Forestry South Africa Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Opportunity 2024

by

Forestry South Africa Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Opportunity 2024

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Opportunity

About Us
The Southern African Macadamia Growers’ Association (SAMAC) is comprised of macadamia nut growers, processors and marketers.
The industry body SAMAC was formed in the early 1970’s by a group of growers seeking to pool their resources in order to address their common problems and issues. SAMAC opened its first permanent office in October 1997 with two staff members. Currently (2024) SAMAC has a membership of more than 500 members, which consists of growers, international members, nurseries, handlers and service providers.
Global contacts and cooperation has been developed through the participation in the seven International Macadamia Symposia that have taken place since its inception in 1999, of which three have been hosted in South Africa (1999, 2009 and 2024).
SAMAC is also a member of the INC (The International Nut and Dried Fruit Council) where the industry has the opportunity to interact not only with international macadamia role players, but with various other key role players within the international nut trade.
The South African macadamia industry is proud of its strong private enterprise base and the structures in place for its governance, created, funded and controlled by the growers, processors and marketers who are committed to its successful future.
Our mission is to lead the development of a profitable and sustainable industry in the common interests of members through technical and marketing innovation.
Our goals are to:

  • Act in the common interests of our members
  • Determine technical research needs
  • Continually improve technology transfer and support and communication mechanisms
  • Increase technical and marketing interest studies and research
  • Establish generic market development programs both locally and abroad that will increase consumer demand to meet increased supply


Preamble
Membership has doubled in the recent past and currently consists of over six hundred growers. In addition, the Macadamia industry in South Africa is now worth more than R4 billion with exponential growth expected over the next five years.
Rapid volume growth in an industry does not occur in isolation. Parallel to volume growth, but often growing at an even faster rate, are complexity and challenges. Such growth must be supported by infrastructure and aligned to a defined strategy. Critical factors that must be considered include, but not limited to, the following:

  • Leadership
  • Skills, experience and talent
  • Having a proactive rather than a reactive approach, keeping ahead of the curve
  • Medium to long term focus

Considering the above SAMAC is embarking on an evolution process to establish an industry body that can support the strategic and operational requirements of the Association.
A major element of this process is the recruitment of a champion CEO!
Position Description
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Level: Executive
Reports To: Board of Directors
Location: To be finalised
Industry: Agriculture
Start Date: Immediately
Summary Role Description

You will be the first in command and responsible for giving the proper strategic direction as well as creating a vision for success. The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership for the Association by working with the board of directors and infrastructure to develop, establish and execute on day to day operational requirements, medium to long-range goals, strategies, plans and policies.
A critical deliverable for the incumbent CEO will be to lead the evolution process, build an organisation for the future and to continuously add considerable impetus.
Essential Deliverables
The CEO will execute responsibilities in the following focus areas which include, but are not limited to: Leadership, Strategy, Board Relations, Volunteer Relations, Operations, Projects, Compliance, People and Staff Management, Fundraising and External Relations and Financial Performance.

