Role Summary<\/p>\n
\tThis is a hunter-farmer role that combines new business development with deep account ownership. The HoReCa Sales Manager is the primary commercial face of our client in Kenya’s premium foodservice market \u2014 driving revenue growth while protecting margin, credit discipline, and service standards that Kenya’s top hotels and restaurants demand.
\n\tOur client is Kenya’s leading meat processing company, supplying hotels, restaurants, caterers, and institutional foodservice operators with premium beef, lamb, chicken, goat, and seafood products. The HoReCa Sales Manager will own end-to-end commercial responsibility for the foodservice channel in the Nairobi region, building trusted relationships with executive chefs, F&B managers, and procurement teams across Kenya’s most demanding accounts.<\/p>\n
Key Responsibilities<\/p>\n
Account Development & New Business<\/p>\n
\tBuild and maintain a structured pipeline of HoReCa prospects across Nairobi and surrounding regions
\n\tOpen new accounts across hotels, standalone restaurants, restaurant chains, QSR operators, catering companies, and institutional foodservice
\n\tConduct kitchen visits, product trials, sampling events, and chef demos to convert prospects into active accounts
\n\tPrepare and submit competitive proposals and tender responses for hotel groups and institutional contracts<\/p>\n
Account Management & Service Delivery<\/p>\n
\tOwn day-to-day relationships with executive chefs, F&B managers, and procurement contacts across assigned accounts
\n\tTake, validate, and follow through on orders end-to-end \u2014 from order capture to delivery confirmation
\n\tResolve service issues (short deliveries, quality complaints, temperature breaches, missed delivery slots) quickly and professionally
\n\tConduct regular structured review meetings with key accounts; track share of wallet and identify upsell opportunities<\/p>\n
Commercial Performance<\/p>\n
\tAchieve monthly volume, revenue, and gross margin targets
\n\tNegotiate pricing within approved bands; escalate margin-dilutive requests appropriately rather than concede unilaterally
\n\tEnforce agreed credit terms; coordinate with finance to keep DSO and AR aging within company limits
\n\tPlace new accounts on appropriate credit terms only after due diligence and approval<\/p>\n
Reporting & Market Intelligence<\/p>\n
\tMaintain accurate and up-to-date CRM records \u2014 visits, pipeline stage, forecast, account plans
\n\tSubmit weekly sales reports, monthly forecasts, and quarterly account reviews
\n\tProvide actionable market intelligence on competitor activity, pricing moves, new product opportunities, and emerging accounts<\/p>\n
Requirements<\/p>\n
Mandatory Requirements<\/p>\n
Candidates must meet ALL of the following criteria to be considered:<\/p>\n
Direct HoReCa Sales Experience<\/p>\n
\tMinimum 5 years in HoReCa \/ foodservice sales in Kenya
\n\tVerifiable account references with named decision-maker contacts
\n\tDemonstrated track record of owning and growing a portfolio of foodservice accounts<\/p>\n
Meat Industry & Cold Chain Expertise<\/p>\n
\tBackground in meat, poultry, seafood, or chilled\/frozen perishables
\n\tHands-on knowledge of cold chain handling, temperature integrity during delivery, FIFO discipline, and shelf-life management
\n\tUnderstanding of food safety practices relevant to perishable protein distribution<\/p>\n
Product & Cuts Knowledge<\/p>\n
\tWorking knowledge of primal and secondary cuts across chicken, beef, lamb, goat, fish, and other proteins
\n\tAbility to discuss cuts, yields, portion weights, and applications confidently with executive chefs and butchery teams
\n\tUnderstanding of custom specifications, packing formats, and portion-controlled products<\/p>\n
Chef Order Management<\/p>\n
\tDemonstrated ability to take, interpret, and execute complex chef orders accurately (mixed cuts, custom specifications, portion weights, packing formats)
\n\tExperience managing recurring standing orders alongside ad-hoc special requests<\/p>\n
Margin & Credit Discipline<\/p>\n
\tTrack record of protecting gross margin against constant chef and procurement pressure for special pricing
\n\tProven discipline managing accounts receivable in a channel notorious for slow payment
\n\tAbility to balance commercial growth against credit risk and DSO targets<\/p>\n
Preferred Qualifications<\/p>\n
\tExisting relationships with 4-star and 5-star hotel groups in Nairobi: Serena, Fairmont, Sarova, Kempinski, Hemingways, Tribe, Radisson, Movenpick, and similar
\n\tExperience with airline catering, institutional catering, or hospital and corporate foodservice tenders
\n\tEstablished rolodex of executive chefs, sous chefs, F&B managers, and procurement heads at premium Nairobi accounts
\n\tFamiliarity with Halal-certified supply chain requirements and documentation
\n\tPrior exposure to HACCP, food safety standards, and traceability requirements expected by international hotel brands<\/p>\n
Qualifications<\/p>\n
\tBachelor’s degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Hospitality, Food Science, or a related discipline
\n\tEquivalent industry experience will be given priority over academic qualifications alone
\n\tAdditional certification in food safety, HACCP, or culinary fundamentals is a distinct advantage<\/p>\n
Skills & Competencies<\/p>\n
\tStrong negotiation skills \u2014 able to confidently defend pricing under sustained chef and procurement pressure
\n\tCommercial literacy \u2014 thinks in gross margin percentage, not just topline revenue
\n\tConfident kitchen presence \u2014 can hold substantive conversations with executive chefs about cuts, yields, menu costing, and product applications
\n\tService mindset \u2014 understands that one missed delivery to a 5-star account can cost the entire relationship
\n\tSelf-driven \u2014 able to plan own route, manage own time, and operate with minimal daily supervision
\n\tCRM and pipeline discipline; comfortable with structured weekly reporting cadence
\n\tValid Kenyan driving licence and willingness to travel within Nairobi and to upcountry accounts when required<\/p>\n
Benefits:<\/p>\n
\tVehicle or transport allowance
\n\tAirtime Allowance
\n\tPerformance Pay: Variable pay tied to volume, gross margin, and accounts receivable discipline<\/p>\n
Apply Through:<\/p>\n
cdl.zohorecruit.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_promoted":"","_job_location":"","_application":"http:\/\/cdl.zohorecruit.com","_company_name":"CDL Human Resource","_company_website":"http:\/\/cdl.co.ke\/","_company_tagline":"CDL was founded in early 2003 by its current Managing Director Lucy Mmari.Within her 14 year tenure in a well established logistics company, She honed her skill in human resources management and thereafter started CDL.","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_filled":0,"_featured":0,"_remote_position":0,"_job_salary":"","_job_salary_currency":"","_job_salary_unit":""},"job_listing_region":[692],"job-categories":[699,693,1370],"job-types":[687],"class_list":["post-97530","job_listing","type-job_listing","status-publish","hentry","job_listing_region-nairobi","job-type-full-time"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-listings\/97530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-listings"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/job_listing"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"job_listing_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_region?post=97530"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-categories?post=97530"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-types?post=97530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}