Milk Procurement Manager

Role Overview

This role owns the raw milk supply chain end to end — from recruiting and retaining dairy farmers, cooperatives and aggregators, through route planning and daily collection, to making sure every litre arrives at the plant on time, at the right temperature and at the right price. Day to day it means balancing volume, quality and cost against production demand that shifts with seasonality and market conditions, while keeping a wide network of suppliers productive and loyal. Because reliable raw milk supply determines whether the plant runs at full capacity or sits idle, this position sits at the centre of the employer's operational and commercial performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and roll out milk procurement strategies and supply plans that match production requirements, seasonal availability peaks and troughs, and forecast demand.
• Build and manage the supplier base — individual dairy farmers, cooperatives and aggregators — covering onboarding, contract negotiation, performance review and retention of critical suppliers.
• Run the collection network: collection centres, route design, transport scheduling, weighing, cooling, and daily reconciliation of volumes received against volumes dispatched.
• Safeguard raw milk quality through testing regimes, supplier-level monitoring, rejection controls and corrective actions agreed with the Quality team.
• Own pricing and cost outcomes, including milk pricing structures, supplier incentive schemes, procurement budgets, margin protection and cost-reduction initiatives that do not destabilise supply.
• Track and report on volumes, quality, pricing, rejections, collection and transport performance using SAP/ERP systems and management dashboards.
• Identify and close down risk across the procurement and collection network — supply shortfalls, quality failures, cost overruns, fraud, leakage and reconciliation discrepancies.
• Partner with Production, Quality, Finance, Logistics and Agriculture/Extension colleagues to improve supply planning, farmer productivity, milk quality and overall procurement efficiency.
• Lead, coach and hold accountable the milk procurement team, setting clear performance, compliance and supplier relationship standards.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Agriculture, Dairy Technology, Food Science, Business Administration, Economics or a related discipline; a professional procurement or supply chain qualification is an advantage.
• 7–10 years of experience in milk procurement, dairy supply chain, agricultural procurement or FMCG procurement, including at least 3–5 years in a managerial or supervisory capacity.
• Demonstrated hands-on record of procuring approximately 200,000–250,000 litres of raw milk per day.
• Practical experience managing dairy farmers, cooperatives, aggregators, milk collection centres, transportation and supplier contracts, alongside milk quality assurance.
• Working command of milk procurement pricing, supply planning, collection logistics, cost management, reconciliation and supplier performance measurement.
• Experience in the Kenyan dairy sector strongly preferred.
• Strong commercial, negotiation, analytical, leadership, problem-solving and stakeholder management skills.
• Exposure to SAP/ERP systems, data analysis and procurement reporting is an advantage.
• High integrity and a genuine willingness to spend substantial time in the field with farmers, suppliers and procurement operations.