Factory Manager

• Direct daily operations across honey processing, nut roasting, and peanut butter blending/filling lines to meet production schedules, volume targets, and delivery deadlines.
• Maximize Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), minimize downtime, and oversee preventive/corrective maintenance for processing machinery, steam, power, and plant utilities.
• Monitor raw material mass-balance and batch conversion yields (raw materials honey/peanuts to finished goods) to eliminate waste, product giveaway, and rejections.
• Enforce strict compliance with ISO 22000 / FSSC 22000, HACCP, and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) across all processing, sanitation, and storage areas.
• Maintain 100% compliance with KEBS, DOSHS, OSHA, and NEMA; lead internal/external quality audits and ensure on-time closure of Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPAs).
• Manage operational budgets, direct labor costs, and utility consumption to lower unit production costs without compromising safety or quality.
• Partner with Procurement and Stores to align stock levels of raw honey, groundnuts, and packaging materials with seasonal smallholder sourcing variations.
• Direct and develop production, quality, maintenance, and warehouse teams; optimize shift structures and labor allocation to control overtime.
• Foster a Kaizen/5S culture, track plant KPIs (OEE, Scrap %, Cost/Unit, OTIF), and participate in CAPEX planning and line expansion projects.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Technology, Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Bioprocessing, or a closely related field.
• A Master’s degree in a relevant discipline is an added advantage.
• Professional certification in HACCP, ISO 22000 / FSSC 22000 Lead Auditor, or Lean Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt) is highly advantageous.
• 7–10 years of progressive FMCG/food processing operational experience in East Africa, with at least 4+ years in a senior plant management role.
• Deep, practical working knowledge of KEBS certification protocols, ISO 22000 / FSSC 22000, HACCP principles, and Kenyan OSHA/NEMA statutory requirements.
• Strong grounding in Lean Manufacturing principles, 5S workplace organization, Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
• Hands-on experience using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (e.g., SAP, Business Central, Sage) for shop-floor tracking, inventory control, and operational reporting.
• Ability to interpret cost-of-goods-sold (COGS) breakdowns, operational variances, line utility costs, and factory financial statements.
• Combines high-level operational planning with an active shop-floor presence to troubleshoot machine, process, and line bottlenecks swiftly.
• Rigorous commitment to uncompromising food safety standards, ethical workforce management, and full regulatory compliance.
• Calm under pressure, capable of making sound operational tradeoffs between production speed, unit cost, and quality.
• Strong communication and coaching skills to engage, motivate, and upskill shop-floor technicians, machine operators, and line supervisors.

Skills & Competencies:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Proven problem-solving and analytical abilities
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment