General Manager Zameen Andhra Pradesh Farmers’ Trust

For managing the operations of its cotton supply chain, Zameen Organic Pvt. Ltd. is looking for a General Manager in Andhra Pradesh.

Zameen
Zameen Organic Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian registered farmer owned company, with its central office in Hyderabad. Zameen has the sole purpose of setting up profitable supply chains to add value to the products of its current producer base of 20.000 small and marginalized Indian farmers. Zameen searches for market access mainly in Europe and the United States through its marketing hub in the Netherlands, but is also on the look out to take up a strategic position in India’s burgeoning retail market. Our founding principles rest on Fair-Trade and we work on converting farm production to organic standards as well. Our strategy is to forge long term partnerships with our buyers, so that together we can engage in product development and become market leaders in our field, marked by outstanding innovative products and production methods.

The Job
Zameen is active in a multiplicity of supply chains with farmers in many different regions of India and clients in Europe and the United States. In the central state of Andhra Pradesh Zameen has a production base of 5.000 farmers. Here, Zameen is planning to invest in its own ginnery. We are also making plans for investing in a yarn spinning operation, worth 30 crores with the capacity of producing between 8.000 to 12.000 MT of yarn..

The GM will manage this business unit from Adilabad, as chairman of the unit’s governing body, the Zameen Andhra Pradesh Farmers’ Trust. His objectives will be to prepare the organization of this year’s cotton harvest in Andhra Pradesh and refine the business planning in time to start running the ginnery and spinning mill by November. In the following year, the GM must rapidly turn the business unit into a profitable operation. Together with field staff of our affiliated NGO, AOFG-India, and the GM in Maharashtra, the GM will develop production and harvesting and processing programs, which will smoothen the operation of the business unit’s transactions with the farmers. The GM will also be provided with the needed staff under his direct supervision, to effectively manage his work.

The currently planned processing facility will be of central importance in Zameen’s cotton and textiles operations. Once the business unit has been streamlined, the GM will have the freedom to develop up-scaling plans, as the potential for cotton production is overwhelming. Planning for diversification of the business unit is also essential, as cotton is only one amongst the various outputs that can come from the region and product development is high on the list of priorities for Zameen Organic.

In terms of marketing, the main outlets for our cotton lint and yarn will be created through Zameen Organic and Zameen International, based in the Netherlands. The GM’s main focus will be on efficiently running the cotton logistics and processing facilities protecting them as much as possible from overcapacity of machinery.

The Profile
Academic degree in agribusiness management (MBA), with experience in quality control, logistics and supply chain management. Working knowledge on (organic) cotton production and processing is also required. For product and operations development, a fresh entrepreneurial mind is required, and an attitude to never give up. For consolidation of the efforts in current operations, leadership, strong analytical skills, visionary teambuilding, and an instinct for efficiency gains are a must. Lastly we demand full proficiency in English in combination with excellent communication and presentation skills.

The Remuneration
We expect to get the best, so we need to pay the best. Salary is negotiable, but upfront we can say that it will meet the standards for this challenging job. Furthermore Zameen will provide for training opportunities where needed. Zameen Organic is an equal opportunity employer in the broadest sense, so considers any suitable application.

If you are interested, please send a letter of motivation and curriculum vitae to Gijs Spoor by e-mail: info@zameen.org with reference to the job opening
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