Farm Operations Lead
PEARL OF AFRICA OIL & NUT CO .LTD
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Job summary
<p>The Farm Operations Lead is responsible for ensuring the plan gets executed in the field — every day, to the standard required by a revenue-generating commercial export farm.</p>
Min Qualification:
Bachelors
Experience Level:
Mid level
Experience Length:
4 years
Job descriptions & requirements
Pearl of Africa Oil & Nut Co. Ltd — Mityana District, Uganda
REPORTS TO: CEO
LOCATION: On-site, Mityana District, Uganda
CONTRACT: Full-Time, Permanent
SALARY RANGE: USD $1,100 – $1,400 per month
START DATE: As soon as possible
SUBMITTED TO: Summit Recruitment & Search
ABOUT PEARL OF AFRICA OIL & NUT CO. LTD
Pearl of Africa Oil & Nut Co. Ltd is a 1,005-acre freehold commercial farm in Mityana District, Uganda, producing Hass avocado (10,000 trees, 220 acres), macadamia (12,000 trees, 360 acres), and oil crops. The farm operates with solar power, a full irrigation system, a packhouse facility, and a dedicated field team of agronomists, supervisors, and casual labour.
The CEO manages the farm operations strategically, providing direction, weekly planning, and budget oversight through a purpose-built digital farm management system. Daily accountability, field reporting, stock management, and compliance tracking are all system-driven. This role sits at the operational heart of that system — the person who makes it real on the ground.
ROLE PURPOSE
The Farm Operations Lead is responsible for ensuring the plan gets executed in the field — every day, to the standard required by a revenue-generating commercial export farm.
This person works closely with the CEO to contribute ground-level insight into weekly and seasonal planning, then owns the execution of that plan completely. They coordinate the agronomist and supervisors, manage day-to-day field operations, and ensure the packhouse is compliant and ready when harvest arrives. They understand that every field decision has a revenue consequence — and they act accordingly.
This role suits a commercially aware professional stepping up into their first real operations leadership seat someone with 4–7 years on a commercial export farm who is ready for ownership and accountability.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Field Execution & Daily Operations
• Implement the weekly field plan — deploying supervisors and casual labour to the right blocks with the right inputs at the right time
• Ensure daily activities (spraying, fertilisation, pruning, irrigation, weeding, mulching) are carried out on schedule and recorded in the farm management system
• Hold supervisors accountable to their daily assignments — tracking attendance, task completion, and quality of work
• Resolve operational issues at field level — equipment breakdowns, absenteeism, input shortages — without unnecessary escalation
• Submit daily and weekly operational reports through the farm management system
2. Planning Contribution & Revenue Prioritisation
• Work closely with the CEO to contribute ground-level input into weekly and seasonal planning — crop readiness, labour capacity, field constraints, equipment status
• Understand which field activities are directly linked to harvest readiness and revenue — and prioritise those without prompting
• Translate harvest timelines into backward-planned field schedules in coordination with the CEO
• Flag immediately if any activity, input delay, or labour shortage threatens harvest quality or timing
• Understand cost per acre and cost per activity — operate within the approved budget and escalate any risk of overrun early
3. Agronomist Coordination
• Work alongside the farm agronomist to ensure crop programmes are implemented correctly in the field
• Hold the agronomist accountable to their schedule and reporting requirements
• Understand agronomic recommendations well enough to verify field compliance and raise concerns when reality differs from the plan
• Escalate agronomic decisions that require CEO input — do not override crop science decisions without authorisation
4. Packhouse & Export Compliance
• Ensure the packhouse is operationally ready ahead of each harvest window
• Maintain GlobalGAP and MAAIF compliance records — grading, traceability, and documentation standards upheld at all times
• Oversee post-harvest handling: grading, packing, cold storage, and dispatch coordination
• Ensure nothing is shipped that does not meet buyer and certification standards — this is a personal accountability
• Coordinate with the CEO on export logistics, documentation, and scheduling
5. Budget & Cost Management
• Review weekly budget reports — understand labour costs, input costs, and cost-per-acre against the approved plan
• Manage procurement of day-to-day operational inputs within authorised limits, coordinating with the procurement team
• Identify cost inefficiencies and escalate to the CEO with a recommended solution
• Never commit the farm to expenditure outside the approved budget without CEO approval
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Experience
• 4–7 years of field operations experience on a commercial export farm (avocado, macadamia, tea, flowers, or similar perishable crop)
• Demonstrated experience managing field supervisors and casual labour teams
• Hands-on familiarity with GlobalGAP, MAAIF, or equivalent export certification requirements
• Packhouse operations experience — grading, post-harvest handling, traceability documentation
• Proven ability to read and work within a farm budget — cost-per-acre, input costs, labour reconciliation
Knowledge & Skills
• Strong working knowledge of avocado or macadamia agronomy — sufficient to supervise and hold an agronomist accountable
• Commercially aware — understands that field decisions carry direct revenue consequences
• Competent with digital reporting tools; comfortable operating within a structured farm management system
• Strong written and verbal communication in English
• Proven problem-solver under pressure — escalates decisions, not noise
Personal Qualities
• Disciplined and execution-focused — gets things done without being chased
• Honest and transparent — surfaces problems early and with context
• Comfortable working under a remote CEO with strong systems-based oversight
• Ambitious — sees this as a stepping stone to senior operations leadership, and earns it through results
Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, Agribusiness, or related field preferred
• Equivalent professional experience considered in lieu of formal qualification
• East African candidates strongly preferred — Ugandan and Kenyan nationals particularly encouraged to apply
COMPENSATION & PACKAGE
Base Salary: USD $1,100 – $1,400 per month
Accommodation: On-site housing provided
Transport: Farm vehicle available for operational use
Review: 6-month performance review with salary progression tied to results
Note: Exceptional candidates with strong export credentials may be considered above the stated range
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