Ethiopia Product Quality Lead 

Role Purpose

// Leads product Quality initiatives in Ethiopia and collaborate with Production to deliver supply reliability winning our customers through superior Product.

// Safeguards license to Operate (LTO) in the country/region by adhering to legal and internal Quality standards as well as seed certification within the regulatory framework of the country.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

// Plans and develops Product Quality strategy in accordance with regulatory needs, business and customer specifications with close connections with the stakeholders focusing on the overall Mission objectives (Short, medium and long term).

// Co-ordinates Ethiopia Product Quality squad through End-to-End mission ensuring Quality contribution and actions are timely resolved and deliver on the Mission objectives, innovates and co-creates for the customers and product team.

// Organizes and manages Product Quality Release & Quality Release Teams (QRT) deployment to secure seed supply on time in Full) OTIF) while remaining compliant, winning our customers & driving Product Reliability.

// Serves as the primary point of contact for the Product Quality in Ethiopia, collaborating across Mission Teams and adopting a “pull approach” that will drive the needs of the Mission Teams to nurture Ethiopia growth plans.

// Manages and leads Ethiopia product specifications, inspection plans, product placement & usage decisions, grow-outs, certifications, product recall & substitution, securing license to Operate.

// Reinforces collaboration within the PS RC and Supply Chain mission teams and act as ambassador for Quality culture development in Ethiopia; recognize, listen, respond, anticipate and adapt to satisfy customers.

// Trains PS and commercial teams on Quality preservation -Pull approach. Collates /info data on, seed regulatory needs and ensure full implementation and compliance.

// Plans and lead teams in logging, investigation and communication of E2E non-conforming outputs that could represent a significant risk to customers or seeds supply & work on continuous improvement to reduce failure risks.

// Deliver Value through RFT (Right The First Time and First Expiry First Out )deployment  improving the Quality of our Inventory and help in reducing write offs.

// S Designs Ethiopia Product and Product Quality Reports/metrics periodically and ad hoc by collating, analyzing, and summarizing info & trends and recommending improvement plans within the Mission Teams.

// Leads complaint handling procedure and investigation for timely and accurate resolution and reporting ensuring best customer experience.

// Defines and manages strategic and operational risk related to Product Quality and across the Missions –PS, Supply Chain and participate in the review c/o Mission Review and investment to prevent, reduce and eliminate risks.

// Plans and organizes grow-outs where applicable and E2E seed certification in Ethiopia.

Key Working Relations

// PS Mission Team

// Supply Chain

// Data and Digital

// ONE Management

// Commercial-CF

// External = Regulator / government officials

// Foundation Mission team

// Breeding-Pre-Foundation

Experience, Skills and Qualifications

// Bachelors' degree / master’s in agriculture, Agronomy or related fields

// 7+ years’ experience in Product Quality

Work experience in Seed Production and Manufacturing

// Ability to work cross-functionally within an organization

// Ability to lead with informal authority

// Self-motivated, strategic thinker who is process oriented, systematic in approach and has an operational understanding of compliance management systems

// VACC leadership competencies

// DSO behaviors

Advertising Period:

09 September – 23 September 2025

Employment type:

Permanent   

Position grade:

VS1.1

Location:

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

                                                                                               //////////////// Science for a better Life

Bayer welcomes applications from all individuals, regardless of race, national origin, gender, age, physical characteristics, social origin, disability, union membership, religion, family status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any unlawful criterion under applicable law. We are committed to treating all applicants fairly and avoiding discrimination.