• 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.

Qualifications and Experience

• A Diploma in Agriculture or related field.
• Five (5) Ordinary Level passes including English Language and Mathematics.
• A BSc qualification in Agriculture/HND in Agriculture or related field would be an added advantage.
• Proven experience of at least two (2) years in planning and implementing good practice farm management on large scale operations.

Skills and Attributes:

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to foster open communication structure.
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills.

Other

How to Apply

Interested and qualified persons should send one set of their application merged in continuous pdf format to: recruitment@buse.ac.zw consisting of the application letter, certified copies of educational certificates, transcripts, National ID, Birth Certificate and a Curriculum Vitae giving full personal details including full names, place and date of birth, qualifications, previous employment and experience, telephone number, present salary, date of availability, names, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of at least three referees.

NB: Female candidates are encouraged to apply. Police clearance is mandatory for successful candidates. Only shortlisted candidates will be responded to.

The closing date for the receipt of applications is Monday, 5 August 2024.