Commercial Manager - Poultry Feed Industry at CDL Human Resource at CDL Human Resource

Commercial Manager - Poultry Feed Industry at CDL Human Resource at CDL Human Resource | Iko Kazi

Job Summary:

To lead the commercial agenda — sales, pricing, channel development, customer management, and market expansion — across our clients poultry and feed portfolio, with a primary focus on the Kenyan market and forward positioning for potential future export and regional expansion. The role is accountable for top-line revenue growth, gross margin delivery, debtor health, market share, and brand positioning, and acts as the primary commercial interface between the business, customers, and distributors across both the DOC - poultry segment and the commercial feed segment.

Duties:

The Employee shall be responsible for the following functions of the Company:

Sales & Revenue Delivery

Own the annual sales budget and deliver monthly, quarterly, and annual revenue, volume, and margin targets across both business lines:
Poultry: day-old chicks (DOCs), hatching eggs.
Feed: all feed variants, and specialty feed for third-party commercial farms.
Translate commercial strategy into regional and channel-level sales plans with clear SKU, customer, and geographic targets.
Drive new customer acquisition, existing account growth, and SKU penetration across Nairobi, Central, Rift Valley, Western, Coast, and Eastern regions.
Lead key account management for top-tier customers — commercial farmers, poultry aggregators, and institutional buyers.

Pricing & Margin Management

Own the price list architecture across channels, customer tiers, and SKUs for both poultry and feed.
Lead monthly price reviews in response to input cost movements (maize, soya, DCP, premixes, FX, energy, logistics), ensuring gross margin targets are protected.
Approve trade discounts, rebates, and promotional spend within delegated authority; escalate beyond threshold to the CEO/CFO.
Drive product mix optimisation toward higher-margin SKUs and specialty feed lines.

Channel & Route-to-Market

Design and manage the route-to-market model — direct distribution, distributors, dealers, agro-vets, van sales, and e-commerce partners.
Optimise distributor/dealer coverage, credit terms, and performance scorecards.
Lead trade marketing execution: visibility, merchandising, shelf share, farmer field days, demo farms, and promotional cycles.

Customer & Farmer Engagement

Build deep relationships with commercial and emerging farmers, providing technical support jointly with the veterinary and nutrition teams.
Drive farmer loyalty programmes, extension services, and aggregator partnerships to secure feed and DOC offtake.
Lead customer satisfaction tracking and NPS where relevant.

Debtor Health & Credit Control

Own commercial debtor performance — DSO (target ≤ 30 days), overdue %, and bad debt provisioning.
Chair the monthly debtors review with Finance, driving collection actions for aged receivables.
Approve customer credit limits within delegated authority jointly with the CFO.

Market Intelligence & Strategy

Track competitor pricing, promotions, new product launches, and market share shifts across poultry and feed (key competitors: Kenchic, Kenbrid, Sigma, Unga, Pembe, Tarime, Yara, Farmer's Choice in adjacent categories).
Deliver monthly commercial intelligence reports to the executive team and board.
Identify category white spaces, new product opportunities, and adjacent market entry options (e.g., further-processed poultry, specialty feed, private label).
Scope and monitor export and regional expansion opportunities beyond Kenya (EAC, COMESA, and the Gulf) across DOCs, hatching eggs, and feed — covering regulatory requirements, logistics feasibility, and potential customer or distributor partners — to build an options pipeline ahead of any future strategic decision to expand outside Kenya, notwithstanding that this is not an immediate priority.

Brand & Marketing

Partner with Marketing (or own the function where no separate Marketing Manager exists) to drive brand equity, ATL/BTL activation, digital presence, and farmer/consumer engagement.
Manage marketing budget and ROI reporting.

Cross-functional Liaison

Interface daily with Production/Operations (feedmill, hatchery, breeder farms, broiler farms, processing) on demand planning, forecast accuracy, and order fulfilment.
Work with Finance on credit control, pricing, profitability analysis, and monthly commercial reporting.
Work with Supply Chain and Logistics on cold chain integrity, delivery performance, and fleet utilisation.

People & Leadership

Lead, coach, and develop the commercial team across sales, key accounts, trade marketing, and customer service.
Set KPIs, run monthly performance reviews, and build a succession pipeline.
Design, implement and monitor Commission based incentives for Regional sales teams

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Agribusiness, Animal Science, or related field. MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification is a strong advantage.
Professional certification in sales/marketing (CIM, MSK) preferred.

Experience

Minimum 10 years in commercial/sales leadership, with at least 5 years at senior management level in poultry feed sector.
Proven track record in a similar capacity managing multi-channel sales (modern trade, general trade, Agro-vet/dealer networks, institutional) in Kenya.
Demonstrated experience selling into the commercial farming community — DOCs and Feed
Experience managing debtors, pricing, and trade spend in a high-volume, margin-sensitive environment.
Exposure to poultry value chain product commercialisation is a strong advantage.

Technical Skills

Strong command of sales analytics — volume, value, mix, distribution, pricing elasticity.
Proficiency in ERP sales modules (SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage), CRM platforms, and advanced Excel.
Sound financial literacy — gross margin, contribution margin, working capital, and ROI analysis.
Familiarity with KEBS labelling standards, Kenya Veterinary Board and DVS requirements, and halal certification where applicable.
Understanding of poultry and feed technical fundamentals — FCR, flock performance, feed specifications — sufficient to engage credibly with commercial farmers.

Behavioural Competencies

Commercial hunter — bias for growth, deal-making, and market expansion.
Strong negotiator across buyers, distributors, and farmer customers.
Data-driven decision-maker with executive presence.
Resilient under price and margin pressure; can balance volume and profitability.
High integrity, particularly in pricing, rebate, and credit decisions.
Strong communicator — comfortable at board level and on the farm.

Language Skills

Commercial Manager - Poultry Feed Industry at CDL Human Resource