Jupidex: Technical Manager

Jupidex: Technical Manager - PietermaritzburgFull job descriptionJupidex (Pty) Ltd, which forms part of the Plennegy Group, is a market leader in Southern Africa regarding the distribution and service of high quality equipment for Soil Preparation, Seeding, Spreading, Hay & Forage and Spraying. Founded in 1999, originally trading as Kverneland South Africa, the Head Office still remains in Pietermaritzburg in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. With world renowned brands such as Kverneland, McHale, Alpler, Dondi, Celikel, AgriSpread and Andreoli it emphasizes the passion Jupidex has for distributing the best Agricultural products in Southern Africa.With extremely knowledgeable Sales Specialists and Product Managers supported by Jupidex branches and our extensive dealer networks, Jupidex makes it their goal to provide a professional service to the farmers in Southern Africa.Jupidex is currently looking for a Technical Manager to manage all Customer Support, Assembly and Quality operations and Precision Farming of the company to ensure the highest levels of customer satisfaction.RESPONSIBILITIES:1. Manage the Technical Support DepartmentSupporting and communicating constantly with dealers on technical issues.First point of contact with factories and suppliers in regards of technical issues.Maintain high relationship levels with factories and suppliersDealer visits to maintain and share product knowledge.Manage the defined warranty budget and deal with warranty issues in timely and disciplined manner.Introduce a customer support process that will capture and analyse deep customer understanding data in regard to our current and future product portfolio.Work closely with Sales & Marketing teams to ensure we meet customers’ needs.Marketing of spare parts to dealers - increase parts sales through workshops.Maintaining dealer stock levels - recommended and critical spare parts.Promoting spare sales on demo days.Promoting the Jupidex brands.Effectively roll out the Jupidex Parts and Technical Certification training program.Assure that training is accurate and relevant.Assist BDM with new product evaluations and validations to ensure equipment meets all our market and customer requirementsDetermine training needs of direct reports and implement suitable and approved training programs as and when required.2. Manage the Assembly and Quality DepartmentRoll out of SAGE X3 business model to ensure increased efficiency– increase efficiency and manage costControl and Pre-Delivery Inspection processManage all aspects of Health and Safety requirementsManagement – policies, procedures, overtime, leave, job cards,Training needs of personnel and implementing suitable and approved training programs as and when required. 3. Precision Farming / Farm Management SystemsDevelop and integrate our precision farming value proposition into our business.In a hybrid role, partial sales and partial product, the main responsibility will be to establish and maintain a strong rapport with customers and dealers and ensure that they have the best possible experience with Jupidex’s products and services.Assisting the sales team with customer/dealer installation and product demos.Keep abreast of government regulations and emerging technology trends, cultivars to support precision farming projectsManaging all precision product licenses (Geo spread, Spot Spray, etc) REQUIREMENTS:EducationMin: Post-Matric Certificate/DiplomaIdeal: Degree in agriculture/business/marketing or a related field Legal RequirementsMin: Driver’s LicenseIdeal: Police clearance TrainingMin: On-the-job training, Computer Skills on Word & EXCELIdeal: Implements, agricultural application technology and precision farming Hazard & Safety RequirementsMin: Occupational Health & Safety ExperienceHigh level of product application knowledge - 5-10 years’ experience KnowledgeAgricultural Mechanization - Knowledge of the principles and complexities of Agricultural Mechanization.Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer-needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.Business Knowledge – Understand the principles of successful business and the application of these principles in this business. Must have good financial acumen.