Supply Chain & Operations Expert

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Acacia EPZ is a limited company, committed to creating enduring value for its shareholders and the communities around which we operate. Since 2015, Acacia EPZ Limited has employed more than 4,000 Gum Arabic collectors in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and exported more than 300 metric tonnes of Food Grade Gum Arabic to the Eurozone. The company’s main business is founded on a robust business relationship with the European Union, this being the primary market for the company’s exports.

We provide international food and beverage companies in Europe with Gum Arabic variety that is only available in Kenya, parts of Ethiopia and Somaliland. This variety has high viscosity, making it uniquely suited for its application in food and beverages.

We have unique partnerships with the Kenya Forest Service and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute which gives Acacia EPZ unique access to chemical analysis, quality assurance, and access to community lands for sourcing. This provides our European-based clients with peace of mind with regards to supply stability, product traceability, and quality assurance.

Further, the organic nature of Gum Arabic means that a clean labeling trend among European consumers gives suppliers of natural Gum Arabic like us a competitive advantage over suppliers of synthetic thickeners.

Acacia EPZ is seeking a Supply Chain & Operations Expert to lead end-to-end procurement, logistics, and production operations across our East African supply network. You will own the gum arabic sourcing-to-export chain, manage a revolving working-capital facility, and lead a team of 8–10 across Kenya and cross-border hubs. This is a high-impact role, requiring both strategic vision and hands-on operational discipline in a fast-growing, mission-driven organization.

Key Responsibilities

End-to-End Supply Chain Leadership

Own the full procurement-to-delivery chain: sourcing from the Abyei corridor and Kenyan pastoral belts, cross-border transport, border clearances (Nimule, Juba customs, road-tax stations), EPZ intake, quality inspection, warehousing, production allocation, and export shipment.

Design and enforce standard operating procedures for each logistics node, including contingency protocols for border delays, truck breakdowns, and seasonal route disruptions.

Negotiate and manage contracts with transport providers, clearing agents, aggregators (including AFFORD Trust at Abyei), and port/freight forwarders.

Purchasing Facility & Working-Capital Cycle Management

Plan and execute purchasing draws against the revolving facility: quantity scheduling, cash-flow forecasting, and draw-down requests aligned to aggregator availability and buyer delivery windows.

Track cost proportions against the proven benchmark (gum 63.5 %, logistics 31.4 %, regulatory 0.7 %, financial/admin 4.4 %) and report variances to the CEO and Finance after each cycle.

Coordinate with Finance on letters of credit, foreign-exchange hedging, buyer-receipt reconciliation, and timely principal return to keep the facility performing.

Domestic Operations & Hub Network

Oversee the Kenya collection network (Isiolo, Marsabit, Baringo, Turkana hubs): collection-plan execution, verification-plan quality assurance, agent payments, and gum movement waybill integrity.

Manage the Dukawala hub-to-hub stock-movement system, ensuring real-time inventory accuracy and FIFO discipline from field to factory.

Supervise fleet utilization, fuel efficiency (cost-per-km tracking), and vehicle maintenance scheduling.

Production & Warehouse Coordination

Coordinate raw-material issuance to production: GIR (Goods Intake Register) pool management, FIFO consumption tracking, and HQ pre-production quality approval workflows.

Ensure production batches have confirmed material, packaging, and lab-clearance before scheduling; enforce the stage-gate activity-date recording discipline.

Monitor warehouse stock-take baselines, SKU integrity, and non-conformance resolution in partnership with the Quality Assurance Manager.

Traceability, Compliance & Certification

Guarantee full batch-level chain of custody from aggregator purchase receipt through every transport leg, quality gate, and production stage to the final shipment sample using the company's digital traceability and sample-tracking platform.

Maintain all regulatory certifications current: phytosanitary certificates, export licenses, letters of no objection, and certificates of origin for both the Abyei corridor and Kenyan sourcing.

Serve as the primary contact for buyer audits and due-diligence requests on sourcing and logistics.

Team Development & Reporting

Lead, mentor, and performance-manage the supply chain team: the Supply Chain Officer, SC Intern, county coordinators, and field operations staff.

Provide weekly supply-chain dashboards to the CEO and monthly board-ready reports on throughput, cost-per-kilo, cycle times, facility utilisation, and risk flags.

Prepare quarterly milestone reports on supply-chain KPIs, programme deliverables, and M&E data.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Agribusiness, or a related field. A master's degree or professional certification (CIPS, CSCP, CILT) is a strong advantage.

Experience (Essential)

Minimum 8 years in supply chain or operations management, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership role.

Demonstrated experience managing cross-border commodity supply chains in East or Central Africa, ideally involving agricultural or NTFP (non-timber forest product) commodities.

Hands-on management of working-capital or trade-finance instruments (revolving facilities, letters of credit, pre-export finance).

Experience operating within Export Processing Zones or bonded-warehouse regulatory frameworks.

Experience (Desirable)

Prior exposure to gum arabic, resins, essential oils, or similar ASAL-origin commodities.

Familiarity with European food-safety and traceability requirements (EU Regulation 178/2002, FSSC 22000, buyer-specific codes of practice).

Experience with programme governance, milestone reporting, and M&E frameworks.

Competencies

Strategic thinking with the ability to translate a scale-up plan into daily operational execution.

Strong commercial acumen — comfortable negotiating freight rates, aggregator terms, and service contracts.

Data-driven decision-making: proficiency with dashboards, ERP/supply-chain platforms, and Excel/analytical tools.

Effective cross-cultural communication — will interface with Abyei aggregators, Kenyan field agents, European buyers, and Nairobi-based finance teams.

Resilience and adaptability in resource-constrained, fast-moving environments.

High integrity and alignment with Acacia EPZ's values of transparency, community benefit, and environmental stewardship.

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