Job Advert Summary

The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (Land Bank) is South Africa’s only specialist agricultural bank established in 1912, the bank’s sole objective is to serve South African commercial and emerging farmers and bring specially designed financial services within their reach. These services enable farmers to finance land, equipment, improve assets and obtain production credit. The Land Bank provides financial services that have moved with the times and continues to provide services to agri-business and constantly reviews its offerings to ensure that they match the needs of an industry. As change has swept across the sector in South Africa the socio-economic makeup of agriculture has altered, bringing new entrants from historically disadvantaged backgrounds on to the land, these new farmers, facing the challenges of establishing sustainable agri-businesses across the agricultural value chain, Land Bank has been a commercial lifeline offering appropriately designed financial products that facilitate personal and commercial viability in a sector that is vital to the sustainability of South Africa and its people.
MAIN PURPOSE OF THE JOB
To manage the regional Agricultural Banking & Monitoring Support function and provide agricultural expertise to the Banking and Risk Management Divisions, and other stakeholders thereby contributing to the quality of the loan book and mitigating potential risk on behalf of the Bank.
Provision of guidance, support to the regional Agricultural Specialist team and ensuring timeous and quality expert inputs into the assessment / due diligence of transactions from end to end, addressing the production and market fundamentals enterprise economics and risk management.
To ensure adherence to the set agricultural norms and standards as well as efficient use of agricultural assessment tools (i.e., BF90, cash flow models, etc) that will support the Bank’s credit assessment process for purposes of decision-making processes whilst allowing innovation in solving transaction challenges.

Key Performance Areas

1. Manage and Support the Agricultural Specilaist team within the region
Strategic Management

• Establishes the team of Agricultural Specialists for an effective regional Agricultural Banking & Monitoring Support with industry expertise for the Bank.
• Gets involved in high-value transactions and guides the team.
• Embraces innovation as part of the ways of work to enable the development farmer transactions.

Agricultural Banking

• Oversee and review of the agricultural pre-screening and due diligence process undertaken by the Agricultural Specialist team for credit transactions.
• Ensures continuous improvements are undertaken to enhance efficiencies in processing agricultural input (desktop assessments, BF90s, cash flows, etc) to inform credit transaction decisions.
• Monitors turnaround times in line with service level agreements with Banking teams.

Collections, Workout & Restructuring

• Oversees the agricultural advisory and support provided by Agricultural Specialists to the Collections and Worout & Restructuring teams.
• Oversees the farm inspections and due diligence process undertaken by the Agricultural Specialist team for distressed accounts.
• Monitors turnaround times in line with service level agreements with Collections, Workout & Restructuring teams.

General

• Monitors, manages and reports on intervention processes to develop clear tracking and realignment methodology.
• Determines trends across the business and creates remedial strategies and plans to correct deviations.

2. Guide and Support the Agricultural Assessment Process for Effective Transaction Execution

• Assists with creation of frameworks, policies and templates to guide an effective credit application assessment approach within the Agricultural Banking & Monitoring Support function.
• Ensures an advisory role in the monitoring and evaluation, post-investment of the transactions and projects that the Bank has supported whilst working in cooperation with the Risk Management division.
• Provides advice on primary and secondary agriculture and how best to leverage the value chains to promote Agri growth and development.

3. Manage Stakeholder Relationships

• Leads the processes of engaging with national, regional and international counterparts at appropriate forums to gain/contribute to updated trends and practices in the Sector.
• Facilitates the specialist teams’ engagement with clients, working with the Banking and Risk Management teams to provide advice and formulate sustainable developmental solutions. The objective is to ensure that well-informed investment decisions are made.

4. Budget and People Management in the region
Performance Management

• Analyses the business plan to determine the applicable deliverables and targets
• Compiles the Performance Management documentation in collaboration with the staff member
• Conducts performance planning sessions and Tracks and monitors performance following performance contracts.

Capacity Planning

• Determines the human capital requirements, following the expected deliverables and current capacity
• Secures the human capital requirements to ensure that deliverables will be met following the expected targets
• Sets and achieves employment equity targets.
• Minimises staff turnover.

Financial Management

• Develops and manages budget.
• Manages expenditure and ensures no fruitless expenditure.
• Adheres to financial guidelines and thus ensures proper control over expenditure.

Preferred Minimum Education and Experience

• Honours Degree in Agricultural Economics or similar.
• Agricultural sector experience covering sectoral research, project assessments, enterprise viability evaluations risk assessment and mitigation industry economics and marketing technical / production assessments, farm planning and development - 8 years
• Agriculture value chains to provide advice on agri value chains and how best to leverage them to promote Agri growth and development - 8 years
• Agriculture Credit and Finance Management - 8 years
• People and Budget Management - 8 years

Critical Competencies

• Microsoft Office
• Advanced knowledge of risk management principles
• Knowledge / Experience of compliance systems/tools
• Compliance Management Principles
• Knowledge of Compliance related legislation
• Knowledge of Business and Law Principles
• Business operations, business processes, management, budgeting and business office operations
• Accounting Principles
• Financial Analysis
• Customer Service Orientation

Additional Requirements

• Extended hours as and when required.
• Travel as and when required.