Agriculture Manager at AB InBev

The key purpose of this role is to lead a team in Tanzania, ensuring a secure supply of high-quality malting barley and sorghum for ABInBev’s processing facilities. The Agricultural Manager will optimize growing areas, consult with producers, maintain industry relationships, and support the raw materials procurement and R&D processes.

Additionally, the role will manage decision-making support systems and drive the company’s sustainability agenda, with experience in collaborating with NPOs/NGOs to enhance crop production and funding opportunities.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• Ensure we have the Right Seed Quantity/Variety & Quality, at the Right Place, and Right Time in accordance to the crop Variety Steerco and crop commercial policies
• Demonstrates expert knowledge of the primary agronomic cropping systems in all regions where malting barley / sorghum is cultivated
• Serves as domain specialist to all regional agronomy in areas such as fertilization and soil management, pest and disease management, planting density, irrigation, optimization of crop inputs, digital agriculture, and alternative rotational crops.
• Lead regional agronomists / Extension officers to drive execution, strategy, priorities, and actions for supply security of crops in each sub region.
• Bring balance between improvements in efficiency and effectiveness of crop operations from seed to sip (seed to supply to maltings)
• Provide input and drive implementation of our sustainability strategy and regenerative agriculture programs
• Build effective partnerships with all regional procurement and global agronomy stakeholders, crop subject matter experts, and external experts to deliver high quality raw materials
• Promote a safe work environment and a strong safety culture.
• Maintain a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement
• Develop and deliver regular updates to internal ABInBev stakeholders and governance bodies regarding status and progress of the crop and contracting with Aggregators / Storage partners
• Ensures identification, assessment, and management of key risks in our production environments
• Maintain effective communication and interaction with collaboration partners, to ensure execution of short-term plans and to support alignment of long-term strategy for our collaborations
•  Effectively manage budgets and ensure resource requirements are clearly defined, communicated and sourced on time in order to deliver on the key performance indicators

 Key Attributes and Competencies:

• Digital fluency is required
• Ability to work effectively across disciplines and cultures and across geographies
• Strong stakeholder management, communication, networking and influencing skills
• Strategic thinking and the tactical implementation of strategic initiatives
• Must be able to deal effectively with organizational complexity and ambiguity
• Agile mind set to react efficiently and appropriately to rapidly changing business environment
• Excellent networking skills and ability to influence people without line management responsibility
• Appropriate balance between management and leadership styles
• Excellent communication/Presentation skills
• Skilled in seeking business input (strategic imperative and prioritization) and translation into implementable Research direction
• Drives critical decisions in program and its projects
• Experience in managing diverse teams across large geographical regions
• Experience in managing agronomic operations
• Experience in working with commercial and small holder farmers

Minimum Requirements:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in agronomy
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience working in seed & FMCG companies
• BSc. Hon in Agronomy or related field with field crops experience required
• Experience working successfully in international and multidisciplinary environment
• Track record of influencing/developing talent
• Experience in the development, utilization and enabling technologies
• Experience in managing in a developmental environment with various levels of competency and capability within teams
• Demonstrated ability to successfully influence colleagues across functional boundaries
• Effective time management, with the ability to successfully plan and control activities over several months or years
• Driver’s license & driving experience
• Willing to travel extensively in production areas 60% of the time
• Expert knowledge of grain storage and factors influencing cost / quality and safe storage practices
• High skills in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Power BI & Outlook

Additional Information

• Band: VI
• Location: Tanzania – based in Arusha

ABInBev is an equal opportunity employer, and all appointments will be made in line with ABInBev employment equity plan and talent requirements. The advertisement has minimum requirements listed. Management reserves the right to use additional/ relevant information as criteria for short listing.