Job Opportunities at COFCO International

Minimum qualifications and experience

• Ideal candidate should have a matric qualification and demonstrated work experience of minimum 7-10 years in managing silo bag depot sites with emphasis on wheat, maize and soybean.

Job Description Summary

• The Depot Manager’s role is very hands’ on.
• The main function is the co-ordinating and maintenance of the silo bag depot.  The role may be required to perform functions in addition to those associated with his/her own position.   

Minimum qualifications and experience

• Candidates with demonstrated silo bag management experience
• Those who live nearby and/or in the community
• Grading certified (Maize and Soyabeans)
• Fumigation certified
• Health & Safety certified

Role & Responsibility

• Management of appointed depot site
• Staff management of COFCO appointed employees at site
• Overall responsibility for Quantity and Quality of stock  
• Responsible for stock management  
• Preparation of soil and placement of bags 
• Site and equipment maintenance daily
• Responsible for petty cash
• Responsible for maintaining PPECB records 
• Daily site inspections  
• Ensure that bags are measured & marked 
• Ensure that rodent and weed control are in place  
• Daily reporting to Head Office on all site operations  
• Weekly depot report  
• Monthly closure of contracts and stocktake  
• Security, Health & Safety and Compliance management  
• Administration, ad hoc  
• General work 

Essential Skills

• MS Excel proficiency
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience in administrative tasks – reporting, etc.
• Good interpersonal and organizing skills.
• Ability to prioritize effectively, with excellent time management skills.
• Planner with the ability to identify possible future obstacles, and problem-solving skills.
• The ability to be proactive and work under pressure.
• Ability to handle conflict situations well and establish a plan/strategy that reduces future situations.
• Self-confident and self-assured approach.
• Adaptable with the ability to apply plans/strategy for the better as conditions/situations change.

Core Competencies

• Customer focus: Strong external/internal customer orientation.
• Communication: Listens well and shares ideas and solutions.
• Teamwork: Seeks involvement and input from other people.
• Initiative: Proactive, drives processes and tasks to achieve results.
• Innovation: Comes up with resourceful ideas and solutions.
• Ownership & Accountability: Takes ownership of own decisions and actions – successes and mistakes.
• Management: Gives timely, constructive and specific feedback.
• Detail orientation: Organized, methodical, good attention to detail.

General

• Must have own vehicle and be willing to travel between sites
• To start immediately.
• Reports to the Senior Depot Manager
• Base salary + benefits: 8% Provident fund and 50% Medical Aid
• Company issued cellphone and electronics 
• 18 days annual leave per year

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Minimum qualifications and experience

• Ideal candidate should have a minimum tertiary qualification, BSC Agriculture or BComm Agricultural Economics degree, and/or demonstrated work experience of minimum 2 years in managing farms and practical knowledge of farm row crops.

Job Description Summary

Plan, execute, manage and report on the designated farming units in the region.

Planning:

• Construct crop production plans for maize, soybeans, sunflower, wheat and cotton for designated COFCO farming units in conjunction with the COFCO Operations Manager and COFCO Contractors.
• The production plan includes making chemical- and fertilizer recommendations in conjunction with respective chemical representatives and agronomists.
• Building a set budget for each unit covering all necessary scenarios within an achievable cost range with the COFCO Operations Manager.
• Evaluate different input prices and farming practice to determine the most efficient production plan.

Execution:

• Execute the production plans within the set budget together with COFCO Operations Manager and Farming Contractors.
• Oversee that land preparations are done accurately and on time.
• Ensure timely planting and application of inputs within correct procedure and circumstances as set out in the production plan with Farming Contractors and COFCO Operations Manager.
• Ensure timely and accurate delivery of inputs and contracting services rendered.
• Ensure accurate delivery of harvested crops into designated silos and/or coordinating on-farm loading of harvested crops to end-point destinations.

Managing:

• Coordinate Farming Contractors by assisting with their day-to-day crop production activities and decision making.
• Continuously visiting designated farming units to follow up and help solve challenges, problems and monitor general progress. 
• On-farm stock management with safe stock storage, regular stock taking and implementation of inputs.
• Reporting:
• Frequent updating and reporting on crop progress as well as projecting production outcomes based on agronomical characteristics and facts for the designated COFCO South Africa Farming unit.
• Reporting on factors that influence the crops during the season and potential damage and/or solutions to it.
• Reporting on the planned budget and any factors that may influence it toward potential over or under spending for each designated farming unit.
• On-farm as well as COFCO storage facility stock quantities.
• Report daily rainfall from farm.
• Complete, report and update crop estimates pre-harvest.
• Report deliveries into designated delivery points of harvested crops and reconcile with reports from Support from Stellenbosch.

