Farm Manager - Poultry, Crops & Livestock

Company Overview

The position is with Baobab Care UK Limited, managing a commercial integrated farm based in Harare, Zimbabwe, with primary operations in poultry, crop production, and livestock rearing.

Job Purpose

The Farm Manager will oversee and develop a commercial farm enterprise consisting of three poultry houses (each with 10,000-bird capacity), expanding commercial crop farming, and growing cattle and goat operations, along with managing farm infrastructure, machinery, workforce, and biosecurity.

Primary Responsibilities

• Operate disciplined management of 30,000 birds across three poultry houses, each treated as an individual production and cost center.
• Manage all aspects of poultry production including placement, environmental conditions, feeding, health programs, mortality tracking, feed and water consumption monitoring, vaccination, biosecurity, cleaning, disinfection, and veterinary coordination.
• Maintain production records and develop a performance dashboard tracking KPIs such as mortality rates, feed conversion ratio, average bird weight, feed and water consumption, medicines cost, revenue, and profit margins per poultry house.
• Develop and implement commercial crop farming on available land, including crop selection, planting schedules, budgeting, land preparation, fertilisation, irrigation, crop rotation, harvesting, and post-harvest storage, with an emphasis on commercial viability and integration with livestock feed supply.
• Establish and expand a structured cattle operation including breed recommendations, housing, pasture management, breeding, feeding, health programs, herd record keeping, weight monitoring, water infrastructure, and market strategies aiming to achieve measurable growth and profitability metrics.
• Create a viable goat farming enterprise with appropriate breed selection, breeding and kidding management, housing, health and parasite control programs, feeding, identification, record maintenance, market development, and profitability forecasting.
• Integrate farming enterprises through sustainable practices such as using poultry manure for fertilisation, crop residues as animal feed, dedicated fodder crops for reducing feed costs, and livestock manure for soil enhancement, ensuring strict biosecurity and agronomic controls.
• Manage farm workforce by setting organizational structures, work allocation, staff training in relevant farm operations, staff productivity monitoring, attendance management, and ensuring proper shift and weekend coverage.
• Account for and control stocks including feed, livestock, medicines, chemicals, machinery, harvested crops, eggs, and sales items.
• Provide weekly operational reports detailing the status of poultry, livestock, crops, workforce, machinery, stock, and highlight any immediate concerns.

12-Month Development Plan

• Within 90 days, present comprehensive plans covering poultry operations, production budgets, land-use and crop plans, livestock herd growth, staffing, biosecurity, infrastructure needs, input procurement, capital expenditures, production targets, and a three-year farm development strategy.

Additional Information

Applicants must be able to work full-time onsite in Harare, adapting to seasonal and operational demands. A qualification in Agriculture, Agribusiness, or related fields is preferred but equivalent practical experience is also considered valuable.