Director - Production (Nursery)

About the role

Botanica, a subsidiary of Red Sea Global, is looking for a Director of Production to lead plant production at its 180-hectare nursery in Riyadh. The nursery supplies plant material to internal Red Sea Global clients and external developments, with an annual capacity of 8 million plants. The role covers production, R&D and biosecurity, and is accountable for plant quality, availability, biosecurity, safety and production cost.

Key responsibilities

• Translate the approved demand plan into production, import and growing plans with the PMO, and achieve production volumes, readiness dates and germination/survival targets while managing live plant inventory.
• Review plant Bills of Quantities for RSG and external projects and agree weekly readiness and dispatch schedules with the Director of Nursery Operations.
• Lead propagation, greenhouses, shade houses, flowers, indoor plants and the seed bank, grow the native plant programme and apply crop management practices such as scheduling, fertilization and IPM.
• Own the biosecurity protocol (inspection, phytosanitary documentation, quarantine, hygiene, traceability) and lead the integrated pest and disease management programme and R&D roadmap.
• Own the direct cost budget for nursery production and R&D, control labour, materials, water, fuel, equipment and wastage, and report productivity weekly.
• Lead managers, supervisors, horticulturists and operatives, and ensure zero-harm field operations with HSSE.
• Enforce group policies, SOPs and the ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 37301 management systems, and identify continuous improvement opportunities.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Horticulture, Agriculture, Landscape Architecture or Agricultural Engineering; Master's preferred.
• At least 15 years in large-scale nursery or horticultural production, including 7 years leading operations with a workforce of 100+.
• Proven experience in arid-climate horticulture, native species, biosecurity and irrigation, preferably in KSA or the GCC.
• Experience supplying plant material to large-scale landscape developments, including imported and specimen stock.

Required skills

• Production planning, inventory control and capacity management for live product.
• Labour productivity measurement, cost control and operational KPI management.
• IPM, biosecurity and phytosanitary compliance.
• Fluent English; Arabic preferred.