POSITION PURPOSE
The Chief Growing Officer is a senior executive position responsible for the strategic leadership, performance and continuous improvement of Rombola Family Farms' growing operations.
The position provides executive oversight of crop production across Rombola Family Farms' farming operations and is responsible for developing and implementing growing strategies that optimise crop yield, quality, production efficiency, sustainability and profitability.
Working closely with the Managing Director, Board and senior management team, the Chief Growing Officer will provide leadership across growing, agronomy, irrigation, crop protection, production planning, workforce utilisation and operational performance, while ensuring that growing programs are aligned with Rombola Family Farms' commercial, packing, supply chain and customer requirements.
The role will lead the development of consistent growing systems and performance standards across Rombola Family Farms' multiple farming locations and use production data, technology and agronomic analysis to support strategic and operational decision-making.
KEY REPONSIBILITIES
Growing Strategy and Executive Leadership
• Develop and implement Rombola Family Farms' long-term growing and crop production strategy in alignment with the broader strategic and commercial objectives of the business.
• Provide executive leadership and direction across Rombola Family Farms' growing operations.
• Advise the Managing Director and Board on crop production performance, production risks, capital requirements and strategic growing initiatives.
• Establish annual and longer-term production objectives, budgets, performance targets and key performance indicators.
• Translate Rombola Family Farms' commercial and customer requirements into effective crop production and growing strategies.
Multi-Site Growing Operations
• Provide strategic oversight of growing operations across Rombola Family Farms' farming locations.
• Lead crop planning, planting programs, production scheduling and harvest forecasting to meet Rombola Family Farms' supply and customer requirements.
• Establish consistent growing practices, operating standards and performance measures across farming locations.
• Monitor crop performance against production plans, budgets, yield targets and quality specifications.
• Identify and address operational constraints affecting yield, quality, cost or continuity of supply across Rombola Family Farms' growing operations.
• Facilitate the sharing and implementation of successful growing practices across different farms and production regions.
Agronomy and Crop Performance
• Provide senior leadership in the development and implementation of agronomic programs covering soil management, crop nutrition, irrigation, crop protection, pest and disease management and plant health.
• Lead strategies to improve crop yield, quality, consistency and production efficiency across Rombola Family Farms.
• Evaluate crop varieties, genetics and production methods to determine their suitability for different growing regions, seasons and market requirements.
• Oversee trials and implementation of improved growing practices, technologies and production systems.
• Ensure agronomic decisions appropriately balance crop performance, product quality, production cost and Rombola Family Farms' commercial requirements.
Data, Technology and Continuous Improvement
• Develop data-driven systems for monitoring and analysing crop and operational performance across Rombola Family Farms' growing operations.
• Use production, environmental, irrigation, harvest, quality and cost data to support strategic and operational decision-making.
• Identify and implement precision agriculture, monitoring and other technologies that improve growing performance and decision-making.
• Establish systems for benchmarking performance between farms, crops, varieties and production periods.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives and ensure successful practices are implemented consistently across Rombola Family Farms' growing operations.
Quality, Food Safety and Customer Requirements
• Ensure growing programs deliver produce that meets Rombola Family Farms' quality, food safety and customer specifications.
• Work closely with Rombola Family Farms' quality, packing, supply chain and commercial teams to align crop production with market and customer requirements.
• Analyse post-harvest and customer quality information and incorporate relevant findings into growing strategies.
• Provide executive oversight of production responses to significant crop quality, disease, weather or food safety risks.
• Support the consistent delivery of produce that meets customer specifications and Rombola Family Farms' quality standards.
Financial and Operational Performance
• Develop and manage growing budgets in conjunction with Rombola Family Farms' senior management and finance team.
• Monitor production costs and identify opportunities to improve productivity and profitability without compromising crop quality or sustainability.
• Assess the financial and operational impact of proposed changes to growing practices, technology, infrastructure and crop programs.
• Contribute to capital expenditure planning for irrigation systems, growing infrastructure, machinery and agricultural technology.
• Monitor the financial performance of growing operations against approved budgets and operational targets.
Risk Management and Sustainability
• Identify and manage major growing risks including adverse weather, water availability, pest and disease pressure, labour availability and production disruption.
• Develop contingency strategies to protect Rombola Family Farms' production continuity and customer supply.
• Lead initiatives to improve water-use efficiency, soil health, input efficiency and environmentally sustainable farming practices.
• Ensure growing operations comply with applicable regulatory, environmental, workplace safety and quality requirements.
• Support Rombola Family Farms' long-term sustainability and resilience by incorporating climate, water and production risks into growing strategies.
People Leadership and Organisational Development
• Lead and develop Rombola Family Farms' senior growing, farm and technical management personnel.
• Establish clear accountability, performance expectations and communication across growing operations.
• Build a collaborative culture between growing, agronomy, packing, quality, logistics, finance and commercial teams.
Qualifications and Experience
The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate:
• Tertiary qualifications in agribusiness, agricultural economics, agricultural science, agronomy or a related discipline, with postgraduate business or management qualifications highly regarded.
• Extensive senior management experience within large-scale commercial agriculture or fresh produce production.
• Demonstrated experience leading multi-site farming or growing operations.
• Significant experience in large-scale open-field crop production.
• Strong understanding of crop production, agronomy, irrigation, crop nutrition, pest and disease management and production planning.
• Demonstrated responsibility for production budgets, operational performance, cost management and profitability.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary management and technical teams.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate growing operations with packing, quality, logistics, supply chain and commercial requirements.
• Experience implementing data-driven agricultural management systems, performance analytics and continuous improvement programs.
• Strong strategic planning, problem-solving and executive decision-making capability.
• Highly developed leadership, communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead operations and teams across multiple geographical locations.
.webp)
