Careers at Mars

As a People & Organization (P&O) Business Partner at Mars Snacking in Nairobi, you will act as a strategic co-pilot to the Plant Director and the Factory Management Team (FMT), steering our people and culture agenda across factory operations. You will be instrumental in championing the Mars Five Principles, embedding talent and capability roadmaps, and driving our Mars Supply Excellence Work Systems—empowering high-performing teams to achieve zero-loss operations and agile execution through our people, capability, and culture.

What are we looking for?

• A Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Management, or a related field (a Master’s degree is preferred).
• Proven progressive HR experience as an HR Generalist or P&O Business Partner, ideally within a manufacturing, supply chain, or Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) environment.
• Strong working knowledge of local labor laws and HR practices, with demonstrated experience in employee relations, union engagement, and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations being an added advantage.
• Proven track record in talent management, organizational change mobilization, capability building, and coaching leadership teams.
• A collaborative mindset with exceptional business acumen, stakeholder management, and problem-solving capabilities.

What would be your key responsibilities?

• Strategic Business Partnership: Co-pilot with the Plant Director and Factory Management Team to drive business results, organizational design, and workforce planning across the Nairobi site.
• Supply Excellence & Capability Building: Lead the People Pillar in Mars Supply Excellence Work Systems, partnering with the Education & Training (E&T) Pillar to build functional competencies, deliver coaching, and embed continuous improvement behaviors.
• Talent & Succession Planning: Collaborate with Talent Acquisition and Centers of Excellence (CoEs) to attract top talent, shape robust talent pipelines, and implement key Mars Leadership Competency roadmaps.
• Associate Relations & Culture Advocacy: Serve as an Associate Advocate and culture champion, overseeing associate relations, counseling line managers on complex P&O matters, and leading engaging recognition programs.
• Operational & Governance Ownership: Manage factory P&O metrics, overheads, and budget allocation within the site P&L while ensuring full alignment with Mars Signature processes and governance standards.

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As our Sales Director East Africa at Mars, you will lead our East Africa Sales organization to drive sustainable, profitable growth across core markets, including Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. You will own the customer and distributor agenda, oversee end-to-end commercial operations and P&L delivery for the Mars Snacking portfolio, and act as a pivotal enterprise leader representing East Africa on the Africa Business Team and Sales Leadership Forum. Bringing an enterprise mindset, you will partner cross-functionally to convert customer and shopper insights into impactful route-to-market strategies while inspiring and developing an agile, high-performing team.

What are we looking for?

• Ideally, you’ll have 15–20 years of commercial and sales leadership experience within Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), with a proven track record in distributor management, customer partnerships, sales execution, and route-to-market (RTM) strategy across diverse African markets.
• A completed university degree is required; an MBA or relevant post-graduate business qualification is strongly preferred.
• Proven track record in full P&L ownership, financial acumen, and resource allocation across Traditional Trade, Modern Trade, and D-Commerce channels.
• A strong, values-led people manager with proven experience in recruiting, mentoring, and developing diverse teams, succession planning, and driving high associate engagement.
• A strategic thinker with strong negotiation, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative leadership capabilities who embodies an enterprise-first perspective.

What would be your key responsibilities?

• Strategic Growth: Lead the formulation and execution of short- and long-term sales strategies across East Africa (with a key focus on Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) to deliver category and market share growth for Mars Snacking.
• Distributor & Customer Agenda: Strengthen strategic partnerships with distributors and retail customers, implementing optimized route-to-market, cost-to-serve, and category solutions across all retail channels.
• P&L & Performance Ownership: Maintain full accountability for East Africa P&L delivery, managing Net Sales Value (NSV), Gross Margin, Controllable Contribution, and operational resource efficiency.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Strategic Demand, Supply, and Marketing teams to embed shopper and trade partner insights into integrated commercial plans and demand forecasts.
• People & Team Leadership: Lead, inspire, and develop a team of 17 Associates (including 5 direct reports), fostering an inclusive, high-performance culture and building a robust talent pipeline for the region.
• Enterprise Governance: Represent East Africa on the Africa Business Team and Sales Leadership Forum, contributing to broader Sub-Saharan Africa strategic initiatives, peer learning, and best-practice sharing.