Job Description:

Plant & Technical Head - Construction Chemicals

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Function: Construction Chemicals

Reports to: Director

Role level: Senior Management

Business scope: Phase I construction chemicals manufacturing, with responsibility to build capability for subsequent Phase II and Phase III expansion.

Role Purpose:

The Plant & Technical Head will be responsible for establishing and operating the company's new construction-chemicals manufacturing and technical platform in Tanzania.

The role combines plant leadership, formulation/application technology and product-quality ownership.

The incumbent will lead the development, industrialisation and manufacture of cementitious dry-mix products and simple liquid construction chemicals, ensuring that products meet defined international performance standards and are competitive with leading brands available in Tanzania.

The role will initially cover the Phase I portfolio:

- C1 general-purpose tile adhesive

- C2TE premium tile adhesive

- Premium cementitious tile grout

- Non-shrink precision grout

- R3 concrete repair mortar

- 1K cementitious waterproofing

- Rapid leak plug

- Dry-shake floor hardener

- Wall putty / skim coat

- SBR bonding agent

The individual should also build the technical foundation required for Phase II products such as PCE/SNF concrete admixtures, 2K waterproofing, acrylic membranes, self-leveling compounds and R4 repair mortars.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Product Development & Formulation:

Own the technical development of the complete Phase I product portfolio.

Responsibilities include:

- Develop formulations for cementitious dry-mix and polymer-modified products.

- Establish target product specifications based on market requirements and international standards.

- Benchmark formulations against products from Sika, Fosroc, Mapei, Falcon, CONMIX, Kalekim and other relevant competitors.

- Optimise formulations for: product performance; Tanzanian climate and application conditions; locally available cement, sand and mineral fillers; imported specialty additive consumption; manufacturing robustness; and overall cost per tonne.

- Conduct laboratory trials, pilot batches and plant-scale trials.

- Develop alternative formulations to reduce dependence on any single imported specialty raw material.

- Maintain controlled formulation documentation, revision history and technical confidentiality.

- Continuously improve formulations based on customer/application feedback.

The objective is not merely to meet minimum standards, but to formulate products with sufficient performance margin to remain compliant despite normal raw-material and application variations.

2. Raw Material Qualification:

Take full technical ownership of raw-material selection and approval.

Key materials include:

Local materials:

- Cement

- Graded silica/quartz sand

- Limestone/CaCO3 fillers

- Mineral fillers

- Hard aggregates

- Gypsum/setting modifiers where required

Specialty materials:

- HPMC/HEMC cellulose ethers

- RDP

- Starch ethers

- Hydrophobic additives

- Defoamers

- PP fibres

- CSA/expansive agents

- Accelerators

- Rapid-setting binder packages

- Pigments

- SBR latex

- Preservatives and related additives

Responsibilities include:

- Define incoming raw-material specifications.

- Evaluate local sand and mineral sources.

- Establish PSD, moisture, mineralogy and contamination limits.

- Work with procurement to technically qualify minimum two suppliers for critical imported additives.

- Undertake supplier trials based on cost per tonne of finished product, not merely price/kg of additive.

- Establish incoming inspection and supplier-performance systems.

- Manage raw-material substitutions without compromising product performance.

3. Plant Design, Installation & Commissioning:

Act as the principal technical user representative during project implementation.

The Phase I plant is expected to include:

Main dry-mix line: Approximately 8 - 10 tph

Specialty dry-mix line: Approximately 1 - 2 tph

Liquid blending section: Approximately 2 x 3 - 5 m3 blending tanks

The Plant & Technical Head will:

- Finalise process specifications and design criteria.

- Participate in equipment supplier selection.

- Technically evaluate vendor offers.

- Define: batching accuracy; micro-dosing accuracy; mixer performance; drying requirements; sand classification; silo capacities; packing systems; dust-control systems; automation; batch traceability.

- Participate in FAT/SAT as applicable.

- Supervise plant installation and commissioning.

- Develop commissioning recipes and operating parameters.

- Conduct production trials and product validation before commercial launch.

- Ensure the plant is designed for later expansion into Phase II products.

4. Manufacturing Operations:

After commissioning, take overall responsibility for safe, efficient and consistent operation of the plant.

Responsibilities include:

- Production planning and execution.

- Achievement of production volumes and OTIF supply.

- Batch consistency.

- Production yield.

- Raw-material consumption.

- Packaging losses.

- Changeover and cleaning efficiency.

- Labour productivity.

- Plant utilization.

- Energy consumption.

- Dust and housekeeping standards.

- Inventory control jointly with supply chain.

- Maintenance coordination.

- Continuous improvement and cost reduction.

A key objective will be to ensure the operation behaves like a specialty-chemicals plant, not simply a conventional cement packing operation.

5. QA/QC & Laboratory:

Establish and lead a dedicated construction-chemicals quality system.

The role will be responsible for setting up:

QC Laboratory: For incoming materials, in-process tests and batch release.

Application / R&D Laboratory: For practical product testing, competitor benchmarking and development.

The laboratory should establish capability for:

- tensile adhesion; compressive and flexural strength; setting time; open time; slip; flow; shrinkage; water absorption; permeability; abrasion; density; viscosity; pH; solids content; moisture; sieve/PSD analysis; accelerated storage stability.

The Technical Head will also coordinate external accredited laboratories for certification testing where appropriate.

6. Standards & Product Performance:

Develop technical specifications and test protocols aligned with relevant standards, including as applicable:

- ISO 13007 / EN 12004 - tile adhesives

- CG2WA-type performance - tile grouts

- ASTM C1107-type requirements - non-shrink precision grouts

- EN 1504-3 - repair mortars

- EN 14891-type requirements - cementitious waterproofing

- Appropriate ASTM/EN/ISO/TBS requirements for other products.

Indicative product targets include:

- C1 adhesive: 0.5 MPa adhesion

- C2TE adhesive: 1.0 MPa adhesion, reduced slip and extended open time

- Non-shrink grout: approximately 25 / 45 / 55 MPa at 3 / 7 / 28 days

- R3 repair mortar: 30 MPa class with strong substrate adhesion

- Waterproofing: strong adhesion after conditioning and no water penetration under specified test conditions.

The role should drive products comfortably above minimum specification rather than designing at the compliance limit.

7. Technical Service & Application Support:

This is a major part of the role.

The Plant & Technical Head should ensure that the technical department supports customers on-site and understands actual field application.

Responsibilities include:

- Troubleshoot customer complaints and application failures.

- Visit major construction projects.

- Support trials at customer sites.

- Develop standard application methods.

- Prepare: Technical Data Sheets; Method Statements; application guides; Material Safety Data Sheets in coordination with relevant teams.

- Train technical sales engineers.

- Train contractors and applicators.

- Establish a Certified Applicator Programme.

- Support consultants and contractors during product approvals/specification.

- Distinguish clearly between product failure and application failure.

8. New Product Development:

Lead the technical roadmap beyond Phase I.

Once Phase I stabilises, prepare the business technically for:

Phase II:

- SNF water reducers; PCE superplasticisers; Slump-retention PCE; Integral waterproofing admixtures; Accelerators; Curing compounds; Form-release agents; 2K cementitious waterproofing; Crystalline waterproofing; Acrylic waterproofing membranes; Self-leveling compounds; R4 structural repair mortar.

Phase III:

- Epoxy flooring; Epoxy grouts; Epoxy bonding/repair systems; Chemical anchors; PU waterproofing; PU sealants; Chemical-resistant coatings; Injection systems.

Direct experience in some Phase II/III technologies would therefore be highly desirable.

9. Team Leadership:

Build and manage the plant/technical organization, expected initially to include:

- R&D Manager or senior chemist; Formulation chemists/material scientists; QA/QC chemists and technicians; Production Manager; Shift supervisors; Operators; Packing/material-handling personnel; Maintenance personnel; Application/technical-service engineers.

The Plant & Technical Head should develop: JDs and skill matrices; SOPs; training plans; succession plans; performance objectives; technical-development plans.

10. Cost & Commercial Responsibility:

Although commercial sales responsibility will sit with the Business/Sales Head, the Plant & Technical Head should have clear ownership of product cost and technical profitability.

Responsibilities include:

- Maintain standard formulation costs.

- Track actual vs standard consumption.

- Identify formulation cost-reduction opportunities.

- Evaluate raw-material substitutions.

- Reduce packaging loss and process wastage.

- Work with Finance to establish SKU manufacturing cost.

- Support make/buy decisions.

- Participate in product pricing discussions based on performance and application economics.

Particular attention should be paid to high-value imported inputs such as RDP and cellulose ether.

11. EHS & Regulatory Compliance:

Ensure that plant, laboratory and product operations meet company and Tanzania EHS requirements.

Responsibilities include:

- Dust-control systems; Chemical storage; Safe handling of additives; PPE requirements; SDS controls; Fire protection; Housekeeping; Waste management; Forklift/pedestrian segregation; Liquid chemical bunding; Regulatory/product approvals and TBS coordination as required.

Key Performance Indicators:

- Batch first-pass QC: 98%

- Product complaints: 0.5% of deliveries

- OTIF production: 95%

- Major product standards compliance: 100%

- RM supplier qualification: Minimum 2 sources for critical additives

- Manufacturing yield: 98 - 99%, product dependent

- Formulation vs standard cost variance: tightly controlled

- New product trial completion: As per approved development plan

- Customer complaint closure: 48 - 72 hrs initial technical response

- Preventive maintenance compliance: 95%

- R&D / benchmark review: Continuous

- Safety: Zero lost-time incidents target

Critical First-Year Deliverables:

Pre-investment / development:

1. Finalise Product Design Briefs for all Phase IA products.

2. Establish competitor sample library.

3. Qualify local sand/filler sources.

4. Identify and trial critical specialty-additive suppliers.

5. Develop laboratory formulations.

6. Achieve benchmark performance against target competitors.

7. Finalise equipment technical specifications.

8. Participate in vendor selection.

9. Freeze plant layout and utility requirements.

10. Finalise laboratory design and equipment.

Pre-commissioning:

11. Recruit/train technical and production teams.

12. Prepare SOPs.

13. Establish raw-material and finished-product specifications.

14. Establish batch records and traceability.

15. Prepare TDS/application manuals.

16. Conduct pilot and industrial-scale trials.

Commercial launch:

17. Validate the first six commercial products.

18. Train technical sales team and initial applicator network.

19. Support major dealer/project launch trials.

20. Establish complaint investigation and CAPA systems.

Candidate Profile:

Education:

Preferred: B.Tech/B.E/M.Tech in Chemical Engineering, Civil/Materials Engineering, Polymer/Materials Science or M.Sc./Ph.D in Chemistry, Materials Science, Construction Materials or related discipline.

For this role, relevant construction-chemicals experience is considerably more important than the exact degree.

Experience:

Preferred: 15 - 25 years total experience with at least 12+ years in construction chemicals and preferably 5+ years in a leadership / plant / technical management position.

The candidate should have hands-on experience with several of: dry-mix mortars; tile adhesives; tile grouts; waterproofing; repair mortars; non-shrink grouts; flooring systems; concrete admixtures.