Senior Crop Manager

LeaderBrand Produce Limited; Gisborne, Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

LeaderBrand in Gisborne is seeking a Senior Crop Manager to lead sweetcorn and seed maize crops from planting to harvest. This hands-on role requires strong field judgement and ownership of crop performance, yield, and quality.

You will plan planting programmes around supply and sales, manage irrigation, nutrition, crop protection, maturity, and harvest timing, and lead seasonal staff while coordinating with harvest, logistics and sales teams to ensure the right crop at the right time.

Qualifications

• Proven commercial crop-management or agronomy experience.
• Strong practical field judgement and crop-production knowledge.
• Experience with irrigation, crop inputs, machinery and harvest planning.
• Ability to make sound decisions in a fast-moving seasonal environment.
• Good planning and communication skills.
• Full New Zealand driver licence.

Responsibilities

• Lead sweetcorn and seed maize crops from planting to harvest.
• Plan planting programmes around supply, harvest and sales.
• Manage irrigation, nutrition, crop protection, maturity and quality.
• Monitor crops closely and resolve issues early.
• Collaborate with harvest, operations, logistics and sales teams.
• Lead seasonal staff and support safe field operations.

Skills

Crop management

Field judgement

Irrigation

Harvest planning

Team leadership

NZ driving licence

Tools

Irrigation systems

Harvest machinery

Crop inputs management

Job description

Take ownership of a major sweetcorn and seed maize programme — from planting through to harvest.

LeaderBrand is seeking a Senior Crop Manager to manage fresh-market sweetcorn and seed maize crops in Gisborne. This is a hands‑on senior role for someone who enjoys being in the field, making timely decisions and taking responsibility for crop performance, harvest timing, yield and quality.

The opportunity:

Use crop data, trials and practical innovation to improve results..

Lead sweetcorn and seed maize crops from planting to harvest.

Plan planting programmes around supply, harvest and sales requirements.

Manage irrigation, nutrition, crop protection, maturity, yield and quality.

Monitor crops closely and solve issues early.

Work with harvest, operations, logistics and sales teams to deliver the right crop at the right time.

Lead seasonal staff and support safe, efficient field operations.

About You

You may come from commercial vegetables, maize, seed production, arable, broadacre cropping or horticulture. Direct sweetcorn experience is useful, but not essential. You will have:

• Proven commercial crop-management or agronomy experience.
• Strong practical field judgement and crop-production knowledge.
• Experience with irrigation, crop inputs, machinery and harvest planning.
• The ability to make sound decisions in a fast-moving seasonal environment.
• Good planning and communication skills.
• A full New Zealand driver licence or equivalent.

Experience leading seasonal teams, and knowledge of NZGAP, GlobalG.A.P., HACCP or GROWSAFE, would be an advantage.

About LeaderBrand

At LeaderBrand, we’re passionate about evolving fresh food for a healthier world. As a proud family-owned business, our goal is to be New Zealand’s most innovative and consistent fresh food producer. We farm across three key growing regions, process and pack in state-of-the‑art post-harvest facilities, and are supported by a nationwide sales team delivering fresh produce to every corner of Aotearoa. Our 400+ people are central to our success. We’re always on the lookout for new talent with energy, passion, and a drive to learn – people excited to help shape the future of fresh food.

Gisborne is the heart of our business and the place where LeaderBrand was founded more than 50 years ago. Over that time, LeaderBrand has become integral to the story of our community, with the next generations of those who started with us returning to shape the future alongside us. We also have farms in Pukekohe and Chertsey.

We have a strong vision for the future of our business, our people, and our industry. We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Our continuous improvement mindset grounds us as one of New Zealand’s leading horticultural businesses. We seek, harness, and develop the best people, technology, land, and machinery to shape the future of food.