CHRISTOPHER C. RICHARDS
Piketberg,South Africa
Summary
Accomplished professional with experience gained on the biggest alone standing table grape farm in the Southern Hemisphere. Expertise in building operational procedures, continuous improvement implementation, and procurement. Demonstrates strong capabilities in logistics coordination, data analysis, and report writing. Proven resilience in high-pressure situations and adept at project management and inventory management. Committed to driving efficiency and excellence within organisations while pursuing opportunities for continuous growth and development.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Operations manager
Broodkraal Landgoed (Pty) Ltd
Piketberg, South Africa
04.2022 - Current
- Broodkraal Landgoed is a 550ha table grape farm, the biggest single standing table grape farm in the Southern hemisphere. We specialize in exporting top quality table grapes all around the world, producing around 2.5 million cartons.
- Handled negotiations with suppliers and procurement of essential supplies for daily operations.
- Analyzing and providing feedback on the quarterly production costs across all farms.
- Procuring package materials needed at four packhouses during a two/three-month period of packing table grapes for 24 hours 5 days a week
- Managed inventory efficiently to minimise stockouts and overstock situations.
- Ensure logistics align with the changing requirements of the packhouses.
- Identify bottlenecks and constantly seeking improvement in operational systems.
- Managing the coordination of construction and renovation projects.
- Site manager during the construction phase of a 3.2MW solar farm.
- Employment Equity Manager.
Production assistant
Broodkraal Landgoed (Pty) Ltd
Piketberg, South Africa
10.2021 - 04.2022
- Overseeing and training workers daily to ensure that they are able to do the job at hand.
- Supervise the workers and make sure that the work is done to standard.
- Reporting directly to the farm manager providing updates on the progress of the work.
- Overseeing the training of harvest teams, making sure they understand the proper techniques to handle grapes carefully to avoid damage.
- Making sure that the harvesting team works efficiently to provide the packhouse with enough grapes for the entire shift.
- Inspecting grapes for quality, ensuring that they meet the required standards for color, size, and firmness as they are being packed.
Research assistant
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa
02.2019 - 10.2021
- Responsible for assisting in the department with research in the field of Agricultural Economics.
- Tutored Agricultural Economics modules to undergraduate students.
Education
Master of Science - Agriculture Economics
University of The Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa 01.2021 - 04.2022
Bachelor of Science Hons - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa 01.2020 - 12.2020
Bachelor of Science - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa 01.2017 - 12.2019
Skills
- Building operational procedures
- Continuous Improvement implementation
- Logistics coordination
- Resilience in high-pressure situations
- Data analyzing and report writing
- Project Management
- Inventory management
Languages
English
Fluent
Afrikaans
Native
Affiliations
- Fitness
- Woodwork
- Golf
Refrences
Mr. G. van Deventer
Estate Manager - Broodkraal Landgoed
+27 82 443 1601
george@lerouxgroup.co.za
Mr. I. van der Westhuizen
Technical Manager - Broodkraal Landgoed
+27 72 577 0074
sakkie@lerouxgroup.co.za
Timeline
Operations manager
Broodkraal Landgoed (Pty) Ltd
04.2022 - Current
Production assistant
Broodkraal Landgoed (Pty) Ltd
10.2021 - 04.2022
Master of Science - Agriculture Economics
University of The Free State
01.2021 - 04.2022
Bachelor of Science Hons - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
01.2020 - 12.2020
Research assistant
University of the Free State
02.2019 - 10.2021
Bachelor of Science - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
01.2017 - 12.2019
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