New Product Development (NPD) Production Manager

Position Title: New Product Development (NPD) Production Manager

Direct Line Reporting: Operations Director / Plant Manager

Industry Sector: FMCG / Manufacturing

Gross Salary Structure: Kshs. 100,000

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly analytical, process-driven New Product Development (NPD) Production Manager to spearhead the structural scale-up, industrial prototyping, and factory commercialization of our consumer goods pipeline. Your primary objective is to bridge innovative laboratory concepts with high-speed factory floor realities, taking prototypes from initial benchtop recipes into full, automated production volumes. This position demands an exceptional mix of industrial engineering discipline and cross-functional coordination; you will design workflow maps, calibrate processing plants for trial batches, establish technical raw-material specs, and eradicate processing inefficiencies before final commercial rollout. The role requires a seasoned FMCG leader who understands mass-production thermodynamics and can enforce absolute regulatory compliance while driving down raw manufacturing costs.

Areas of Accountability

Prototyping Scale-Up & Trial Commercialization

• Direct the end-to-end industrial scale-up engine, translating R&D laboratory formulations into robust, repeatable factory-floor manufacturing setups.
• Organize and supervise initial industrial trial runs and pilot-batch protocols, carefully mapping machine performance, heat settings, and throughput boundaries.
• Identify mechanical or structural bottlenecks during trial phases, tweaking equipment setups or processing steps to ensure flawless long-term manufacturing compatibility.
• Formulate standardized standard operating procedures (SOPs) and technical documentation to ensure uniform product replication across subsequent factory shifts.

Production Engineering & Workflow Engineering

• Draft detailed capacity plans, floor layout adjustments, and line utilization maps for all upcoming product line integrations.
• Drive targeted continuous improvement initiatives on the floor, applying lean principles to lift production speeds while squeezing down processing expenses.
• Monitor critical key performance indicators (KPIs) across testing setups, correcting ingredient loss ratios or machinery downtime instantly.
• Evaluate factory floor machinery capacities, recommending hardware upgrades or tool alterations to safely accommodate newly introduced product configurations.

Institutional Integration & Material Synergy

• Partner closely with Procurement and Supply Chain cells to evaluate, test, and sign off on alternative bulk ingredients and new packaging assets.
• Conduct joint compliance reviews alongside Quality Assurance to synchronize product profiles with target production specifications and customer benchmarks.
• Deliver advanced technical training and handling manuals to full-scale operations crews before full-capacity handovers.
• Coordinate cross-functional timelines with Brand Marketing and Field Sales to guarantee that factory output dates synchronize with planned launch campaigns.

Regulatory Security & Structural Costing

• Audit all development processes against local and international frameworks, ensuring non-negotiable compliance with HACCP, GMP, and KEBS regulations.
• Build thorough hazard assessment structures across testing zones to identify and eliminate cross-contamination elements.
• Review raw ingredient formulations and material usage paths to assist financial teams in calculating accurate unit economics.
• Compile clear technical progress files and risk-mitigation logs, presenting data-backed engineering choices to corporate directors.

Skills & Experience Required

Minimum Entry Criteria

• Academic Foundation: Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Production Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a matching structural manufacturing discipline.
• Operational Longevity: Minimum of 5 years of progressive, verified performance managing high-volume production floors, trial scale-up runs, or dedicated product commercialization divisions.
• Sector Background: Deep operational familiarity within the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) arena, with a proven history of launching multi-component consumer goods.
• System Capabilities: Practical proficiency utilizing modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) frameworks, advanced production tracking software, and analytical data sheets.

Executive Attributes

• Process Diagnosis: Exceptional problem-solving capabilities focused on debugging chemical, physical, or mechanical anomalies during industrial batch runs.
• Matrix Coordination: Confident interpersonal capabilities to steer complex engineering tasks across multi-tiered corporate and plant-floor teams.
• Frugal Engineering: Sharp commercial awareness with a permanent eye toward lowering processing costs, material waste, and labor idle times.

Perks & Environment

• High-Impact Mandate: Take total command of a central innovation engine, holding the primary authority to shape the future product footprint of a top-tier brand.
• Advanced Technical Complex: Lead complex manufacturing trials inside a modernized facility fitted with diverse automated lines and advanced testing environments.
• Vertical Integration Track: Build a high-profile corporate portfolio that demonstrates true hybrid mastery over R&D parameters, plant logistics, and plant management.

Way to Apply

Please email your resume, quoting the position title in the subject line. Profiles are being reviewed on a rolling basis.