Cane Supply Contracts Manager

SUMMARY:
Overall responsibility drafting, managing, monitoring and providing relevant analysis of commercial

POSITION INFO:

Job Title: Cane Supply Contracts Manager

Reports to: Head of Cane Supply

Grade: LD2

Context/Scope: 

Tongaat Hulett has a proud 131-year history and a strong socio-economic
legacy in KwaZulu-Natal province, in South Africa, as well as extending into
sub-Saharan Africa.
The company's three RSA sugar mills are currently supplied by some 100,000
hectares. The productive performance, sustainability, and long-term personal
relationships with this sector remains a strategic imperative for the company.
In addition, has made substantial investments in its own agricultural activities
(farming an area of some 30,000 hectares leased from third parties on a direct
or indirect basis) through partnering with commercial growers, rural
communities, and independent specialist service providers to establish areas
to cane.
These initiatives comprise a myriad of commercial transactions on both
freehold and communal land tenure, including: agricultural contracting
agreements; horizontal and vertical cane expansion; development finance
and loans; and subsidy arrangements.

Key Customers

Head of Cane Supply, Cane Supply Managers, Agricultural Services Manager,
Land Reform & Small-Scale Grower Manager, Agric Operations Managers,
Management Services Head, Out-Growers, Agricultural Service Providers
(Share-Croppers, Farm Managing Agents & tenant farmers), SA Milling Ops (ad
hoc), TH Property (ad hoc)

Location

Tongaat - Agric-Ops, with a requirement for ad hoc travel within the RSA cane
supply catchment which extends up the KZN north coast, into Zululand and
inland into the KZN midlands.

Purpose of the Position:

Recognizing the increased roles and responsibilities in the Company's milling operations, the key
purpose of this role is to generate appropriate bench strength and support to the Head of Cane
Supply in the South African agricultural division as it relates to cane supply related contractual
arrangements.
• Overall responsibility drafting, managing, monitoring and providing relevant analysis of
commercial arrangements associated with cane supply retention in the THSSA business.
• Contribute to the financial and operational optimization through contracts best practice.

Key responsibilities

• Understand the complexity and strategic importance relating to retention and attraction of
growers.
• Responsible drafting, management, monitoring and providing relevant analysis of commercial
arrangements associated with cane supply retention, including Cane Supply & Milling Agreements, Agricultural Leases, Sharecropping Agreements, Farm Management Agreements
and other Agric Ops related agreements.
• Engagement with growers, Agric Ops teams and other internal stakeholders as it relates to
aforementioned agreements.
• Collaboration with internal Group Legal team to maintain and continually enhance relevant
agreement precedents.
• Deal with issues which stem from aforesaid agreements. This includes collaboration with internal
Group Legal team and/or external legal advisors where applicable.
• Review and implement data management processes as it relates to the aforesaid agreements.
This includes maintaining a logical filing system (both physical and electronic) and maintenance
of the agreement database(s) and/or web-based contract management system.
• Handle audit queries as it relates to the aforesaid agreements and implement learnings from audit
findings.
• Develop mechanisms to enable Agric operations team to monitor contractual performance.
• Recognise and respect the interface that exists with the Agricultural, Milling and Land
Management operations and the need to interact on a formal and informal basis with these
colleagues to provide relevant cane supply related contractual support and/or analysis.
• Working in a dynamic team environment, where there is a high-performance culture and an
overlap of contractual, financial, commercial, operational and agronomic functions to execute
the overall Company strategic objectives.
• Understand the organization's milling objectives in the South African context and provide
contractual support to Key Customers in line with those objectives.

Qualifications

BCom Law, or an applied economics or commercial degree with relevant experience with
drafting and monitoring commercial contracts.

Experience

• 3+ years of relevant experience in drafting and managing commercial contracts with preference
for sugarcane agriculture related experience.
• Sound understanding of best practice in agriculture and land tenure arrangements, together with
knowledge and understanding of rural development, and development economics.

Technical Competencies

• Strong contractual competence.
• Commercial acumen.
• Strong analytical and strategic aptitude.
• Possess a broad understanding of the complexities of RSA land tenure, and associated sensitivities
with respect to government, commercial/land reform/communal growers, as well as the
Company's role in interfacing with multiple stakeholders.
• Knowledge and exposure to the sugar industry is advantageous.

Behavioral Competencies

• Results and detail oriented