Deputy Technical Director at Promasidor

Promasidor was founded in 1979 by Robert Rose, who left the United Kingdom in 1957 for Zimbabwe to pursue his African dream. As Chairman of Allied Lyons Africa for over 20 years, he travelled extensively across Africa and gained a unique and thorough knowledge of the food industry throughout the continent. In particular he noticed a lack of availability of the one highly nutritious product that the developed world takes for granted - milk. He realised that with technology in the manufacture of milk powders advancing rapidly, there was an exciting opportunity to provide milk powder in small portions that could be packaged in flexible sachets. It was found that removing the animal fat from the milk and replacing it with vegetable fat allowed for a longer shelf life. This meant that for the first time, milk powder could be distributed across the vast African continent, providing access to affordable milk to everyone in Africa. A passionate belief in this vision fuelled the pioneering concept of selling filled milk powder in small sachets and Promasidor began selling the Cowbell brand in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) in 1979. Today Cowbell is sold in the majority of countries across the African continent.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title:  Deputy Technical Director

Location: Lagos

​​​​About the job

• Support the Country Technical Director in overseeing the technical and production operations of the factory, acting as a key deputy to ensure seamless day-to-day, manufacturing functions.
• The role holder will be developed and mentored into a future Technical Director building the capability and experience required to independently lead a country technical operation.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Support the Country Technical Director in translating Group manufacturing strategy, policies and procedures into factory-level operational plans and initiatives
• Assist the Country Technical Director in preparing and evaluating capex investment proposals for machinery, site development and automation infrastructure.
• Assist the Country Technical Director in managing daily production operations, including planning, scheduling and performance monitoring.
• Oversee and support engineering projects at the factory, including equipment upgrades, process automation installations and utilities management, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget and to specification.
• Drive the adoption of process automation solutions to reduce manual intervention.
• Support R&D activities and new product development (NPD) at the factory level.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, waste reduction programmes and implementation of lean manufacturing principles across the factory.
• Liaise with the Group Technical Department and the Country Technical Director on the selection and review of external contractors and machine vendors.
• Work closely alongside the Country Technical Director to supervise, coach and develop factory technical and production teams.
• Act as the primary point of contact for the technical team during the Country Technical Director's absence, ensuring continuity of operations.
• Support the Country Technical Director in preparing and monitoring the factory's annual technical and production budget, tracking expenditure and ensuring compliance with Group financial standards and legal requirements.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with factory teams, Group technical functions, and key external suppliers and regulatory bodies.
• Provide regular reporting on factory technical and production performance to the Country Technical Director, covering agreed Key Performance Indicators.
• Communicate effectively with internal stakeholders on the impact of technical or process changes on production and supply, proposing solutions that maintain quality and cost targets.

Key Qualifications & Skills

• B.Sc. or M.Sc. in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering, Mechanical / Electrical Engineering or a related discipline
• Minimum 5 years' experience in the food industry, with a strong mix of engineering and production roles
• Experience in FMCG or food manufacturing environments is essential
• Demonstrable hands-on technical knowledge of food production processes, quality standards and food safety (HACCP, GMP, ISO)
• Experience with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), SCADA, process automation platforms or industrial control systems is highly desirable
• Familiarity with AI, data analytics or digital manufacturing tools applied in a production environment is an advantage
• Fluent in English (written and spoken), essential for Group reporting and cross-country collaboration. Speaking French is a plus
• Computer literacy (MS Office, MS Project, ERP systems)
• Proven ability to manage engineering and production projects, drive continuous improvement and deliver results within a manufacturing setting
• Strong technical knowledge of food science, food engineering, R&D and production processes.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified. 

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online