Senior Operations Manager Africa

About the role

Yara International is seeking a Senior Operations Manager to lead its African operations. Based in Nairobi, you will translate the regional business strategy into actionable site‑level goals, budgets and performance metrics across multiple markets.

Key responsibilities

• Manage heads of operations in each African market, ensuring consistent implementation of directives.
• Own the regional operating plan, aligning business strategy with site goals, KPIs and budgets.
• Control the total operational cost for Africa in line with the approved CRC budget.
• Coach and evaluate country/site leaders to drive operational discipline and continuous improvement.
• Standardise operating procedures, escalation protocols and performance governance across all sites.
• Oversee operations planning, demand‑supply‑capacity alignment, and operational‑excellence initiatives such as the Yara Productivity System (YPS) and OKRs.
• Ensure raw‑material and packaging availability through robust forecasting and supply‑chain management.
• Partner with Procurement, Supply Management and Quality teams to optimise contracts, logistics, customs clearance and product compliance.
• Develop and manage the Capital Value Process (CVP) for projects, prioritising investments that maximise returns.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management (Master’s/MBA preferred).
• 10‑15+ years of manufacturing or operations leadership experience, including multi‑site or multi‑country responsibility.
• Proven P&L management, CAPEX project leadership and change‑management expertise.
• Experience with regulatory frameworks such as OSHA, ISO 45001, ISO 9001, ISO 22000 and GMP.

Required skills

• OSHA
• ISO 45001
• ISO 9001
• ISO 22000
• GMP