National Technical Manager

Context and Scope

Tongaat Hulett boasts a proud 134-year history and a strong socio-economic legacy within KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, extending into sub-Saharan Africa. The Technical Operations encompass the following:

• Four sugar manufacturing mills located along the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, from Tongaat through to Empangeni.
• A sugar refining operation based on South Coast Road, Durban.
• An animal feed manufacturing plant situated in Tongaat, adjacent to the Maidstone Sugar Mill.
• Technical Operations support comprising specialists providing high-level support to operations both locally and internationally.

The Company’s current priority is to improve overall business performance in the medium to long term. Our objectives are to operate strategically, sustainably, efficiently, and profitably. Tongaat Hulett focuses on re-energising assets that will be cash-generative and exploring new customer segments.

Moving forward, the Company aims to leverage its value chain and create a platform for long-term growth, while maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders.

Purpose of Role

The National Technical Manager is the executive technical authority for Voermol Feeds, accountable for the end-to-end integrity of the product system across the full value chain. This includes manufacturing execution, product quality, and technical performance.

The role integrates nutritional science, process engineering, plant performance, and quality systems to ensure that formulation intent is consistently translated into high-quality factory output and reliable product performance in the market.

The incumbent holds final technical authority over manufacturing standards, process integrity, and product quality across all operations, and is jointly accountable with Operations for plant performance and quality outcomes.

Key Accountabilities

1. End-to-End Technical & Value Chain Ownership

• Own the technical execution performance of the business across the full value chain, including raw material quality, formulation execution against approved product specifications, manufacturing performance, and feed performance.
• Define, implement, and enforce national technical and manufacturing standards across all plants, ensuring alignment between procurement, formulation systems, and production output.
• Drive system-wide optimisation of cost, throughput, and consistency; lead inter-plant benchmarking and best practise transfer to ensure uniformity across operations.

2. Factory Technical Co-Ownership

• Share direct accountability with the Operations Manager for batch accuracy, product uniformity, and management of losses, rework, and variability.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership on the plant floor, ensuring formulation intent is correctly executed and process deviations are identified and addressed promptly.
• Act as the technical escalation authority for plant-related failures, instability, and process risk, with the authority to intervene and enforce corrective actions where standards are not met.

3. Batching, Process Control & SCADA Oversight

• Maintain integrity and performance of batching systems, micro-dosing, premix inclusion, and mixing efficiency and homogeneity; define and enforce standardised batching and process control.
• Possess deep working knowledge of SCADA/PLC systems, batch control logic and tolerances, and data capture and traceability.
• Drive continuous improvement in batch accuracy, process repeatability, automation, and digitalisation.

4. Raw Materials, Storage & Flow Engineering

• Own technical standards for raw material properties (flowability, moisture, density, variability), storage risk management (segregation, spoilage, contamination), and transfer systems (silos, conveyors, liquids).
• Optimise material flow efficiency, batching cycle time, and resolve plant bottlenecks and constraints; ensure consistent raw material handling standards across all sites.

5. Product Integrity, Formulation Execution & Quality Systems

• Lead formulation execution discipline, laboratory integration with production, premix systems, and quality assurance frameworks, ensuring all formulations comply strictly with approved R&D product specifications.
• Ensure compliance with Act 36 regulations, GMP/feed safety standards, and internal quality specifications; hold final authority over product quality release standards and acceptance criteria.
• Guarantee consistency between formulation, batch execution, and delivered product; no deviations from approved specifications are permitted without formal joint approval from R&D and Technical.

6. Technical Execution of R&D Outputs

• Partner with R&D to translate product specifications into scalable manufacturing processes, providing technical input on manufacturability, raw material feasibility, and cost implications.
• Approve readiness for scale-up and commercial production, ensuring products are manufactured consistently, within specification, and to the required quality and cost standards.

7. Data, Systems & Technical Governance

• Establish and enforce governance over technical systems, including formulation systems, batch data integrity, SCADA, and production data, ensuring accuracy, traceability, and standardised reporting of technical KPIs.
• Drive adoption of data analytics, process monitoring tools, and continuous improvement frameworks; own technical system architecture and integrity across all operations.

8. Operational Quality & Non-Performance Complaints

• Own investigation and resolution of plant and process-related complaints, including contamination, off-spec product, batching errors, and process deviations; conduct structured root cause analysis across raw materials, batching, process conditions, and storage and handling.
• Ensure corrective actions are implemented across all affected operations and prevent recurrence through system improvements.
• Support R&D in performance-related claims by providing batch traceability, process data, and manufacturing insights.

9. Industry Representation & Technical Leadership

• Act as Voermol's national authority for product quality, representing the business in technical and operational forums as well as regulatory and compliance engagements.
• Translate technical systems into practical operational standards and continuous improvement initiatives.

10. Financial & Operational Performance

• Drive profitability through reduction of process losses and rework, improved plant efficiency, and disciplined execution.
• Own and influence cost per tonne across all plants, manufacturing cost structure, and variability between plants; improve consistency and predictability of production performance.

11. Leadership & Capability Building

• Build and lead a national technical capability system spanning technical, quality, R&D, and production teams; define technical competency standards and training frameworks, ensuring succession depth across technical roles.
• Provide hands-on mentorship in feed manufacturing, process optimisation, and problem-solving; embed a culture of accountability, technical excellence, and continuous improvement.

12. Technical Governance & Authority

• Establish and enforce technical governance frameworks across all operations; hold final authority to stop production due to technical or quality risk, enforce compliance with national standards, and approve technical execution protocols.
• Own technical risk across the business, including product integrity risk, manufacturing instability, and raw material variability; define escalation frameworks for quality failures, process instability, and system breakdowns.

Qualifications and Experience Required

• BSc (Agric) Animal Science is essential; MSc will be advantageous.
• Minimum of 8 years relevant experience.
• Essential feed-milling experience.
• Strong knowledge of Feed formulation and procedural standards.
• Familiarity with Act 36/1947 regulations.