JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Production Manager – Rice Mill (Expatriate)

Industry: Agriculture | Rice Milling & Food Processing

Reports To: Plant Head / General Manager

Location: Kano, Nigeria

Work Structure: Full-Time | Onsite | Day Shift

Remuneration: Up to USD 3,000 Monthly + Local Allowance + Factory Accommodation



Client Overview
Our client is a growing agro-processing company specializing in the milling and processing of staple grains, with a strong focus on locally produced premium parboiled rice for wholesale and retail markets across Nigeria.
The organization is committed to strengthening local rice production through efficient processing, consistent product quality, operational excellence, and sustainable manufacturing practices.

Role Summary
Our client is seeking an experienced and results-driven Production Manager – Rice Mill to oversee the complete production operation of a modern rice-processing facility.
The successful candidate will be responsible for production planning, paddy processing, parboiling, drying, milling, boiler and utility operations, quality management, equipment reliability, cost control, food safety, and production team leadership.
The role requires a hands-on production leader with strong experience in rice milling and parboiling operations, capable of optimizing plant performance while maintaining high standards of product quality, safety, and operational efficiency.



Key Responsibilities

Production Planning & Plant Operations

• Plan and control daily, weekly, and monthly production activities based on paddy availability, plant capacity, customer demand, storage capacity, and dispatch requirements.
• Manage the complete production flow from paddy receiving, cleaning, soaking, steaming, parboiling, drying, milling, grading, colour sorting, packing, and finished-goods storage.
• Supervise production supervisors and section heads to ensure continuous and efficient plant operations.
• Establish and monitor production KPIs including throughput, milling recovery, head-rice yield, broken percentage, moisture, rejection levels, downtime, waste, and production cost per tonne.
• Identify production bottlenecks and implement practical measures to improve capacity, productivity, yield, and operating efficiency.

Parboiling & Drying Operations

• Ensure correct paddy cleaning, soaking, steaming, parboiling, and drying conditions are maintained to achieve required product quality.
• Monitor water temperature, steaming pressure, soaking time, moisture levels, gelatinisation, grain cracking, colour, and drying performance.
• Prevent under-parboiling, over-parboiling, excessive drying losses, discolouration, and other processing-related quality defects.
• Coordinate the movement of paddy between soaking tanks, steaming units, dryers, silos, and milling sections.
• Ensure appropriate hygiene, sanitation, water quality, and product traceability throughout parboiling operations.

Boiler & Utility Management

• Oversee the safe and efficient operation of industrial boilers and utilities supporting the production process.
• Monitor boiler pressure, temperature, feedwater quality, fuel consumption, steam generation, combustion efficiency, blowdown, and ash handling.
• Ensure steam lines, pumps, water-treatment systems, compressors, generators, and other utilities operate within approved parameters.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance, statutory inspections, and breakdown response for boiler and utility equipment.
• Monitor fuel, electricity, water, steam, and other utility consumption and identify opportunities to reduce operating losses.
• Ensure appropriate records are maintained for boiler readings, fuel usage, steam generation, water treatment, generator runtime, utility downtime, and maintenance activities.

Milling, Quality & Equipment Reliability

• Ensure efficient operation of milling equipment including cleaners, de-stoners, huskers, separators, whiteners, polishers, graders, colour sorters, elevators, and packing equipment.
• Work closely with the Quality Control team to maintain specifications for moisture, broken grains, foreign matter, whiteness, cleanliness, infestation, packaging, and product weight.
• Coordinate preventive and corrective maintenance activities to minimize equipment breakdowns and unplanned production downtime.
• Investigate production losses, low milling recovery, excessive breakage, equipment failures, quality complaints, and other operational issues.
• Ensure defective or non-conforming products are properly identified, segregated, and managed for appropriate reprocessing or disposition.
• Monitor spare parts, production consumables, and equipment requirements to support uninterrupted operations.
• Identify process gaps and implement corrective and preventive actions to improve plant performance.

People Management & Operational Leadership

• Lead and supervise production personnel across milling, parboiling, boiler, utilities, packing, and other production sections.
• Ensure appropriate staffing levels across production shifts and maintain effective workforce deployment.
• Train, coach, evaluate, and develop production personnel to improve technical capability and operational performance.
• Promote a culture of accountability, discipline, teamwork, safety, and continuous improvement across the production function.
• Identify skill gaps within production teams and implement appropriate training and development initiatives.

Safety, Compliance & Reporting

• Enforce compliance with food safety, GMP, HACCP, occupational health and safety, machine guarding, fire prevention, boiler safety, electrical safety, environmental, and housekeeping requirements.
• Ensure safe handling and storage of fuel, chemicals, boiler-treatment chemicals, husk, bran, ash, and other production by-products.
• Maintain accurate production, quality, maintenance, utility, safety, and stock records.
• Prepare and submit daily, weekly, and monthly production and management information reports.
• Ensure production and operational data are accurately updated in the ERP system.
• Collaborate with Quality, Maintenance, Warehouse, Procurement, Logistics, Finance, Sales, and Management to ensure uninterrupted production and timely product dispatch.
  

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Production Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Food
• Technology, Agricultural Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Relevant professional or technical certification in manufacturing, food processing, production management, or industrial operations is an advantage.

Experience

• 10–15 years of relevant production experience, preferably within rice milling, parboiling, grain processing, or a similar agro-processing environment.
• Proven experience managing large-scale rice milling and parboiling operations.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of rice milling equipment, dryers, industrial boilers, utilities, and packing systems.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple production sections and supervising production teams.
• Experience monitoring production KPIs, yield, recovery, downtime, waste, and production costs.
• Practical experience coordinating maintenance, quality control, and production improvement initiatives.

Technical Competencies

• Rice Milling & Parboiling Operations
• Production Planning & Control
• Industrial Boiler & Utility Management
• Milling Equipment & Process Optimization
• Production KPI Management
• Yield & Recovery Optimization
• Food Safety & Quality Control
• Preventive & Corrective Maintenance
• GMP & HACCP
• Occupational Health & Safety
• ERP & Production Reporting
• Cost & Waste Management

Core Competency
Rice Production & Plant Management — ability to manage the complete rice-processing operation while optimizing production capacity, milling recovery, product quality, equipment reliability, operating costs, and workforce performance.
Additional Requirements

• Nationality: Indian preferred.
• Must have substantial experience working within a rice milling or parboiling operation.
• Must be willing to relocate and work onsite in Kano, Nigeria.
• Must be comfortable working in a factory-based production environment.
• Accommodation will be provided at the factory residence.
• Local allowance will be provided in addition to the overseas salary.
• Annual appraisal and performance-based bonus apply.