Harvest Buying Manager at Komaza Kenya

About the Team

The Komaza Harvest Operations team is responsible for delivering quality timber to the company’s processing operations. We source and identify wood lots, value and negotiate the purchase and then finally implement safe and efficient harvests. The buying team exists within Harvest Operations and is responsible for ensuring that there is a strong and steady pipeline of woodlots ready for harvesting. They are a visible and physical presence throughout the region, representing the Komaza brand and managing multiple deals.

About the Role

The Buying Manager will support the Harvest Operations leadership team in Central Kenya to build and maintain a ‘healthy’ pipeline of timber ready for Harvest. You will be responsible for the day to day oversight of a team of highly mobile Buying Officers operating across Nyandarua county and will ensure that this team cumulatively is able to consistently meet daily, weekly and monthly targets. Working with the leadership team you will both use and support the constant development of tools and data to manage your team’s performance and set targets; you will develop and refine tactics to identify and close deals quickly; and ensure that your team is highly trained and able to effectively operate independently.

The Buying Manager will be responsible for the delivery of overall buying targets in the region, and as such will spend significant time in the field supporting and closing deals, leading and coaching her team.  Where necessary you will also be the face of Komaza and closing high-value deals at in-person meetings / negotiations with major land owners. 

You will work with sales leads at Komaza to pull best practice into Harvest Buying activities / SOPs and will collaborate closely with Harvest Operations leadership and Komaza Operations Innovations department to determine and build out the tools, training and systems required for this new and rapidly growing function within Komaza.

Location: This role is based at our regional office in Naivasha, Kenya.

What Will You Do

• Supervise the buying team:  (70%)
• Plan weekly and monthly activities with Buying Officers and monitor implementation
• Coach buying officers to improve their planning, prospecting and purchasing process activities by observing / supporting their work and providing constructive feedback.  Support buying team with negotiations and major deal closure
• Systematically collect feedback from Buying Officers and woodlot owners to improve Timber Buying Training Materials and Systems. 
• Track and record activities and all deals data for internal reporting. 
• Purchasing plans and strategies: (20%)
• Work with the Regional  Operations  Coordinator (ROC) to define monthly and quarterly priorities 
• Analyse data and provide input to the Harvest Operations Director to develop and refine strategy and implementation priorities
• Collaborate with the Operations Innovations team to design, build and improve systems
• High Value Deals (10%)
• Own and deliver on high value strategic deals with the likes of major land owners, KFS etc
• Coordinate with ROC and Harvest  Director to prioritize and progress long term projects

What You Have

• Bachelor’s degree with at least 3+ years of sales or buying experience in a dynamic environment with a strong record of personal and professional development
• At least 1+ years of team management experience, ideally in a leading sales / buying function organisation with a record of growing staff
• Fluent Kiswahili for relationship-building and business transactions  and fluent English to operate within Komaza’s professional language
• Experience in managing internal and external customer relationships and maintaining high professional communication standards in customer interactions
• Experience managing projects in a structured way using plans, budgets, and tools
• Experience using GSuite, and CRM pipeline tools to optimise productivity
• Knowledge of timber products or the forestry sector is a plus

You’re Also

• High energy and enthusiastic 
• Communicate clearly and proactively 
• Ambitious and intellectually curious – you know how and when to seek feedback in the pursuit of continuous improvement
• Make connections with a wide range of people using a strong sense for relationship building 
• Strong organisational, critical thinking, and communications skills with a structured approach to managing outputs

What’s in it for you?

Great vision without great people is irrelevant, Jim Collins wisely stated. If you share Komaza’s vision and want to help make it a reality, apply today! We offer a competitive remuneration package and an opportunity to further your career. 

Komaza is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.