Citrus Packhouse Manager – Selebi Phikwe Citrus

Job Description

Selebi Phikwe Citrus is looking for an experienced Citrus Packhouse Manager to take responsibility for the daily performance of the packhouse. This is a hands-on leadership role covering fruit processing, packing quality, people, equipment, cold-chain coordination, logistics and cost control. The successful candidate will ensure that fruit is packed safely, efficiently and to the required local and export standards, while protecting product quality, reducing waste and supporting a profitable operation.

Key Responsibilities

Operations and production
Plan and manage daily intake, line capacity, grading, sizing, packing programmes and dispatch. Achieve throughput, packout, quality and productivity targets while reducing fruit damage, rework and post-harvest waste.

Quality assurance and compliance
Maintain food-safety, hygiene, traceability and audit systems. Ensure compliance with phytosanitary protocols, residue and chemical-application requirements, customer specifications and applicable certification standards, including GLOBALG.A.P. and BRCGS.

Cold chain and logistics
Oversee degreening, pre-cooling and cold-room management; monitor pulp temperatures; coordinate loading, dispatch schedules, transport and the accurate completion of export documentation.

People leadership
Lead line supervisors, quality teams, floor operators and seasonal employees. Plan labour requirements, set productivity standards, train and develop employees, manage performance and maintain disciplined workplace health and safety practices.

Maintenance and technical management
Coordinate preventive maintenance and rapid breakdown response for sorting and grading machinery, optical sizers, chemical-application systems, conveyors and packing-line equipment to minimise downtime.

Financial and administrative management
Manage the packhouse operating budget, labour and packaging costs, and inventories of cartons, pallets, labels and consumables. Maintain accurate records and report agreed production, quality, waste, downtime, labour and cost KPIs to the Operational Manager.

Continuous improvement
Use production and quality data to identify constraints, investigate variances and implement practical improvements in packout, throughput, fruit quality, labour productivity, equipment utilisation and cost per carton.

Requirements

Education
A relevant degree or diploma in Agriculture, Logistics, Industrial Engineering, Production Management or a related field.

Experience
At least five years’ substantial experience in citrus packing operations, including a minimum of two to three years in a packhouse management role.

Packhouse operations
Proven experience in production planning, fruit intake, grading, packing, packout optimisation, cold-chain control, dispatch and local and export packing programmes.

Quality and compliance
Strong practical knowledge of fruit quality, food safety, hygiene, traceability, phytosanitary and market-specific export requirements, and audit preparation. Working knowledge of GLOBALG.A.P., BRCGS and related customer standards is required.

Technology and systems
Experience with optical fruit sorting and grading equipment, such as MAF Roda or Gossamer, and packhouse or ERP systems, such as Paltrack, or comparable technologies.

Commercial management
Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, labour, packaging materials, productivity, waste and operating costs using accurate production information.

How to Apply

Apply by email: [email protected]
Phone: +267 75 388 980
Address: Selebi Phikwe, Botswana

Closing Date: 2026-10-05