Senior Leaf Tobacco Packing & Inspection Specialist – Vietnam

Reporting To:

Leaf Manager (English Speaking)

Primary Location:

Hanoi* (Origin Based)

Purpose of the Position

To represent the company's interests at origin by ensuring that all purchased tobacco and related by-products fully comply with contractual quality specifications, packing standards, laboratory requirements, ethical procurement practices and shipment readiness before dispatch to manufacturing operations.

The successful candidate will act as the company's eyes and ears at origin, providing independent technical assessments and ensuring complete transparency throughout the supply chain.

Core Objectives

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Protecting the company's commercial interests.

• Ensuring purchased tobacco meets all contractual specifications.

• Reducing quality claims through professional inspections.

• Verifying supplier compliance.

• Providing independent technical assessments.

• Coordinating laboratory verification.

• Monitoring market developments.

• Maintaining complete integrity throughout the procurement process.

Yêu cầu công việc

Experience

• Minimum 10–15 years continuous experience within the Indian tobacco industry.

• Extensive experience working directly with:

o Leaf merchants

o Processing factories

o Green Leaf Threshing plants

o Export operations

o Tobacco grading

o Packing operations

o Inspection services

Experience with multinational tobacco companies or internationally recognised leaf merchants will be considered a significant advantage.

Technical Knowledge Requirements

The candidate must possess extensive knowledge of:

Vietnamese FCV Crops & Burley Tobacco Types

Tobacco by-products: Stems & Scrap

Green Leaf Threshing (GLT) Expertise

The candidate shall demonstrate extensive understanding of:

• GLT operations

• Factory process flow

• Leaf preparation

• Moisture conditioning

• Threshing efficiency

• Lamina recovery

• Stem recovery

• Drying systems

• Re-ordering

• Case packing

• Bale preparation

• Storage conditions

The candidate should understand how processing parameters influence:

• Filling value

• Colour

• Lamina degradation

• Stem breakage

• Moisture variation

• Product consistency

Packing Knowledge

The successful candidate must possess expert knowledge in:

• Bale packing

• Case packing

• Moisture management

• Carton integrity

• Compression

• Weight tolerances – Explanation on FTA rules will be required.

• Identification systems

• Packing marks

• Fumigation

• Container preperation and loading

• Export readiness

Inspection Experience

The candidate shall have extensive practical inspection experience involving:

Green Tobacco

Inspection of:

• Colour

• Texture

• Ripeness

• Foreign matter

• Moisture

• Uniformity

Processed Tobacco

Inspection of:

• Lamina

• Stem

• Cut tobacco

• By-products

• Scrap

• Dust

Physical Assessment

Ability to professionally assess:

• Colour

• Aroma

• Texture

• Elasticity

• Moisture

• Maturity

• Uniformity

• Grade consistency

• Damage

• Infestation

• Foreign matter

Factory Process Knowledge

Candidate should understand:

• Tobacco receiving

• Storage practices

• Conditioning

• Threshing

• Drying

• Packing

• Dispatch

• Warehouse management

Must understand causes of:

• Excess degradation

• Moisture loss

• Lamina damage

• Stem contamination

• Dust generation

• Foreign material contamination

Laboratory & Chemical Knowledge: The candidate must possess practical understanding of:

Nicotine Testing

Knowledge of:

• Laboratory methods

• Interpretation

• Variability

• Sampling procedures

• Result verification

Sugar Testing

Experience interpreting:

• Total sugar

• Reducing sugars

• Crop variation

• Laboratory consistency

Chloride Testing

Understanding of:

• Chloride significance

• Crop influence

• Manufacturing implications

• Result validation

Laboratory Coordination

The candidate shall be capable of:

• Reviewing supplier laboratory results.

• Coordinating independent laboratory testing.

• Managing third-party verification.

• Comparing analytical differences.

• Investigating abnormal results.

• Coordinating tri-party laboratory comparisons.

• Producing technical laboratory summaries.

Sampling Knowledge

Must understand:

• Representative sampling

• Core sampling

• Grab sampling

• Sample sealing

• Chain of custody

• Laboratory submission

• Retention samples

• Sample traceability

Supplier Management

Ability to:

• Conduct supplier inspections

• Challenge inconsistent quality

• Verify supplier claims

• Maintain professional relationships

• Negotiate technical issues

• Escalate quality concerns

Market Intelligence

The successful candidate should possess current knowledge of:

• Vietnamese tobacco production

• Crop forecasts

• Regional crop quality

• Weather impacts

• Market pricing

• Export trends

• Supply availability

• Competitive activity

Provide regular market intelligence reports to management.

Reporting Skills

Excellent written reporting skills are essential.

Reports should include:

• Inspection findings

• Quality observations

• Laboratory summaries

• Supplier performance

• Crop updates

• Market intelligence

• Risk assessments

• Recommendations

Communication Requirements

The candidate must demonstrate:

• Excellent spoken English.

• Excellent written English.

• Knowledge of local Indian languages will be advantageous.

• Professional report writing.

• Strong presentation skills.

• Ability to communicate with international management

Computer Skills

Proficient in:

• Microsoft Word

• Microsoft Excel

• Microsoft Outlook

• Digital photography

• Inspection reporting

• Data recording

• Online meetings

• SAP

Personal Competencies

The successful candidate shall demonstrate:

• High attention to detail

• Excellent observation skills

• Strong analytical ability

• Sound technical judgement

• Problem-solving capability

• Professionalism

• Accountability

• Reliability

• Self-motivation

• Time management

• Ability to work independently

Integrity & Ethical Standards

This position is one of high trust and responsibility.

The successful candidate must demonstrate:

• Absolute honesty.

• Professional independence.

• Zero tolerance for corruption.

• No conflicts of interest.

• Complete confidentiality.

• Impartial inspection practices.

• Ethical decision-making under pressure.

The individual will be expected to comply fully with the company's Code of Conduct and Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Policy.

Any attempt to solicit, accept, or facilitate gifts, commissions, inducements, kickbacks, favours, or any other improper benefit from suppliers or third parties will constitute gross misconduct and may result in immediate termination of employment and, where applicable, referral to the relevant legal authorities.

Integrity is considered a fundamental condition of employment and is non-negotiable.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The successful candidate will be measured against:

• Inspection accuracy

• Quality claim reduction

• Supplier compliance levels

• Laboratory result accuracy

• Timeliness of reporting

• Shipment readiness

• Market intelligence quality

• Cost avoidance through early defect identification

• Ethical compliance

• Technical contribution to procurement decisions

Preferred Background

Preference will be given to candidates with previous experience in:

• International tobacco merchants

• Global tobacco manufacturers

• Export-oriented tobacco processors

• Independent tobacco inspection companies

• Leaf procurement organisations

Final Statement

This position represents a critical technical and fiduciary role within the organisation. The successful candidate will serve as the company's independent representative at origin, ensuring that every consignment purchased meets the highest standards of quality, technical compliance, commercial integrity, and ethical conduct. The individual must combine deep technical expertise with uncompromising professionalism and the confidence to challenge suppliers whenever standards are not achieved.

Quyền lợi

• Thưởng: Các phúc lợi khác theo chính sách của Công ty (phép năm, thưởng lễ tết, du lịch nghỉ mát ...)
• Chăm sóc sức khoẻ: Hưởng đầy đủ BHXH, BHYT, BHTN theo Luật lao động
• Khác: Môi trường làm việc thân thiện, bền vững, được tạo điều kiện để phát huy hết năng lực bản thân