Brewery Manager

Our client

Is the leading manufacturer of Traditional African Sorghum Beer (Umqombothi) in South Africa. Umqombothi is the core business of the company. It produces and distributes Umqombothi from 6 Breweries and numerous distribution depots strategically situated throughout South Africa.

Role Purpose:

• To take charge of all business operations at the Brewery, ensuring that administration of assets, personnel, financial matters, the production, packaging and sales and distribution are consistent with the set matters at the operations is efficient and effective to ensure profit targets are achieved.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Authorizing raw material purchases as requested by the Production Manager.
• Ensuring the supply of the right quality and quantity of products to meet demand.
• Ensuring follow up programs and corrective action of laboratory results.
• Monitoring and controlling critical areas such as overtime, contact. Losses and productivity indices.
• Ensuring that the product movement and handling and the processing of orders are performed

economically and efficiently.

• Providing effective and efficient customer service by maintaining a reliable ordering system and consistent service to enhance customer satisfaction.
• Conduct on going market analysis to ensure the on-time supply of appropriate product to existing as well as to new markets.
• Monitor the cost of services like distribution against profit margins to ensure sustained profitability of the brewery.
• Monitoring of all orders and expenditure.
• Ensuring effective control of debtors and creditors.
• Ensuring accurate, meaningful and standardized record keeping.
• Controlling of all stock and Brewery property.
• Ensuring that all paperwork, including banking is done properly.
• Co-ordinating all functions to achieve sustainable growth and profitability of the operations.

Qualifications/Competencies:

• A Degree in Natural or a Commercial Science together with a post graduate qualification in business
• Above average demonstrated technical, diagnostic, analytical and interpersonal skills in running a business.
• Good human relations are required.
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure.
• Great Co-ordination skills.
• Business planning and budget setting for the operations.
• Developing trade offensive and defensive market to gain market share from competitors.
• Implementation of strategies set for the operations.
• Develop Trade Channel plans for customers.
• Achieve set profit targets.
• Pioneer Brand/pack strategies including brand splits.
• Strong buyer power resulting in high on volume targets.
• Makes decisions within the strict guidelines and policies set for the area under his control.

Experience:

• Ensure effective production planning and quality control.
• Ensure planning of efficient physical distribution of the company’s products.
• Ensure adherence to company policies and procedures and keep within agreed budgets.
• Ensure the production of accurate operations final accounts i.e. the profit and loss account, balance sheets and cash flows.
• Organise and implement sound public relations activities that enhance the company’s image.
• Ensure that all personnel hired are the requisite skill levels.
• Manage the Training and Development of all the Operations personnel to improve productivity levels and succession planning.
• Set performance standards /KPI’s and implement reward systems.
• Prepare reports on productivity, quality, and sales etc. on a quarterly basis or as may be deemed necessary for submission to the Regional Sorghum Business Executive.
• The Operations Manager shall call for a monthly Brewery works council and general meetings for the purpose of good industrial relations, productivity, quality and cost control.
• Ensure implementation of Manufacturing Systems in place (Environmental Management Systems i.e. ISO 14001:2004).
• Well-rounded consumer goods experience – spanning Marketing and preferably Customer roles.
• Consumer obsession and insights-driven – a thirst for understanding how consumers operate and use that to drive strategy and decision making.
• Strategic savviness and financial acumen – with the ability to shape a plan to grow your category, drive its execution, and understand the trade-offs involved in pulling various levers.
• Cross functional team management.
• Brand management and Cycle Planning experience.
• A real focus and demonstrated track record around creating the conditions for people to succeed.
• Demonstrated strength in managing the external environment as the individuals in these roles typically act as the face of UNB in very large markets.
• The strategic skills to be able to reframe the business and develop plans to beat the competition.
• Translate marketing insights and analysis of key issues and opportunities into clear & compelling Brand Plans – detailing execution of Category Strategy, Pricing & Channel Strategy, Promotions Plan and Innovation Plan to deliver agreed growth agenda (volume, value, profit)
• Identify, define, develop, deliver & track insight-driven innovation and renovation that is accretive to the brand and category (volume, value, profit). Including defining for technical team the product & packaging solution, for customer team the trade solution, and for consumers compelling communication
• Partner with the Consumer Insights team to generate brand-relevant insights from all touchpoints; including market & internal analytics, competitive intelligence, consumer behaviour, trend data and other appropriate sources
• Lead creative agency through the Communication Strategy process for your brand(s), culminating in the delivery of a Communication Strategy sign off and campaign judging and sign off above-the-line and below-the-line campaigns vs the agreed brand blueprint
• Ensure key day-to-day Brand Management tasks are executed fully and to a high level of quality including S&OP forecasting, media planning, customer promotion tracking, Marketing Investment spend and management, quality tracking, brand health and share tracking and range management

Cost to Company:

Market Related