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Acacia EPZ Ltd

Agriculture + 2 more

Supply Chain & Operations Expert

Only on Fuzu

Posted: 30 Oct 2026

Apply by: 20 Nov 2026

21 days left to apply

Job details

Contract Type

Description
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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