Purpose of the Role
The Hatchery Farm Manager will manage the day-to-day running of the African catfish hatchery.
The role includes managing broodstock, hatchery production, nursery ponds, fingerling grading, biosecurity, student training, and farm records.
This is not only a practical farm role. It is also an academic, teaching, and leadership role because the farm is a research and training institution.
The successful candidate must be able to:
- Manage hatchery production
- Follow written SOPs and farm policies
- Reduce mortality and waste
- Train students and junior staff
- Keep accurate records
- Support sales and revenue generation
- Read, study, and continuously improve their knowledge
- Work independently and report clearly to management
Main Responsibilities
Broodstock Care
You will be responsible for the daily care and management of broodstock.
This includes:
- Feeding broodstock
- Monitoring broodstock health
- Checking maturity and breeding readiness
- Following broodstock SOPs
- Keeping accurate broodstock records
- Recording spawning history, mortality, health problems, and productivity
- Ensuring broodstock are handled safely and humanely
Hatchery Management
You will manage the hatchery production process.
This includes:
- Preparing the hatchery for breeding
- Supporting induced breeding
- Handling eggs correctly
- Managing incubation and hatching
- Caring for fry after hatching
- Maintaining good water quality
- Monitoring temperature and oxygen levels
- Using aquarium heaters, aerators, and UV water filters properly
- Following early fry care protocols
- Using 4 ppt saline bath from day 4 post-hatching, where required by SOPs
- Monitoring fry closely during the first 21 days after production
- Recording hatch rate, survival rate, growth, deformities, and mortality
Grading, Sorting, and Nursery Transfer
You will grade and sort fry and fingerlings using the farm’s graders.
This includes:
- Regular grading and sorting
- Reducing cannibalism
- Reducing size differences
- Reducing avoidable mortality
- Transferring fingerlings to nursery ponds from around 4 weeks
- Monitoring fingerlings in nursery ponds
- Preparing fingerlings and juveniles for transport and sale
Biosecurity and Incident Reporting
You must follow all farm biosecurity rules.
This includes:
- Keeping hatchery and nursery areas clean
- Preventing disease and contamination
- Cleaning and disinfecting equipment
- Monitoring fish health daily
- Reporting abnormal behaviour, disease signs, mortality, or water quality problems
- Reporting equipment failure or biosecurity breaches
- Reporting all farm incidents to management within one hour
- Keeping written records of incidents and actions taken
Production Planning and Efficiency
You will help improve production across the farm.
You will be expected to reduce waste and improve efficiency in areas such as:
- Feed use
- Labour use
- Water use
- Electricity use
- Fish mortality
- Grading and sorting
- Equipment use
- Production delays
- Sales preparation
You should be willing to learn and apply ideas from:
- Lean production
- Toyota Production System
- The Toyota Way
- Continuous improvement
- Standardised work
The goal is to make farm operations more reliable, efficient, and profitable.
Financial Records and Accountability
You will support the financial management of the farm by keeping good records.
This includes records of:
- Production
- Fish numbers
- Mortality
- Feed use
- Sales
- Stock movement
- Farm costs
- Equipment use
You should understand, or be willing to learn:
- Basic accounting
- Cash flow
- Profit and loss
- Financial statements
- Forecasting
- Cost control
- Farm profitability
The role requires someone who understands that the farm must be scientifically strong and commercially sustainable.
Sales and Revenue Support
You will support the sale and marketing of farm products.
These include:
- Fingerlings
- Juveniles
- Grow-out fish
- Dried catfish and other processed products
You will work with existing market partners in:
You will also help the farm achieve monthly revenue targets needed to cover overhead costs and support business growth.
Teaching and Student Training
This is an important part of the role.