  • Leadership: Exercise strong leadership for the Association. As a role model serve as the public spokesperson articulating the mission, purpose, goals and programs. Represent SAMAC in the international community and seek out support in the global arena, including the development of partnerships with other Associations. Must have a passion and curiosity for cultural understanding and lifelong learning.
  • Strategic Focus and Strategy Formulation/Execution: Provide the purpose, bold ideas, and creative thinking that will enable SAMAC to be well positioned for future growth and expansion. Considering the trends in the external environment, the core capabilities and strategic priorities of SAMAC, the CEO must ensure that the Association has a strategy that is well defined and well executed. The CEO must direct the implementation and evaluation of the Association’s projects and services to meet its purpose. Analyze the risks and their related impacts to the Association, members and/or stakeholders associated with the implementation of leading edge ideas. Adapt overall goals, plans and projects to fit the needs of a specific situation.
  • Board Relations: Ensure the Board are fully engaged and informed of all important aspects of the Association through regular communication and by delivering regular written quarterly reports on CEO activities. Develop, for board review and approval, long-range planning directions for the Association. Recommend appropriate policy issues for the board’s attention. Organize and attend as an executive director on the board, quarterly Board of Directors meetings.
  • Volunteer Relations: Provide inspirational leadership to the volunteer network and committees through regular direction, communication and support. Work with key volunteer leaders to deliver on strategic and operational goals.
  • Operational Oversight: Establish and maintain the institutional infrastructure appropriate to a RSA based and international Association. Provide regular, reliable and comparative operational reports to the board of directors and to the members; and prepare detailed and comprehensive reports for the board of directors to be delivered for their quarterly and any ad – hoc meetings. In addition, oversee that all business requirements such as registrations for operations, web domains, trademarks and the like are maintained. Liaise with the association’s legal counsel on relevant issues.
  • Project Oversight: Oversee development and execution of the ongoing association projects. Create new project ideas and areas, including internal and external partnerships related to project activity and delivery; as well as transformation projects as required by legislature. Plan for and attend relevant regional, national and international conferences.
  • Controls: Ensure proper accounting and legal structures and processes are in place for the association and oversee compliance adherence. Implement policies and recommendations established by the board of directors. Maintain the financial integrity of the association through proper financial monitoring and adjustments as needed, including the yearly accounting audit; and by maintaining and carrying certain professional licenses, insurances, registrations, leases, etc. which are needed for SAMAC’s operations and services.
  • People and Staff Management: Set clear goals for staff and 3rd party contractors that are realistic and measurable. Encourage relationship building by facilitating open communication and positive working relationships. Leverage the enormous talents of staff and 3rd party contractors that represents exceptional global diversity and awareness. Develop and maintain an operational infrastructure which includes various functional responsibility from Finance, Projects, PR, Communications and Events that clearly defines roles and responsibilities focused on the overall work scope for SAMAC as it relates to staff, 3rd party contractors, volunteers and board members. Motivate others to translate ideas into actions and results and demonstrate and offer accessibility for staff, 3rd party contractor, volunteers, and board members of CEO time, regularly.
  • Fundraising and External Relations: Establish relationships with potential donors and sponsors who are willing to support the ongoing operations and programs of SAMAC. Seek to collaborate and/or form relationships where common goals exist. Oversee public relations, internal and external communications projects in a way that builds goodwill for the Association. Serve as chief spokesperson for the Association in a variety of venues and roles.
  • Financial Performance: Ensure SAMAC’s financial performance meets established budget goals and targets. Effectively oversee the impact of external factors on the Association’s financial performance. Develop and provide ongoing oversight of the yearly budget for the board of directors. Liaise with the board’s finance committee throughout the year and deliver every month compiled financial management accounts to the board’s executive committee.


Competencies, Experience and Skills Required
The ideal candidate will possess and/or demonstrate the following:

  • A Bachelor degree in Agriculture, Business, Science or similar
  • Minimum 5 years working experience at a senior/executive level
  • Experience in a turnaround/restructure environment
  • Experience working with Government would be advantageous
  • Experience working with international export sales would be advantageous
  • Experience in an agricultural industry and/or association would be advantageous
  • Be forward thinking with experience in developing strategies and implementation thereof
  • Familiarity with diverse business functions, i.e. marketing, human resources, finance, PR, etc
  • An entrepreneurial mindset with outstanding organisational and leadership skills
  • Analytical abilities and problem-solving skills
  • Excellent written and verbal communication and public speaking skills
  • Developing and implementing operational policies
  • In-depth knowledge of corporate governance and general management best practices
  • Decision making capabilities, especially under uncertain and challenging conditions
  • Managing diverse stakeholder expectations
  • Controlled emotion.

Personal Attributes Required
The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following:

  • Honesty and integrity.
  • Learning agility.
  • Having a proactive/can-do, problem-solving attitude. Must have a sense of urgency!
  • Strong listening and influencing skills.
  • Ability to inspire confidence and create trust.
  • Self – motivated and the ability to plan own workload effectively and to delegate.
  • Sociable personality.
  • Ability to work under pressure.
  • Problem solving.
  • Attention to detail.
  • Results orientated focusing on continuous improvement and delivery of set goals and objectives.
  • Must be willing to accept accountability for results.

 

The South African Macadamia Growers Association
P.O Box 2714 Tzaneen, 0850
Tel: (015) 307 3676 Fax: (015) 307 6792
Email: marieke@agrisa.co.za
www.samac.org.za