Supply Chain Development Manager

Role Overview

This position owns the supply side of a Kenyan marketplace, spending most of the week in the market meeting manufacturers, brand owners, distributors and wholesale traders to bring them onto the platform. The person in this seat turns a fragmented local trade network into a reliable, well-priced catalogue of products that buyers can actually order, which directly determines how competitive the platform is on assortment, price and delivery speed. Success looks like a growing base of active, self-sufficient sellers whose sales climb month over month.

Key Responsibilities

• Source, pitch and sign Kenyan manufacturers, brand owners, importers, distributors, wholesalers, SMEs and independent sellers across agreed priority categories.
• Maintain and continuously enrich a structured supplier database that maps who supplies what, at which price points, in which regions, so category teams can source quickly.
• Negotiate commercial terms with each seller — pricing, margins or commission structures, volume and supply commitments, credit and payment arrangements, and co-funded promotional activity.
• Take new sellers through onboarding end to end: collecting and verifying documentation, opening accounts, loading or validating product listings, and running training so they can manage orders and inventory themselves.
• Agree individual growth plans with sellers covering promotional calendars, range and assortment expansion, and pricing corrections where listings are uncompetitive.
• Partner with category management, warehouse, logistics and marketing colleagues to resolve fulfilment, stock and visibility issues that hold seller performance back.
• Track and report on acquisition pipeline, newly activated sellers, active seller retention, sales performance and progress against local sourcing targets.
• Monitor competitor pricing, market availability and category gaps, and feed those insights back into sourcing priorities.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Sales, Marketing or a related discipline.
• At least four years of experience in supplier acquisition, business development, procurement, marketplace or e-commerce operations, or key account management.
• Working knowledge of Kenya's supplier landscape — the manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, brands and SME networks that move goods locally, and how to reach them.
• Background in e-commerce, retail, FMCG or general trade, ideally covering electronics, fashion, beauty or household goods.
• Proven negotiation and commercial judgement, with a track record of closing supply agreements and improving trading terms.
• Confident communicator and networker who can build and sustain long-term relationships with business owners and internal stakeholders.
• Strong analytical ability to read seller performance data, spot pricing anomalies and identify category opportunities.
• Comfortable working in the field across Nairobi and other commercial hubs, and reporting progress clearly and regularly.