Crop Sourcing Manager - Farmerline Limited

Do you want to improve millions of lives and leave a lasting legacy at the same time? Do you want to use your talents and skills to make a difference and not just a living? Do you want to help feed the world now and in the future? Farmerline works to reinvent how the world thinks and invests in the lives of small-scale farmers.

We are working to help farmers produce and sell food. We are bold and systemic thinkers but operate lean and nimble.Since 2013, Farmerline has directly helped farmers to improve their productivity and profit in Ghana and also provided technical support to other organizations to do the same.

Farmerline started its operations serving 400 farmers in the Ashanti Region of Ghana with information via mobile information services. We have supported many organizations with our tools and knowledge to improve the way they work with farmers. Over the past 8 years, Farmerline and its partnership network has profiled and served over 1million farmers and digitized over 1,000,000 acres of farmland across 16 countries in Africa.

Farmerline is a learning organization and you will have the chance to apply your ideas and creativity to solve problems every day. If you work well in a dynamic collaborative culture, set high standards, and meet challenges with determination and a sense of humour, you’ll thrive at Farmerline.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity and encourage applications from all candidates. We believe that diverse perspectives help our teams to create innovative solutions and understand our global clients’ needs. In alignment with our values, we are committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce without discrimination.

Role Overview

The Crop Sourcing Manager will lead the purchase of commodities for the company. In this position, you will pay close attention to the local and international market to determine the prices of commodities and find the best vendor to supply it.

It involves developing negotiation strategies, advising requesters on contract terms and conditions, monitoring cost and scope of assigned contracts to assure compliance, best value and validating/improving pricing. Your overall goal is to save the company money to increase profit margins, but you must also make sure that purchases are in compliance with company policy

Responsibilities

• Identify, profile and build a detailed national database of commodity suppliers (outgrower businesses, aggregators, nucleus farmers and farmer groups) ahead of supplies.
• Engage suppliers to aggregate farm produce at the right time while ensuring high quality and reducing post-harvest losses.
• Leverage the Mergdata platform to predict yield, food quality and track produce sourcing.
• Provide global contract expertise for sourcing of commodities.(maize, soybean etc)
• Facilitate fair, timely and transparent payments to all farmers supplying to the micro-entrepreneurs and agribusinesses in Farmerline’s network.
• Work with other team members to build the capacity of suppliers to consistently supply commodities while increasing their business profitability.
• Integrate successful parts of the market access model into Farmerline’s operations and partnerships across Africa.
• Lead in aggregating and communicating market price information from major markets to key stakeholders especially farmers in our network.

• Develop strategies to increase sales and manage stock quantities and build a self sufficient commodity supply base
• Study market trends and identify any risks with the sourcing and procuring of commodities. Devise means to maximize commodity buying efficiency and minimize risks.
• Develop plans and strategies to lower costs, improve timeliness of deliveries and assure supply.
• Coordinates the procurement of all off-taking and market-related logistics including storage and transportation.
• Develops impactful, cost-effective and scalable market access models for all major crops produced in Ghana.
• Collaborates with other units to ensure all farmers receive adequate training, agro-inputs and prompt digital payments

   

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, economics, or a similar field.
• At least four years of experience in supply chain or commodity management.
• Solid experience and knowledge of financial markets that influence commodity prices.
• Experience working with commodity trading and risk management software,
• Demonstrated skills in negotiating and formulating technology contracts, understanding cost models and various price structures.
• Advanced analytical skills.
• Proven experience in the use of mobile technology to facilitate market access.
• Strong business analysis, planning and financial management skills
• Excellent oral communication, writing and presentation skills.
• The ability to speak twi and multiple languages across northern Ghana is an added advantage