Role purpose
- Leads field operations delivery, ensuring all trials are executed to a prioritised plan and maintained to a high standard.
- Manages, co-ordinates, and prioritises ZA CPD capacity to ensure development trials are executed correctly and efficiently.
- Plans and executes ZA CPD Technical and Demonstration trials, aligning resources and timelines to strategic priorities.
- Ensures all field operations are conducted in accordance with local audit and HSE requirements, including all equipment used.
- Optimises field operation efficiencies and builds internal capacity and capability across the ZA trialling team.
- Assists in the delivery of Technical and Demonstration trials in consultation with marketing and sales, including review of protocols for practical execution.
- Leads training of the ZA CPD trialling team to ensure all members are equipped and enabled to perform their roles effectively.
- Supports product biology with the delivery of technical data for campaigns, NPIs, and business opportunities.
- Ensures compliance with HSE standards across all trial sites, fostering a safety-first culture and proactively managing risk.
- Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support trial delivery and business objectives.
- Provides effective line management for all field biologists, covering workload allocation, performance management, coaching, and professional development in line with Syngenta expectations
Accountabilities
- Reviews all product biology protocols for commercial viability, practical feasibility, and probability of successful execution.
- Provides agronomic support, coaching, and training to the development, product biology, and agronomy teams as required.
- Supports the planning and delivery of commercial trials to deepen product understanding and maximise the impact of launches and the broader portfolio on sales and market share.
- Manages CRO trials to the same standard as internal trials, ensuring all project requirements are met consistently. (Just fyi our TM’s (PB’s) manage CRO trials as they are the project/study directors)
- Sets and maintains the ways of working and national trialling standards across the field biology team, holding all members to a consistently high expectation.
- Communicates foreseeable and emerging trial risks or issues proactively, minimising impact on project timelines.
- Ensures every trialist has a development plan with clear objectives that drives growth, satisfaction, and team retention.
- Maintains active relationships with key industry organisations including Agricultural Research Council, Universities, and CropLife.
- Translates demonstration trial outputs and relevant external insights into compelling product stories that support marketing and sales.
- Keeps the team current on trialling best practices, with a focus on budget efficiency and productivity.
- Builds and maintains strong product knowledge through close collaboration with the product biology team.
- Coordinate visits with internal stakeholders (Agronomy, Sales, Marketing) to ensure that the maximum benefit is gained without visits becoming a time constraint for field trialists.
- Ensure that all operations under direct control comply with Syngenta Health, Safety & Environmental policies and guidelines as well as any other relevant Syngenta or statutory policies. Report observations and near misses monthly. Continuously promote HSE activities
Critical success factors & key challenges
- Ensure that CPD field biology capacity is managed and communicated to ensure optimization and better utilization.
- Ensure that all trialling requirements are met and that all relevant data is communicated to the relevant stakeholders in a timely manner.
- Ensure that all audit requirements are always met for e.g. GEP.
- Ability to provide strategic technical input for all stakeholders.
- Ability to deliver outputs working across a complex range of interfaces.
- Ensure that field trialists are trained and supported to ensure that they develop key skills.
- Ensure biological elements of projects are kept on their critical paths and are delivered on time and efficiently
- Key relationships
- Product biology and Data Management teams
- Senior Field Scientists and Field Scientists
- Commercial Unit ZA
- Internal CPD stakeholders