You will train and supervise:
- SIWES students from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Federal University of Lafia
- TVET students enrolled through our accredited vocational programmes
- Junior farm workers and trainees
You will be expected to:
- Deliver weekly lectures
- Provide practical demonstrations
- Teach online using Zoom, Google Meet, or similar platforms
- Support recorded teaching sessions on the farm
- Supervise students during practical farm work
- Support student attendance, training records, and assessments
- Help students understand hatchery, nursery, grow-out, and farm business operations
The successful candidate must therefore be comfortable with teaching, mentoring, and student supervision.
Research, Reading, and Continuous Learning
Because this is a scientific farm and research institution, the Hatchery Farm Manager must be willing to read and study regularly.
You will be expected to:
- Read about African catfish hatchery production
- Study aquaculture science and fish health
- Learn about farm business management
- Support research and farm trials
- Collect useful production data
- Help improve SOPs and training materials
- Participate in continuous improvement projects
- Carry out other duties assigned by management
Areas You Must Be Willing to Learn
Production and Operations
You should be willing to study and apply knowledge in:
- Hatchery production strategy
- Nursery pond management
- Grow-out systems in Kaduna and Lafia
- Lean production
- Toyota Production System
- Waste reduction
- Mortality reduction
- Productivity improvement
- Standardisation of farm processes
Financial Management
You should be willing to learn and apply:
- Basic accounting
- Cash flow management
- Financial records
- Financial statements
- Cash flow forecasting
- Cost control
- Profitability planning
- Tax and business documentation
Marketing and Revenue Generation
You should be able to support strategies for:
- Selling fingerlings
- Selling juveniles
- Selling grow-out fish
- Marketing processed fish
- Developing customer relationships
- Working with farmers, traders, processors, and buyers
- Growing sales in Kaduna, Lafia, and Abuja
Person Specification
Essential Requirements
The successful candidate must have:
- A Degree or HND in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Animal Science, Agriculture, Biology, or a related field
- At least 2 years’ experience in an African catfish hatchery
- Practical knowledge of broodstock care, induced breeding, fry care, fingerling production, grading, and nursery management
- Ability to follow written SOPs, policies, and procedures
- Good record-keeping skills
- Good reporting skills
- Good communication skills
- Ability to teach and supervise students
- Good understanding of biosecurity and fish health
- Ability to work independently
- Willingness to read, study, and undertake continuous professional development
- Commitment to ethical, scientific, and commercially sustainable fish farming
Desirable Requirements
It would be an advantage if the candidate has:
- Experience training students, interns, or junior staff
- Experience with SIWES, TVET, or vocational education programmes
- Knowledge of lean management or production systems
- Basic farm financial management experience
- Fish marketing or sales experience
- Experience using Zoom, Google Meet, or other online teaching platforms
- Experience preparing fish for transport and market distribution
Training and Professional Development
The successful candidate will be supported to complete relevant professional training.
This may include the NBTE Quality Assessor and Manager training as part of the Federal Ministry of Education TVET programme.
The company may also support suitable in-service training opportunities in Nigeria and, where appropriate, the United Kingdom. This will depend on business need, performance, eligibility, and company training policy.
Remuneration and Benefits
The role includes:
- Furnished accommodation
- Water bills covered
- Electricity bills covered
- Health insurance through the NHIA scheme
- Health insurance cover for the employee, spouse or partner, and up to two children
- Sponsored in-service training opportunities in Nigeria
- Possible training opportunities in the UK, subject to eligibility and company policy
- Possible work vehicle after the first year, subject to performance and achievement of agreed targets
- Opportunity to work in a scientific and research-focused aquaculture institution
- Opportunity to train students and contribute to vocational education
- Opportunity to help build a modern African catfish hatchery and training centre
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will be:
- Practical
- Reliable
- Honest
- Scientifically curious
- Commercially minded
- Good with records
- Good with students
- Willing to learn
- Able to work under minimal supervision
- Committed to high standards
This role is suitable for someone who wants to grow as a hatchery expert, farm manager, trainer, and future leader in scientific African catfish production.
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