Essential Skills

• Sufficient knowledge of crop farming – technical and theoretical.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience in administrative tasks – reporting, budgets etc.
• Good interpersonal and organizing skills.
• Ability to prioritize effectively, with excellent time management skills.
• Planner with the ability to identify possible future obstacles, and problem-solving skills.
• The ability to be proactive and work under pressure.
• Ability to handle conflict situations well and establish a plan/strategy that reduces future situations.
• Critical thinker with emotional resilience to overcome obstacles.
• Self-confident and self-assured approach.
• Adaptable with the ability to apply plans/strategy for the better as conditions/situations change.

Core Competencies

• Customer focus: Strong external/internal customer orientation.
• Communication: Listens well and shares ideas and solutions.
• Teamwork: Seeks involvement and input from other people.
• Initiative: Proactive, drives processes and tasks to achieve results.
• Innovation: Comes up with resourceful ideas and solutions.
• Ownership & Accountability: Takes ownership of own decisions and actions – successes and mistakes.
• Management: Gives timely, constructive and specific feedback.
• Detail orientation: Organized, methodical, good attention to detail.

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Key areas of responsibilities

• Daily Inventory management.
• Capturing delivered loads on in-house ERP system.
• Reconciliation of inventory data with Depot stock.
• General administration and any administrative functions required in the inventory team.
• Loading payments on payment system (Payment Gateway).
• Ad hoc support as required.

Minimum professional qualifications and experience

• National Senior Certificate (Grade 12) with Mathematics Literacy and Accountancy as subjects or a tertiary qualification in Finance or Accountancy.
• Minimum three years’ working experience in a similar position.

Essential skills

• Computer Literacy (MS Excel, Word, Outlook).
• Ability to work in an admin intensive and detail orientated role.
• Ability to work under pressure whilst maintaining a high degree of accuracy.
• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment.
• Planning, organizing and excellent time management skills.
• Critical thinker with emotional resilience to overcome obstacles.
• Ability to work well within a team environment.
• Good reasoning and problem-solving skills.

Desirable skills

• Intermediate Excel proficiency.
• Experience using an ERP system.

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Job Description

Excellence in Execution: Customer facing

• Enter and complete all entries of commodity movements data in the system
• Reconcile all contracts and investigate and resolve stock differences in collaboration with the inventory coordinator
• Measure margins on physical delivery
• Ensure settlement of all contracts once completed and in accordance with contract payment terms
• Inform customers about order status, invoices, contract balances and other information needed to complete the sale
• Planning for customer contract delivery in collaboration with the logistics team
• Identify efficiency & cost saving opportunities in the supply chain
• Resolve all customer queries as quickly and efficiently as possible
• Collaborate with all internal teams to ensure coordinated tasks are completed efficiently to support business objectives and customers
• Other duties as assigned
• Handle basic issues and problems, while escalating more complex issues to appropriate staff
• Maintain a good relationship with customers
• Maintain good relationships and open communications with all related internal parties

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or
• 5 years’ experience in a similar role
• Exposure to the Food/Feed/Agri commodity sector will be an advantage
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office tools, and excellent Microsoft Excel proficiency
• Good communication skills
• Solution oriented and pro-active problem solving
• Dedicated and diligent
• Ability to work as part of a team but also reach individual goals
• Adaptable to change & the ability to work under pressure
• Comfortable working after hours

Specific overview of role & process

• This role requires a high level of administration.  Majority of the admin work is compiled on Microsoft Excel and exported to a complex integrated ERP system.
• Daily and consistent liaisons with customers regarding requirements, planning, offload points, stock levels, delays at offloading point etc.
• Daily and consistent liaisons with logistics. Narrow line between Execution and Logistics – your demand is what they must supply.
• Collaboration with various departments, specifically traders re customer requirements; Invoicing and Contract & Inventory desk.
• Consistent communication with the customer, occurs after hours, on weekends – with transporters and shipping ports.
• Fast paced, high pressure work environment.
• Daily movements (avg): Depends on clients; approximately 25,000-30,000 tons per month per coordinator.
• Seasonal harvest (avg):  Depends on clients; approximately 40,000+ tons per month per coordinator. 
• Ad hoc Vessel Exports and Imports: 10+ vessels per annum, 3rd party loads, port loads.

General

• Hours 07h00 – 17h00 with overtime as required
• Direct report to Execution Manager; Matrix reporting to Operations Manager
• Market related base salary with benefits
• Seasonal (harvest period April - August)
• Financial Year end is December