Hatchery Technician Uzima Chicken

Uzima Chicken Uganda is a social enterprise focused on making smallholder farmers healthier and wealthier. Uzima Chicken distributes an improved breed of chicken that is 4x more productive than local breeds in terms of egg and meat production, while requiring the samelevel of management and care as the local chicken. Rearing a flock of 10 improved breed chickens can generate a 270,000 UGX net profit uplift for a smallholder family. With Uzima’s bird, rural households in Uganda build income resilience, confidently pay for their children’s school fees, and introduce larger volumes of animal protein into their daily diets.
Uzima Chicken seeks to reach every rural household by 2025 and aims to be the leading smallholder-focused poultry enterprise in East Africa. In the past 2 years of operations, Uzima Chicken has attracted investments from the AgDevCo, Acumen, and Innovations Against Poverty. Uzima Chicken Uganda prioritizes hiring and developing Ugandan talent and offers significant professional growth opportunities and leadership development. Further, Uzima is committed to female empowerment across the company and is proud that 40% of staff are women and over 85% are youth.

Job summary
The Hatchery Technician is responsible for all maintenance works in the hatchery. The mainobjective of the position is to ensure effective and efficient work of all Electrical, plumbing, sanitary,machines (Generators, setters, hatchers, water pumps, chillers, compressors, vaccinators, pressure washers, general lighting systems and Air conditioners), repair of building parts (doors & windows), and wood works in the hatchery by coordinating the team and his involvement. The maintenanceactivity performed with the procedures, schedules and guides given by the manager. He/she communicates with the production team in order to make the operation smooth. Then by doing this he/she assures to fulfil the operation requirements to maximize production. These all are done basedon maintenance procedures and company policy.

Areas of Responsibility includes (But not Limited)
• Monitoring the equipment throughout shift for proper operation and making necessary adjustments and repairs to maximize the efficiency of the equipment.
• Identifying opportunities for improvement and communicate them to the supervisor and/or lead person.

Conducting scheduled preventative maintenance and quick to handling of condition-basedand shutdown maintenance on equipment without affecting production.
• Assisting in performing various quality, yield and performance indicator checks.
• Performing the repair, modification and construction of equipment and structure as neededincluding initiating work orders.
• Maintaining proper records on all equipment, spares used, water consumption and upcoming activities.
• Gathering feedback from production team members on a regular basis on how the equipment, work stations, and product flow is functioning.

Must be flexible and able to work past shift hours during day and night, weekends and on holidays.
• Installing of process & utility equipment (electrical/mechanical /instrumentation/plumbing).
• Does troubleshooting and maintenance on High Voltage Diesel
• Should be well-versed with safety precautions and procedures.

Forecasting proper and timely supply of spare parts, components, accessories, materials, consumables and tools with proper inventory control.

Willing to be on-call at all time including night time in case of an emergency.
• Highly updated with electrical industrial automation systems.
• Must have knowledge of troubleshooting faults from detailed specifications of different types of equipment.
• Working independently and in conjunction with management and supervisors to maintain communication expectations.
• Following all in-house safety protocols and adhering to all Standard Operating Procedures, including existing Biosecurity put in place.
• Execute related duties as given by the manager.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Knowledge on Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, are integral systems in equipment that control temperature, humidity, and air quality.
• Knowledge on PLC programming. Involving creating and modifying computer code that controls the operations of a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a digital computer used in industrial automation to automate machinery and processes.
• Electrical troubleshooting; involving systematic diagnosing and resolving issues within electrical systems or equipment to ensure their optimal functioning.
• Welding techniques; joining metal parts together using heat, pressure, or both, creating a strong bond.
• Pneumatic systems; mechanical systems that use compressed air to power moving parts and machinery.
• Preventive maintenance; routine maintenance performed on equipment, machinery, or systems by a maintenance technician to reduce the likelihood of failures, extend their lifespan, and ensure they operate efficiently.
• Mechanical repair; diagnosing, fixing, and maintaining machinery and equipment to ensure their optimal operation and prevent breakdowns.
• Safety protocols; set of guidelines and procedures designed to prevent accidents, injuries, and hazards while performing maintenance task.

Education Required
• Bachelors Degree in Electrical engineering or related fields.
• Diploma in Electrical engineering or related fields.

Experience
• One year and above for Bachelors’ Degree
• Two years and above for Diploma