Head Agronomist

In partnership with our client,
Agriserbia
, a subsidiary of
Ferrero Hazelnut Company (HCo)
, we are supporting the search for an experienced and strategic
Head Agronomist
to join their team in Serbia and who will lead all agronomic operations—both on their own farm and nursery, and across advisory services provided to external partners and growers.

Main Responsibilities:

• Owngrowing: managing AgriSerbia Orchards and Nursery
• Outgrowing: technical support to hazelnut growers in Serbia and other Balkan countries involved in the HCo hazelnut development strategy
• Training and extension: ensure that any document/information material produced by Agri Serbia is in line with the technical standards and policies of HCo
• R&D: close coordination with HCo ACC for all R&D program planning and implementation
• Hazelnut Quality: until the establishment of a Quality position in AgriSerbia, the Head Agronomist acts as Quality Manager of the Hazelnut during the harvesting period.

Agrifarms/Owngrowing

• Planning and budgeting (annual agronomic management plan of the farm and the nursery);
• Contributes to the preparation of procurement plans (agricultural inputs and machinery);
• Contributes to the preparation of scheduling agricultural operations, ensures rigorous quality control, and formulate operational and technical recommendations to improve the efficiency and quality of operations
• Ensures rigorous monitoring of the phytopathological and physiological parameters of the orchard and nursery (interventions if necessary)
• Investigations on new products and/or alternative agronomic techniques in order to improve agronomic management
• Coordinates all activities for obtaining and maintaining certifications for the farm (SGS standards, etc..).

Agribusiness Development/Outgrowing

• Contributes to the outgrowing development by coordinating all activities related to technical support to farmers:
• Planning and supervision of technical visits to orchards (agronomic team and external services), organization and supervision of orchard monitoring activities and production forecasting
• Contribution to the organization of the harvesting season and development of external harvesting facilities and the planning of quality and inbound operations
• Carry out support visits to large investors in Serbia and abroad (mainly in Romania), to ensure a technical and strategic support to the hazelnut sector development in line with the HCo de-risking strategy

Training and Extension

• In close coordination with the ACC of HCo, develops training programs for outgrowers and supervise their implementation
• Ensures adequate training of all ArgiSerbia personnel involved in agronomic and business management activities.
• Research and Development
• Planning, designing and implementing of AgriSerbia R&D programs, in close coordination with the ACC of HCo:
• Works with the local teams to identify possible research topics to propose to the ACC
• Manages research activities carried out directly by AgriSerbia personnel or through outsourced service providers or research institutes (strong collaboration);
• Ensures rigorous reporting on all R&D.

Hazelnut Quality

• Close coordination of updating Quality policies and methodologies (plans activities and trainings);
• Planning of harvesting season (organization and structuring of the analysis laboratory, sampling, external reception centres, etc.)
• Preparing and managing the budget for the quality
• Coordination of all activities related to the qualitative evaluation of the hazelnut delivered to the drying and collection centre and of the hazelnut batches sent to the customers

Qualification:

• Master's Degree or equivalent
• Proven experience related to the cultivation in the nursery and orchard – preferably in hazelnut production or similar fruit crops
• Consolidated experience in setting up and managing technical support services to farmers and in developing efficient agricultural value chains
• Experience in managing people based on Group values, motivation, diversity & inclusion, competence development and empowerment
• Ability to make decisions and identify priorities, strong analytical and organizational skills
• Communicative, creative and inventive person
• Good skills in MS-Office applications, an advantage is a SAP user
• Fluent in Serbian
• Strong verbal/written communication skills in English

Only shortlisted candidates will be considered.