Job Opportunity at Unilever, Field Assistant Manager

Business Context and Main Purpose of the Job

The Field Assistant Manager supports leadership with the management of staff and day‐to‐day operations for the assigned area of responsibility. In this role, the individual is accountable to deliver established goals, utilizes good judgment to assess and escalate situations when warranted and utilizes knowledge and skills in the area of expertise while maintaining expected green leaf quality standards. The Assistant Manager must act as a leader by building constructive relationships and by supporting agriculture department leadership in developing, setting and executing department goals and the strategic plan in accordance with UTT mission statement

Main Accountabilities

Main Accountabilities

• Manage Estate Division to the highest agricultural standards and improve productivity through expansion and sustenance of mechanical harvesting operations by having best practices of harvesting, post-harvest handling and identification of potential MH fields.
• Plan and oversee day to day operations by supervising hand plucking, harvesting personnel to ensure acceptable standards of green leaf quality is harvested and well-handled to the factory.
• Plan and execute the estate division annual agricultural practice, pruning and fertilizer application.
• Ensure the division administration is managed by providing periodical crop forecast, validation of payroll input/output, payments of employees and the entire financial expenditure is within the budget.
• Manage the estate division industrial/employee relations, conduct disciplinary cases as per the CBA /employment act and company disciplinary procedure. Enhance good co-existence amongst workers and the neighboring community.
• Manage the division infrastructure and conservancy to the required standards; fully embed best practices in Rainforest alliance.
• Deliver the business targets aligned to Business strategy, jobs to be done (JTBD) and enhance performance culture through business transformation.
• Interfaces with many roles e.g. Factories, Finance, HRBP, Unions, Legal, etc

Estate Management

• Operating and maintaining the site as a fully functioning and productive all year round by wise planning of irrigation time, pruning, fertilizing, weeding practices etc.
• Ensure that the division is maintained to the highest possible standards at all times and that the company infrastructure and associated accessories are robustly protected and cared for.
• Provide effective management of staff operating within the division function, consisting of four headmen/women.
• Managing, distributing and maintaining the plucking equipment within the division and reordering new ones from the central store whenever necessary.
• Monitor the progression of all tasks within the division ensuring all specifications are met within an agreed time, budget and quality requirements
• Comply with and help enforce standard policies and procedures within the department relating to sustainability and related tasks
• Review future new tea development field space requirements, develop and implement a management plan
• To carry out any other duty as directed by the line manager in accordance with the level of the post.

Finance and Contract Management

• Responsibility for controlling and managing the production costs, field costs, overhead costs and total budget; and working with the estate manager in budget setting in future years
• Ensure that cost effective support and maintenance arrangements are put in place and regularly reviewed, using internal resources and external/outsourced contractors where appropriate
• Anticipate future developments with the fields, estate infrastructure, plucking accessories in advance, ensuring that adequate planning and budgetary provision is made for maintenance and repair works and that continuity of service is optimized
• Working with the estate manager and fellow assistants to implement best value utility arrangements and to reduce costs wherever possible

• Support the deployment of the global/cluster SHE strategy, policy and standards in the site to achieve excellent sustainable results
• Participate in the SHE teams responsible to deliver Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental results
• Drive safety risk assessment and assist in implementation of appropriate controls
• Aid the Site SHE Manager or Coordinator in leading the SHE Pillar in accordance with ManEx
• Attain a thorough understanding of the Unilever BBS Program and support deployment in the site
• Attain a thorough understanding of the Unilever PSM Program and support deployment in the site and support the application of Unilever guidelines and procedures for Process Safety assessment (SIMAS)
• Influence line management and drive safety leadership
• Monitor site legal compliance and ensure the site meets all local/national regulatory requirements and Unilever standards.
• Work closely with Occupational Health personnel to identify and mitigate risks which may lead to occupational ill health
• Assist the Site SHE Manager or Coordinator to develop and lead the internal crisis committees and safety committee; support the site leader in leading serious incident investigation and analysis
• Conduct trend analysis from incidents, near misses, safe behaviour observations and deep compliance audits
• Assist in delivery of training programs

Key Skills

• Crop Production and Field Operations
• Sourcing – raw materials of agricultural origin
• Plant Breeding – tea nurseries
• Infrastructure Management
• Project Management/Information Technology
• Industrial Relations/Employee Relations

Relevant Experience

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in plantation management and experience within operating or manufacturing environment
• Experience in building talent and managing people

Should "meet expectations" on the Standards of Leadership behaviours or competencies relevant to the WL of this job

• Growth Mind-set
• Accountability and Responsibility
• Building Talent and Teams
• Consumer and Customer Focus

Bias for Action

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY