Head Miller

RCL FOODS is seeking a Head Miller to join our Baking Division. The role will be based in Pretoria West and report to the Mill Manager.

Role Purpose

The Head Miller is accountable for the technical, people, and planning performance of wheat and maize milling operations. The role ensures optimal milling efficiency, consistent product quality, reliable supply to market, and a highly skilled technical team capable of sustaining world-class milling performance at scale.

Duties & Responsibilities

Milling Operations & Process Control

• Oversee end-to-end milling operations: intake, cleaning, conditioning, grinding, sifting, purification, maize degermination, and packing.
• Optimise milling diagrams, roll settings, sifter loads, purifiers, aspiration, and degerm parameters.
• Balance capacity utilisation, extraction, and quality under varying raw material and demand conditions.
• Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of process losses, bottlenecks, and deviations.

Quality & Product Performance

• Ensure all wheat and maize products meet internal, legal, and customer quality specifications.
• Collaborate with Quality and Silo teams on wheat blending and maize quality management.
• Reduce downgrades, reworks, and quality claims through proactive technical control.
• Support and close out food safety, regulatory, and customer audits.

Asset Utilisation & Technical Reliability

• Drive OEE improvement across milling, packing, and bulk handling assets.
• Partner with Maintenance to improve reliability, preventive maintenance effectiveness, and spares strategies.
• Guide commissioning, upgrades, and CAPEX projects from technical design through operational handover. Ensure correct mechanical treatment of all critical milling equipment.

Cost Control & Margin Optimisation

Own key technical cost drivers, including:

• Extraction losses and by-product recovery
• Energy and water consumption
• Spares, rolls, screens, and consumables
• Track cost per ton milled and deliver continuous improvement against budget.
• Support business cases with clear technical ROI justification.

Supply Planning & Production Alignment

• Translate demand plans into technically feasible milling plans.
• Ensure correct wheat and maize grades are available at the right time
• Align milling campaigns with intake, storage, and logistics constraints

Optimise

• Milling sequences and changeovers
• Stock days of raw material, WIP, and finished goods
• Anticipating technical constraints
• Planning shutdowns, maintenance, and process changes with minimal customer impact

Team Development & Capability Building

• Own the technical competence and development roadmap for millers and production teams.

Develop and maintain

Skills matrices

• Training plans for millers, shift leaders, and technicians
• Succession plans for critical milling roles

Coach Shift Millers on

• Process understanding
• Yield optimisation
• Problem-solving and data-driven decision-making
• Drive standardised operating practices across shifts to eliminate performance variability.
• Build a culture of technical ownership, discipline, and continuous improvement.

Continuous Improvement & Technology

• Lead structured improvement initiatives using Lean, TPM, Six Sigma, or equivalent.
• Use SCADA, PLC, lab, and production data to identify trends and optimisation opportunities.
• Drive automation, digital tools, and best-practice adoption across the milling operation.
• Benchmark internally and externally against best-in-class milling operations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Extraction rate (wheat & maize)
• Capacity utilisation vs plan
• Product quality compliance (% on-spec)
• OEE and technical downtime
• Energy and water usage per ton
• Supply plan adherence / customer service level
• Stock accuracy and campaign efficiency
• Skills coverage and succession readiness
• Training completion and competency compliance

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

• Diploma or Certificate in Milling Technology (Wheat), Advanced Milling qualification,
• 6+ years milling experience, including senior leadership in high-capacity plants
• Proven exposure to supply planning, forecasting alignment, and cross-functional operations

Technical Competencies

• Wheat and maize milling systems
• Yield, extraction, and blending optimisation
• Process automation and control systems
• Supply–production integration
• Reliability engineering and TPM
• Data analysis and structured problem solving
• CAPEX evaluation and cost-benefit analysis

Leadership & Behavioural Competencies

• Strong technical authority with hands-on credibility
• People developer and coach
• Commercial and cost-focused mindset
• Clear decision-making under pressure
• Ability to influence across Operations, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and Quality