Plant Operator

Job Title:Plant Operator (Processing)
Location: Kigali, Processing Plant
Reporting to: Mike Crivea

Contract Type:Full-time, on-site (shift-based operations)

About Kivu Choice:

Kivu Choice is Rwanda’s largest protein producer and one of the fastest-growing aquaculture companies in Africa. Founded in 2022, Kivu Choice is the sister company to Victory Farms, East Africa’s leading aquaculture platform based in Kenya. The company operates a fully vertically integrated aquaculture model, encompassing hatchery operations, cage-based grow-out, processing, distribution, and sales. Kivu Choice is also one of the country’s largest employers with over 700 employees, and plans to grow to 1,200 employees within the next three years, reflecting its strong commitment to job creation and inclusive economic development. Over the next five years, Kivu Choice aims to scale into Africa’s largest and most sustainable protein producer, producing and distributing 30,000 tons of fish annually for the Rwandan market and for export across the region.

Job Purpose:

The plant operator leads the day-to-day running of Kivu Choice’s fish processing plant, ensuring that machinery-heavy production lines run safely, efficiently, and without unplanned stoppages. The role owns process control, preventive and corrective maintenance, and quality and food safety compliance across the plant, while leading shift teams and operators. As Kivu Choice scales volumes toward 30,000 tons a year, this position is critical to protecting throughput, yield, and product quality from intake through to cold storage and dispatch.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Production & Process Control

• Plan and run daily production to meet volume, yield, and quality targets across all processing lines.
• Set, track, and adjust process parameters (line speeds, temperatures, and processing times) to keep output consistent.
• create and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every line and piece of equipment.
• detect bottlenecks and guide continuous improvement to raise throughput and reduce waste.
• organize with harvest, logistics, and sales teams so that raw material intake matches plant capacity and orders.

2. Preventive & Corrective Maintenance

• Build and run a preventive maintenance schedule for all plant machinery, refrigeration, and utilities.
• guide fast troubleshooting and corrective repairs to keep unplanned downtime to a minimum.
• keep equipment history, maintenance logs, and a critical spare parts inventory.
• oversee external technicians and suppliers for specialized servicing and repairs.
• Advise on equipment upgrades, new installations, and capacity expansion.

3. Quality Control & Food Safety

• execute and keep food safety systems in line with HACCP, GMP, and ISO 22000 principles.
• track critical control points and ensure corrective action is taken and documented when limits are breached.
• Enforce hygiene, sanitation, and cleaning-in-place standards across the plant.
• produce the plant for internal, customer, and regulatory audits (e.g. Rwanda FDA, RSB) and close out findings.
• Ensure full product traceability from raw material intake to finished goods.

4. Cold Chain & Product Integrity

• Oversee chilling, freezing, and cold storage operations to keep product within required temperature ranges.
• track and record temperatures across processing, storage, and loading points.
• collaborate with logistics to protect cold chain integrity through dispatch and distribution.

5. Shift Leadership & People Management

• guide, schedule, and supervise shift supervisors, machine operators, and line workers.
• Train operators on safe equipment use, SOPs, hygiene, and food safety practices.
• Set clear performance expectations, give regular feedback, and contribute to performance reviews.
• Enforce occupational health and safety standards and guide incident investigations.

6. Production Reporting & KPIs

• Track and report daily, weekly, and monthly KPIs, including throughput, downtime, yield, and waste.
• Analyze performance trends and present root causes and action plans to management.
• keep accurate production, maintenance, and quality records.
• assist budgeting for plant operations, maintenance, and spare parts.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or advanced diploma in mechanical, electrical, electromechanical, industrial, or food process engineering, food science, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in a processing plant (food, beverage, dairy, meat, poultry, or fish processing preferred), including hands-on supervision of machinery-heavy production lines.
• Strong process control skills and proven experience running preventive and corrective maintenance programs.
• Working knowledge of quality control and food safety standards such as HACCP, GMP, or ISO 22000.
• Cold chain or perishable-product experience is a strong plus.
• Proven ability to guide shift teams and operators in a production environment.
• Comfortable with production reporting and KPIs such as throughput, downtime, and yield; good working knowledge of Excel.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to diagnose equipment and process issues quickly under pressure.
• Rwandan national, or already holding the right to work in Rwanda (Kivu Choice is not able to sponsor work permits for this role).
• Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda; French or Swahili is an advantage.

How to Apply:

• If you are interested in this position, produce the following:
• Job application letter
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Copy of your degree and other academic qualifications
• Copy of your ID How to apply: send all the required documents to our email address:recruiting@kivuchoice.com 
• Submission Deadline: 30th September 2026.
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are submitted.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.