Planning & Customer Operations Manager

Background 

Natural Extracts Industries Ltd (NEI) is pioneering the sustainable, natural flavour manufacturing industry in Tanzania for global export, starting with vanilla and other flavour extracts. The company works in all areas from cultivation to post-harvest processing, value-add manufacturing and international sales and marketing. The smallholder outgrower network currently integrates over 10,000 vanilla farmers from Tanzania and Uganda, and through this sourcing model, NEI aims to deliver a long-term socioeconomic impact by doubling annual income per smallholder household. The company also works with farmer groups in Mbeya and Tanga regions for cocoa bean sourcing. Current products include liquid flavours, such as extracts from vanilla, cocoa and coffee; and solid flavours like vanilla pods, cocoa powder and nibs. The company is undertaking an aggressive growth path, featuring European and US market entries (including partnerships and potential joint ventures), establishing a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and expanding supply-side volumes.

Duties & Responsibilities

The Planning & Customer Operations Manager will be responsible and accountable for the following activities:

1. Procurement & Sourcing
2. Develop and implement procurement policies, procedures, and processes that align with the company's overall objectives and comply with FSSC 22000.
3. Identify potential suppliers, negotiate contracts, and conduct comprehensive evaluations of their capabilities, quality, price, delivery, sustainability, and performance.
4. Monitor market trends, prices, and supply chain disruptions to ensure that our company has access to reliable and cost-effective sources of production raw materials, goods and services.
5. Work closely with other departments, such as production, engineering, and quality assurance, to ensure that all procurement activities meet the needs of the business.
6. Ensure that all procurement activities are conducted in a legal, ethical and sustainable manner.
7. Develop, implement and manage a supply model that ensures all purchases are made on time, in full, and within budget.

1. Planning & Logistics
2. Set objectives based on customer and business needs for all customer orders, articulate what success looks like to all teams, and rally the cross-cutting team to turn that vision into a reality.
3. Lead, develop, and refine the Planning & Order to Cash (O2C) processes using a data-driven operating model to continuously improve execution.
4. Take ownership of systems & processes necessary to implement the O2C processes, which include but are not limited to inventory, warehouses, databases, logistics price lists, harvest coordination, customs clearance, and import/export across all company entities.
5. Develop and manage relationships with customs brokers and other regulatory agencies to ensure compliance with import/export regulations.
6. Manage the logistics budget and ensure that all logistics activities are within budget.
7. Provide regular reports to the VP of Operations on operational activities and performance.

1. Customer & Partners Management
2. Directly communicate with customers, ensuring a hassle free experience from ordering to delivery 
3. Lead relationships with partners and contractors across the business to ensure the availability of inventory in the right quantities, SKUs, locations, specifications, and at the right budget to satisfy customer requirements

Desired skills

The following qualifications and competencies are required:

1. Bachelor's degree; preferably in Food Science, Food Technology, Procurement & Logistics, Economics, Supply Chain Management, and allied disciplines
2. Bias towards logical thinking, analysis, and synthesis.
3. Excellent communication, and interpersonal skills; particularly the ability to articulate themselves clearly and effectively; both oral and written, in English and Kiswahili.
4. In-depth knowledge of logistics and transportation regulations and practices. Experience with EU & US logistics practices & regulations is an added advantage
5. In-depth knowledge of food safety management systems such as GFSI, & FSSC 22000 
6. Strong negotiation skills and the ability to manage relationships with suppliers, carriers, freight forwarders, and other 3PL services providers
7. Excellent project management and problem-solving skills grounded in data.
8. Extensive familiarity with ICT systems such as ERP, CRM and productivity packages such as Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
9. Minimum of 3 years of experience managing supply chain planning & logistics operations, preferably in the food and/or agriculture industries.
10. Self-management, and passion for working with social impact enterprises.
11. Excellent coaching and facilitation skills.