Our Client is involved in handling bulk commodities such as grain and fertilisers in various ports worldwide. They are active in a number of countries in Africa, Middle East, Central America and Far East. They also manufacture and operate their own bagging equipment which they utilise for the purpose of bagging bulk commodities directly from a ship in the ports.

Based in the U.K, all of our Client’s operations take place outside the U.K. They have a pool of technicians from various nationalities who work in their field team to handle projects. Each project is either a one-off contract in a port or it can be a part of an ongoing operation in locations where they have permanent representation. Therefore, the duration of each project varies anywhere from couple of weeks up to about 3 months. Each team could be from 2 to 4-5 or more people depending on the location, type of project etc. Teams work on a shift basis, subject to how many people are in the team and as long as necessary from the start until the end of an operation.

The field technician position requires candidates to have various skills and abilities such as:

•A good basic training and experience in electrical field with mechanical competence.
•Ability and willingness to learn new skills in addition to the main area of expertise.
•Willingness to travel for extended periods
•Good communication skills
•Ability to work in multinational teams (good team player) as well as lead when necessary
•Good health
•Good level of English language comprehension – both spoken and written



The Client works mainly in developing countries; therefore the conditions are most of the time difficult. The technicians are required to be flexible and adapt to the circumstances of the country or the port where the project takes place.

This is a ‘hands on’ position which requires long hours of work on site. Team work, getting things done and supervision goes hand in hand with this position. If you are not willing to get your hands dirty then this is not the position for you.

Being a team player is very important because of the variety of backgrounds and nationalities our Client has within their field team. Technicians should be able to tolerate and respect each other under difficult circumstances as well as helping each other whenever it is required. Having a positive mind set and encouraging other team members in that direction is very important to success in this job.

The newcomers receive training on the job from the senior technicians in the field; however you are also required to make use of your skills and knowledge right from the start.

You also require a practical mind set in terms of solving problems. You may not always have the right tools or part available in your hand but should still be able to sort out problems and keep the operation going.

Our Client’s units consist of mechanical, electrical, electronic and hydraulic components. This particular opportunity requires a mechanical bias.

Although our Client has different employment/pay structures for people as they move up the ladder, this method of employment is on a contract / Self Employed basis. The technicians are paid when they are on a project until they return back home. In other words, the clock starts running when you leave your home and stops when you return.

Home, can be anywhere you nominate, in other words you do not need to be based in the U.K. Our Client will provide you with work clothes, travel insurance while you are on a project, accommodation is taken care of and there is contribution to daily subsistence depending on where the operation is.

Although our Client cannot guarantee the total number of days every year a technician is likely to spend at locations on projects, we can advise that the average involvement is in the region of 80 % of the time in a typical year which is around 275 to 300 days. The technicians are paid a daily rate of $115 per day in USD from the time they leave their home until they get back home for each operation.

For successful technicians there is opportunity to progress up to Senior Technician/ Team Leader position. They also have field technical supervisors and representatives.

An important proviso, our Client sees the new comers into their team as a long term prospect. Therefore please consider carefully how this kind of employment fits into your plans within the foreseeable future before taking things any further.