The posting
Position Title: Head of Operations (Animal Feeds) & Grain Crushing Department: Operations Location: Nakuru, Kenya Language Requirement: Fluency in Gujarati or Hindi is mandatory due to the communication and stakeholder engagement requirements of the role ROLE PURPOSE To provide strategic leadership and end-to-end management of the Animal Feeds operations in Nakuru, integrating feed production, engineering, quality and feed safety, warehousing and supply chain to deliver safe, nutritionally compliant, traceable, cost-effective and profitable animal-feed products. The role is accountable for converting approved formulations and demand plans into consistent finished feed through disciplined raw-material control, batching, grinding, mixing, pelleting, cooling, crumbling, bagging and dispatch operations, while protecting people, product quality, assets, customers and the environment. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities 1. Animal Feeds Operations Strategy and Planning • Develop and implement the Nakuru Animal Feeds annual operating plan aligned with business objectives. • Align production capacity, raw materials, formulations, resources and customer demand. • Establish operational controls and coordinate cross-functional activities. • Report operational performance, risks and investment priorities to management. 2. Feed Production and Process Control • Oversee daily feed production, including grinding, batching, mixing, pelleting, cooling, screening and packaging. • Ensure compliance with approved formulations, production standards and schedules. • Minimise downtime, contamination, product losses and changeover inefficiencies. • Optimise manpower, materials, equipment and production capacity. 3. Quality, Feed Safety and Regulatory Compliance • Ensure compliance with animal-feed regulations, quality standards and internal policies. • Oversee raw-material inspection, testing, traceability and finished-product release. • Maintain product specifications, hygiene, pest control and contamination-prevention standards. • Drive corrective actions and ensure audit readiness. 4. Raw Materials and Inventory Management • Coordinate with Procurement and Supply Chain to ensure timely availability of raw materials and packaging. • Maintain proper storage, stock rotation and inventory controls. • Minimise stock-outs, material losses and inventory discrepancies. • Ensure accurate physical and system stock records. 5. Engineering and Equipment Reliability • Oversee preventive maintenance and reliability of feed-mill machinery and utilities. • Minimise equipment breakdowns and unplanned production downtime. • Ensure maintenance, safety and equipment restoration standards are followed. • Identify asset improvement and capital investment opportunities. 6. Cost Management and Continuous Improvement • Control production costs, cost per metric tonne, energy, labour, yield and material wastage. • Identify and eliminate production inefficiencies and operational losses. • Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance productivity and product quality. • Monitor cost savings and ensure sustainable operational improvements. 7. Occupational Safety and Environmental Management • Promote a strong workplace safety culture across production, warehouse and dispatch operations. • Ensure compliance with PPE, machine guarding, permits and lockout/tagout requirements. • Manage risks relating to combustible dust, machinery, confined spaces and material handling. • Maintain environmental, housekeeping and waste-management standards. 8. Systems, Documentation and Traceability • Ensure accurate production, quality, maintenance and inventory documentation in SAP. • Maintain batch and lot traceability from raw materials to finished products. • Ensure accurate formulations, material codes and production records. • Strengthen system compliance, data accuracy and operational controls. 9. Performance Management and Cross-Functional Coordination • Monitor operational KPIs covering safety, quality, production, downtime, costs and inventory. • Coordinate with Quality, Procurement, Supply Chain, Finance, Commercial and Technical Teams. • Analyse performance data, identify operational gaps and implement corrective actions. • Provide timely operational reports and performance updates to management. 10. Team Leadership and Development • Lead, coach and manage production, engineering, quality, warehouse and technical teams. • Ensure adequate staffing, shift coverage and employee competency. • Drive training, performance management and succession planning. • Promote accountability, teamwork, continuous learning and operational excellence. Requirements IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE Education & Professional Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in Animal Nutrition, Animal Science, Feed Technology, Food Science, Chemical/Mechanical/Production Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management or another relevant discipline. • A Master’s degree or MBA is an advantage. • Relevant certification in feed safety, quality management, Lean manufacturing, maintenance, supply chain or project management is an advantage. • Language Requirement: Fluency in Gujarati or Hindi is mandatory due to the communication and stakeholder engagement requirements of the role Experience Requirements • 10–15 years of progressive manufacturing or process-operations experience in animal feeds, grain milling, food processing, edible oils or another high-volume FMCG environment. • At least 5 years in a senior operational leadership role with accountability for production, engineering, quality, cost and people performance. • Hands-on understanding of feed-mill or comparable bulk-material processes, including batching, grinding, mixing, pelleting, packing, storage and dispatch. • Demonstrated delivery in safety, quality, traceability, throughput, yield, asset reliability, cost reduction and customer service. • Practical experience with ERP-enabled manufacturing processes; SAP exposure is strongly preferred. Technical Competencies • Animal-feed manufacturing and feed-mill process control • Raw-material quality, storage, stock rotation and contamination prevention • Batching, grinding, mixing, pelleting, cooling, crumbling and bagging operations • Feed safety, traceability, non-conformance management and recall readiness • Preventive maintenance and reliability of feed-mill equipment • Cost per MT, yield, energy, waste and conversion-cost management • Production planning, capacity management and inventory coordination • SAP / ERP process discipline, batch records and operational reporting • Lean manufacturing, root-cause analysis and loss elimination • SHEQ, combustible-dust control and statutory compliance Leadership & Behavioural Competencies • Enterprise and strategic leadership • High integrity and product-safety ownership • Commercial and financial acumen • Decisive, data-driven problem solving • Visible safety, quality and feed-safety leadership • Ability to influence technical and cross-functional stakeholders • Clear communication and performance accountability • People leadership, coaching and succession development • Change leadership and continuous-improvement mindset SUCCESS DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST 12-24 MONTHS • Establish a disciplined feed-mill operating rhythm that consistently delivers safe, compliant animal feed to plan. • Improve throughput, batch accuracy, yield and critical-asset reliability while reducing unplanned downtime. • Deliver sustained month-on-month improvement in cost per MT without compromising nutritional conformity, feed safety or customer service. • Strengthen raw-material controls, traceability, contamination prevention and recall readiness. • Eliminate avoidable stock-outs and improve coordination across Procurement, Quality, Nutrition/Formulation and Supply Chain. • Achieve 100% SAP and operational-documentation compliance and reliable batch-level visibility. • Build a strong, accountable Nakuru Animal Feeds leadership team with succession coverage for critical roles.
