stop shop for all technical aspects of the Belgotex product range, and the manufacturing processes thereof.

SPAN OF CONTROL

This role is responsible for all technical aspects including
- Materials used in production
- Production processes
- Product specifications and recipes
- Product performance
- Technical certifications
- Development trial executionQUALIFICATIONS
- Grade 12 / Matric with mathematics or math’s literacy.
- Valid Driver’s License is essential
- At least 8 - 10 years relevant experience in carpeting and têxtiles.
- Experience supervising or managing people is required.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES & OUTPUTS

Technical Product Development - Deep Focus
- Raw Material Development_
- Identify the most suitable raw materials to be used in product ranges, giving due consideration to the following:

- cost, availability, order quantities and limitations, environmental impact or other legal considerations, performance and properties, supplier relationship and expertise, product support, storage and shipping
- Work closely with production and operations teams to evaluate and select appropriate raw materials.
- Perform development trials to determine suitability of raw materials.
- Production Development_
- Consult with and provide technical support to Production, Quality and Engineering teams to
- Enhance production capabilities to allow for greater throughput at Grade 1 quality.
- Refine production processes to minimise waste.
- Understand and eliminate quality defects.
- Perform production capability trials as required while keeping in mind impact on normal production resources.
- Design Realization_
- Consult with Commercial Design / R&D team on new product designs, giving due consideration to the following:

- Production capabilities & repeatability, economical run sizes, product specification requirements, product performance testing and certifications, intended use.
- Ensure products are certified and tested to comply with required Commercial, legislative and other agreed performance criteria.

Reporting and Documentation
- Maintain a comprehensive **register of all technical developments**, their statuses, impacts and progress made.
- Maintain a **master register of products**, ranges and their key technical aspects such as certifications and audits, technical specifications and revisions.
- Ensure that all processes, recipes, and production specifications are **documented** into required SOP and process flow formats and stored centrally as per agreed document management system.
- Ensure team members **follow** the most up to date SOPs and transactional documentation to ensure consistency of process.
- Develop and implement **continuous improvement** processes to improve output, reduce variability and manage operational constraints.
- Report against agreed goals and financial metrics to reflect the department’s performance and expenditure.

Safety, Health, Environment - We Tread Softy
- Direct activities that ensure **compliance** with applicable safety, health and environment legislation and audit requirements
- Ensure housekeeping is kept to standard.
People Management - Better Together
- Proactively manages **performance and team dynamics** to ensure that a fair, professional, and high-performance environment, aligned to the company values is maintained.
- Develop **individual and organisation capabilities** to build bench strength while delivering results now and in the future
- Select, train, coach, develop, motivate, and measure the work performance of individuals within the department to **encourage accountability** and promote **employee engagement**.
- Manage employees in a manner that maintains a **healthy Industrial Relations** climate exemplifies the Belgotex values and ensures a fair, productive climate that is engaging.
- Ensure that all **employees are conversant/compliant** with relevant business information, policies, processes and procedures.
- Stay abreast and relevant of current **industry best practices** to ensure processes are aligned to industry trends, legislative requirement and strategic business goals to ensure sustainability of Belgotex.
- Lead and manage line quality and laboratory teams.
- Monitor and advise on quality faults within production processes to improve Grade 1 quality off the main lines, reduce losses due to subgrade production and reduce the amount of production rework required off the main lines.
- Maintain an electronic record of quality concerns, incidents and corrective actions within the required Belgotex systems.
- Responsible for all recruitment needs for the Technical Team in collaboration with HR.

REQUIREMENTS

Knowledge and skill
- Significant technical knowledge and experience (minimum 8 - 10 years) in carpet manufacturing.
- Previous experience managin