Commercial Manager - Poultry Feed Industry

About the role

Career Directions Limited (CDL) is hiring a Commercial Manager for its poultry and feed business, based in Nairobi with regional travel across Kenya. The role leads sales, pricing, channel development, customer management and market expansion, and is accountable for revenue growth, gross margin, debtor health, market share and brand positioning. It sits directly under the CEO and Managing Director and manages a team including key accounts managers, regional sales managers, technical sales officers, marketing officer, customer service lead and social media manager.

Key responsibilities

• Sales and revenue: own the annual sales budget and deliver monthly, quarterly and annual targets for DOCs, hatching eggs and feed variants, including specialty feed for third-party farms
• Pricing and margins: own the price list, lead monthly price reviews against input costs, approve trade discounts and rebates within authority, and optimise product mix toward higher-margin SKUs
• Channels: design the route-to-market (direct, distributors, dealers, agro-vets, van sales, e-commerce), optimise distributor coverage and credit terms, and lead trade marketing such as farmer field days and demo farms
• Customer engagement: build relationships with commercial farmers, run loyalty programmes and extension services, and track customer satisfaction and NPS
• Debtor health: own DSO (target <= 30 days), chair the monthly debtors review with Finance and approve credit limits within authority
• Market intelligence: track competitors, deliver monthly commercial reports, identify new product opportunities and scope export and regional expansion options (EAC, COMESA, Gulf)
• Brand and marketing: partner with Marketing on brand equity, ATL/BTL activation, digital presence and budget ROI
• People and leadership: lead and coach the commercial team, set KPIs, run performance reviews, build a succession pipeline and design commission-based incentives

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Agribusiness, Animal Science or related field; MBA or equivalent is a strong advantage
• Minimum 10 years in commercial/sales leadership, with at least 5 years at senior management level in the poultry feed sector
• Proven experience managing multi-channel sales in Kenya and selling into the commercial farming community (DOCs and feed)
• Experience managing debtors, pricing and trade spend in a high-volume, margin-sensitive environment
• Strong English and Swahili

Required skills

• Sales analytics and financial literacy (gross margin, contribution margin, working capital, ROI)
• ERP sales modules (SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage), CRM platforms and advanced Excel
• Familiarity with KEBS labelling, Kenya Veterinary Board and DVS requirements, and halal certification
• Understanding of poultry and feed fundamentals (FCR, flock performance, feed specifications)