National Chicks, a leading player in South Africa's poultry industry, is seeking an experienced General Manager to join its leadership team.
This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially astute and operationally driven executive.
Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, overseeing and managing the day-to-day production operations of National Chicks, ensuring efficiency, productivity, risk management and alignment with strategic goals. Leading key functional managers and implementing operational strategies that drive growth, profitability, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction.
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Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Leadership
- Drive the implementation of business strategies to achieve organizational objectives.
- Align departmental activities and goals with the company’s overall vision and long-term strategy, including implementation of the 20-key program across all departments.
- Collaborate with senior leadership to identify and pursue growth opportunities and process improvements.
- Create a culture of learning, growth and performance. Celebrating success, but also failures as learning opportunities.
- Uphold and solidify the values of the business, allowing them to provide structure to daily activities and decisions.
- Manage business risk through risk profiling and the creation of mitigation strategies based on prioritisation.
- Set stretch objectives for your teams, striving for excellence in all areas of the National Chicks Operation.
- Operational Oversight
- Oversee daily operations in the following areas:
Breeder Production
Hatcheries
Transport and Logistics
Broiler Production (Mountain Valley Broilers)
Procurement
- Monitor and evaluate operational performance against established KPIs and targets, and stretch objectives.
- Ensure smooth resource allocation, budget management, and process optimization.
- Have a customer focus, ensuring that National Chicks’ operations align perfectly with sales and marketing strategies of the business.
- Maintain continuous improvement through the 20 Keys Operational Excellence system.
- Departmental Co-Ordination
- Lead and support the managers of key departments to ensure effective collaboration and communication.
- Create constructive and cohesive relationships between all departments within and without of operations.
- Ensure departments operate seamlessly to meet organizational goals.
- Financial Management
- Collaborate with the COO and Finance team to establish and monitor budgets for all operational areas
- Analyse financial performance data, identify cost-saving opportunities, and ensure profitability targets are met.
- Quality and Compliance
- Maintain high standards of quality assurance and compliance across all responsible operations.
- Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, biosecurity protocols, and internal policies.
- Support risk management initiatives and develop contingency plans for potential disruptions.
- Human Resources Development
- Collaborate with the COO to foster talent development and succession planning for key roles within the organization.
- Promote a culture of accountability, safety, and continuous learning.
- Work closely with the HR team to address workforce planning, recruitment, and employee relations within the responsible departments.
- Reporting and Insights
- Provide regular updates to the COO on operational performance, challenges, and opportunities.
- Utilize data analytics and insights to drive informed decision-making and continuous improvement.
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Qualifications
Minimum Requirements
- BSC Degree in Agriculture or relevant tertiary qualification would be advantageous
Experience
- 8 to 10 years Proven experience within:
- Poultry production or similar animal background
- Agriculture environment
- FMCG environments
Core Competencies
- Leadership and vision.
- Strategic Thinking: Ability to develop and articulate clear vision and strategy for the company.
- Inspirational Leadership: Motivates and inspires the executive team and employees to achieve their best.
- Decision making: Makes informed and timely decisions, balancing risk and reward.
- Financial Acumen.
- Financial Management: Deep understanding of financial principles, including budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting.
- Analytical Skills: Ability to analyse financial data and market trends to make strategic decisions.
- Cost Management: Identifies opportunities to improve cost efficiency and profitability.
- Operational Excellence.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office Suite
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Why Join National Chicks?
At National Chicks as part of Astral Foods, the leading south African poultry producer, we are committed to excellence throughout the poultry value chain. This role offers the opportunity to work within a well-established agricultural business where your contribution will directly influence operational performance, profitability and long-term growth.
You Will Enjoy
- A strategic leadership role with executive exposure
- The opportunity to influence business performance across breeder and broiler operations
- A collaborative and results-driven culture
- Exposure to a complex and integrated agricultural production environment
- A competitive remuneration package aligned to experience and qualifications including performance bonus (at management discretion).
- Learning and development opportunities
- Where applicable the company will support relocation costs in accordance with Company policy
- Future opportunities within the Astral group
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Location: KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng
Employment Type: Permanent
National Chicks is an equal opportunity employer. Preference may be given to suitably qualified candidates in line with the Company's Employment Equity objectives.