Productivity and Pre Harvest Specialist

Kō wai mātou? Who are we?

Zespri is more than simply the world's single-largest marketer of kiwifruit. We like to think of ourselves as fruit on a mission and as rebels with a cause: to help people, communities and the environment around the world thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit. We are proudly the world's largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling kiwifruit in more than 50 countries. We work with around 2,800 New Zealand and 1,500 international growers and post-harvest companies to source the best-quality Zespri Kiwifruit which we supply through our distribution partners to wholesale and retail customers. We are one of New Zealand's best-known international brands, dedicated to creating sustainable long-term value for growers.

He aha te mahi? What's the role?

We are seeking a Productivity and Pre Harvest Specialist to join our Zespri Global Supply Japan team. This role plays a key part in driving on-orchard productivity, fruit quality, harvest readiness and pre-harvest performance across Zespri’s Japan supply base.

Based in Fukuoka, this is a hands-on, grower-facing technical role where you’ll work closely with growers, industry supporters and internal teams to improve orchard performance, strengthen compliance, support maturity outcomes and help build a more resilient, scalable and sustainable kiwifruit supply system in Japan. You’ll be involved in everything from crop protection and maturity clearance through to orchard trials, data-led decision-making, grower engagement and field-day extension activities.

Key responsibilities include:

• Planning, delivering and evaluating on-orchard innovation trials to support productivity, fruit quality and commercial practice improvements.
• Supporting growers with best-practice guidance across orchard productivity, crop load, fruit size, maturity and quality outcomes.
• Implementing and monitoring crop protection and pre-harvest compliance programmes in line with Zespri and Japan regulatory requirements.
• Coordinating residue sampling, analysis and mitigation activities to support safe, compliant and audit-ready supply.
• Conducting maturity clearance, crop estimate validation and harvest readiness activities to support quality, storage and market planning.
• Using orchard, monitoring and crop data to inform timely, practical and commercially sound pre-harvest decisions.
• Building strong relationships with growers, packhouses, laboratories, crop protection suppliers and internal Zespri teams.

Ko wai koe? Who are you?

You’ll bring strong horticultural knowledge, a practical on-orchard mindset and a genuine passion for helping growers lift productivity and fruit quality. You enjoy being out in the field, working alongside growers, using data to support better decisions and turning technical insight into practical actions that improve outcomes across the supply base.

You’re someone who builds trust quickly, communicates clearly and can work confidently across a diverse group of stakeholders — from growers and industry supporters through to packhouses, laboratories and internal technical teams. You’ll be proactive, reliable and solutions-focused, with the ability to stay calm and effective during high-pressure seasonal periods.

You’ll bring:

• Experience in orchard, grower-facing or pre-harvest crop management roles.
• Strong understanding of plant and fruit physiology and commercial orchard production practices.
• Sound knowledge of crop protection principles and Japan regulatory requirements, including labels, MRLs and compliant agrichemical use.
• Confidence analysing horticultural data and applying insights to improve productivity, quality and operational outcomes.
• Strong Microsoft 365 capability, particularly Power BI and Excel for data analysis, visualisation and reporting.
• A valid driver’s licence and willingness to travel regularly across orchard and regional locations.
• Business-level Japanese and English would be advantageous.
• A tertiary qualification in horticulture, agricultural / plant science, or a related field.

He aha e tika ai a Zespri? Why Zespri?

Our people are what makes our culture so irresistible and uniquely Zespri. We are a passionate and mighty team of 850+ employees in 23 different locations globally. Working at Zespri is an opportunity to join a fast-paced, culture-driven environment unlike any other. We want people who share our values of making it happen, creating real connections, and leaving a legacy. Join us in shaping our future and be part of a truly unique organisation.

• Competitive overall remuneration package, including a Short-Term Incentive scheme opportunity.
• FlexWELL flexible work ethos; WFH & the office.
• Additional paid annual leave day per year (Zespri Day).
• Two additional paid leave days for you to proactively support the moments that genuinely boost your mental, physical, emotional, and social wellbeing (Boost Days).
• Global Life and Permanent Disability Insurance.
• Group Medical Insurance benefits.

Apply Now! Applications close 31 July 2026.

At Zespri, we understand the importance of diverse perspectives and experiences, and a fair hiring process is the first step to getting there. We want to attract a diverse range of people and encourage everyone from all backgrounds and walks of life to apply. Please let us know if you need any assistance or reasonable adjustments to take part in the recruitment and selection process by reaching out to our Talent Acquisition team via email at [email protected].

Agency

Zespri will not accept applications or contact from any temporary staffing agency, placement service or professional recruiter for this vacancy (“Agency”).

Where Zespri requires the support of an agency to fulfil a vacancy, we will proactively seek this support from our network of Agencies. We respectfully ask that you do not contact Zespri or any of its affiliates/employees regarding vacancies, and reserve the right not to reply.

Zespri will not be responsible for, and will not pay, any fees, commissions or other payments related to such unsolicited resumes.