04/03/2026
Application closing deadline: Tuesday 10th March 2026
To be based at Siyazisizaβs Zululand Agri Support Centre, Ogagwini (near Mtunzini), KZN
WHY SIYAZISIZA TRUST?
Siyazisiza Trust is a South African non-profit organisation committed to strengthening rural livelihoods, improving food security, and enabling inclusive economic participation for smallholder farmers. Through integrated farmer support programmes, Siyazisiza Trust provides agricultural extension services, capacity building, infrastructure support, and market access initiatives across multiple provinces.
Our work is rooted in partnerships with farming communities, traditional leadership structures, cooperatives, government stakeholders, and private-sector actors. We operate in diverse rural contexts where trust, accountability, cultural sensitivity, and practical problem-solving are essential. Siyazisiza Trust offers a purpose-driven environment for fieldβbased professionals who want to contribute meaningfully to sustainable agricultural development, resilient local food systems and meaningful community impact.
ROLE OVERVIEW
The Training Manager leads the full training and development function of the organisation. Reporting to the Executive Director, the role is responsible for the design, coordination, delivery, accreditation, quality assurance and performance oversight of accredited and non-accredited training programmes across all organisational initiatives.
The Training Manager plays a central role in designing and delivering structured training pathways for new community farmers and learners recruited into donor-funded programmes. The role ensures that training interventions are practical, accessible, and responsive to the needs of rural communities, supporting learner progression from entry-level skills development to applied agricultural competence, work placement, and enterprise readiness.
This role requires a structured, quality-focused leader who can translate organisational strategy into effective training systems and measurable learner outcomes. The Training Manager ensures curriculum excellence, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and strong stakeholder engagement while managing facilitators, training resources, and departmental performance.
The position oversees a team covering facilitation, accommodation, catering & logistics, and is accountable for maintaining high standards of training delivery across all programmes.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Training Development & Programme Management β The Training Manager designs, reviews, and continuously strengthens training curricula and instructional materials to ensure alignment with programme objectives, organisational strategy, and the developmental needs of community farmers and learners. The role sets and enforces clear quality standards for curriculum development, ensuring that content is technically sound, pedagogically robust, grounded in adult learning principles, and practically relevant to rural farming contexts. Accredited programmes must comply with national quality standards, while non-accredited programmes meet rigorous internal benchmarks. Responsibilities include standardising training content and learner documentation, ensuring consistency of delivery across sites, overseeing learner recruitment and onboarding processes, and implementing improvements informed by evaluation and feedback. The Training Manager ensures that training pathways promote active participation, practical problem-solving, and meaningful skill transfer that contributes to measurable community impact.
Training Operations & Resource Management β The role coordinates all operational aspects of training delivery, including facilitators, venues, equipment, and logistics. The Training Manager develops and maintains departmental systems, policies, and standard operating procedures that support efficient and scalable programme ex*****on. This includes managing training schedules and delivery plans, maintaining learner and stakeholder databases, and ensuring accurate record-keeping and reporting systems that support accountability and operational continuity. The role ensures that delivery standards are consistently upheld across sites through structured oversight and quality control mechanisms.
Accreditation, Compliance & Reporting β The Training Manager oversees accreditation processes and ensures compliance with relevant regulatory and sector bodies. The role manages the accreditation status of facilitators, assessors, and moderators and ensures that training venues meet Occupational Health and Safety requirements.
The Training Manager prepares training performance inputs and documentation for internal management and funding partners, working in coordination with the MEL Manager on formal donor reporting requirements.
Stakeholder Management & Networking βThe role builds and maintains strategic partnerships with colleges, universities, sector bodies, funders, and agricultural stakeholders. The Training Manager represents the organisation at meetings and industry platforms, ensuring professional engagement with partners and supporting the expansion of training opportunities for community learners.
Work Placement & Internship Management βThe Training Manager coordinates internship, learnership and work placement programmes by managing relationships with partner institutions, overseeing onboarding processes, monitoring learner progress, and facilitating meaningful practical skills development opportunities that support employability and enterprise development.
Leadership & People Management β The Training Manager provides direct line management to facilitators, the Training Administrator, and associated support roles, setting clear performance expectations and maintaining high professional and instructional standards. The role conducts regular classroom observations and structured performance reviews, providing timely, evidence-based feedback to strengthen facilitation practice and learner engagement. The Training Manager actively develops facilitatorsβ capacity in adult education methodologies, participatory approaches, and practical skills training, while addressing underperformance decisively where required. The role fosters a disciplined, accountable, and respectful team culture aligned with organisational values and focused on continuous improvement.
ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The successful candidate will bring a strong combination of training leadership expertise, operational management capability, and sector awareness appropriate to delivering high-quality agricultural and community-based training programmes.
1) Qualifications
Agricultural qualification relevant to rural or community farming environments
Relevant tertiary qualification in Education, Training & Development or a related field
ETDP Assessor/Moderator qualification (advantageous)
Exposure to accreditation processes and sector quality assurance frameworks (advantageous)
Qualification in Project Management or Monitoring & Evaluation (advantageous)
2) Experience
Minimum 5 yearsβ experience in training management, coordination, or adult education.
Demonstrated experience managing facilitators and training teams, including setting clear performance standards, conducting classroom observations, providing structured performance feedback, and addressing underperformance where necessary.
Proven experience designing and strengthening high-quality, adult-oriented curricula, materials and facilitation approaches.
Experience managing accredited training programmes.
Strong administrative, reporting, and database management capability.
Experience managing budgets, resources, and stakeholder relationships.
Experience working in non-profit, agricultural, rural development, or skills development environments (advantageous).
Experience strengthening underperforming training teams and improving instructional quality standards (advantageous).
Experience supporting the training and development of emerging farmers or community learners (advantageous).
3) Operational Requirements
Ability to oversee multiple training programmes and delivery sites simultaneously while maintaining consistent instructional quality standards.
Strong organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to balance curriculum development, team management, and compliance requirements.
Financial literacy and sound operational judgement in managing training budgets, planning, and resource allocation.
High professional integrity, discretion, and commitment to ethical practice in rural community contexts.
Willingness to travel regularly for classroom observation, facilitator oversight, and stakeholder engagement.
Commitment to continuous improvement, instructional excellence, and organisational accountability.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team environment, and to navigate performance tensions constructively and professionally in a dynamic NPO context.
Valid Code 10 driverβs licence, and minimum of three years driving experience
Language proficiency:
English (required)
isiZulu (preferred)
isiXhosa, siSwati and/or Tsonga (advantageous)
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Siyazisiza Trust seeks a practical and action-oriented Training Manager with a passion for rural development. The ideal candidate combines strong curriculum design capability, instructional quality oversight, and disciplined team management to deliver impactful, professionally executed training programmes that improve livelihoods for emerging farmers and community learners. They have a strong practice-based understanding of adult learning theory and are able to design and oversee training that is participatory, respectful, effective, and grounded in real-world agricultural practice.
They are a collaborative yet firm manager who maintains high professional and instructional standards, communicates expectations clearly, and is comfortable holding others accountable while fostering respectful team dynamics. They demonstrate emotional intelligence, resilience, and a strong commitment to ethical, results-driven practice in rural contexts.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested candidates are invited to submit to [email protected]:
A letter of motivation (no more than 1 page)
A concise CV (no more than 2 pages)
Two reference letters
Copies of your qualifications
Copy of your South African ID or for non-South Africans, copy of your country ID/passport and copy
