Channel and Category Development Manager, ESA

Channel and Category Development Manager, ESA Location: Nairobi Working Model: Permanent, In person Why this role matters In your first year as Channel and Category Development Manager- East and Southern Africa (ESA), you will drive increased brand penetration and profitable sales volumes across assigned channels. Your work will ensure that trade marketing efforts are efficient and effective, unlocking growth opportunities that align with Flora Food Group’s commitment to better food. This role is vital now as we strengthen our presence in East and Southern Africa (ESA), connecting our iconic plant-based brands with consumers and customers in ways that meet their evolving needs and preferences. Your insights and plans will directly influence how our products reach kitchens and dining tables, supporting healthier and more sustainable food choices. What you'll do Lead the development of trade category plans for assigned channels, translating customer and shopper insights into actionable business opportunities. Build and align account-specific trade plans with overall category objectives to maximize brand impact and sales growth. Prepare monthly rolling forecasts and promotion sell-out volumes, using market intelligence to inform decisions. Collaborate with marketing to support product launches, promotions, and in-store activations, ensuring clear communication and effective execution. Manage trade and shopper promotions from proposal through to evaluation, ensuring on-time delivery and return on investment. Performance You will own the delivery of trade marketing plans that increase brand penetration and profitable sales volumes. Your data-driven approach will ensure trade spend is allocated efficiently, maximizing return on investment. By identifying risks and opportunities through close collaboration with sales, you will help the business respond with agility to market changes and competitor activity, driving measurable growth in East Africa. Care Reporting to the Head of Sales - East Africa, you will work closely with cross-functional teams including Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain. Your role requires responsible leadership to balance short-term results with long-term brand health and sustainability. You will foster collaboration across teams to ensure trade plans are executed with integrity and care for our consumers, customers, and communities. Passion You are passionate about food and the role it plays in people’s lives. You bring curiosity about consumer behaviour and market trends, using this to innovate how our plant-based products are presented and promoted. Your enthusiasm for taste, nutrition, and functionality drives you to raise the bar in trade marketing, ensuring our brands deliver on their promise of better food that is both delicious and good for the planet. About you You bring strong commercial and financial acumen, with experience in sales planning and trade marketing within the fast-moving consumer goods industry. You are skilled at analysing complex data and translating it into clear, actionable strategies. Your ability to influence and align diverse teams ensures smooth execution of plans. You thrive in a role where agility and problem-solving are key, and you take pride in delivering projects on time and in full. You are genuinely interested in food culture and curious about how consumer behaviour and future food trends shape innovation. You understand that strong brands are built by anticipating what’s next in taste, nutrition and functionality, and by translating insight into meaningful consumer experiences. Where this could lead to This role typically leads to senior leadership positions within sales or commercial strategy, where you can shape broader market approaches and influence regional growth. Over time, you will have the opportunity to expand your impact across multiple markets and channels, deepening your expertise in category development and trade marketing strategy. What's next? If this opportunity sounds exciting, we'd love to hear from you. Apply before 11-Nov-2026. We understand your resume might not be up to date and recommend that you apply with what you have or your LinkedIn Profile. Flora Food Group is dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workplace, we understand that you might not meet all the requirements stated in the description, but we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this role or other roles. Flora Food Group is an employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and equal opportunities for all. We recruit based only on values, qualifications, performance, skills, behaviours, experience, and knowledge. We ensure job advertisements are free from unintentional bias. No personal characteristics should be a barrier to joining Flora Food Group. We prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or other personal characteristics.