Sustainable Supply Manager

JOB TITLE: Sustainable Supply Manager

REPORTS TO: Head of Insights & Innovation

LOCATION: Flexible

DURATION: 18 Month Fixed Term Contract

HOURS: Full Time

SALARY: GBP 55,000 – 65,000 (or local currency equivalent)-Annual

Background & purpose

Farm Africa has a strong track record of delivering sustainable supply chain and advisory work that strengthens smallholder value chains. Between 2021 and 2025, this work generated approximately GBP 6.4 million in revenue – around 11% of all funding secured.

Building on this success, we are increasing our focus and investment in this area as an opportunity for future growth and impact. We are seeking a Sustainable Supply Chain Manager to join our team and help test and scale a low-volume, higher-margin model.

This is not a conventional programme-management role. It is an outward-facing position focused on developing and delivering paid advisory contracts, working with corporate buyers and brands, traders, exporters and other supply chain intermediaries, as well as investment partners.

The role will support Farm Africa to diversify income beyond traditional grants while strengthening the resilience and commercial viability of the smallholder supply chains we work in.

Where you will focus

The role concentrates on three commercial priorities:

Commercial coffee supply chains

Build and deliver paid ESG and sustainable sourcing solutions across the coffee value chain, including support on EUDR compliance, traceability, regenerative agriculture, certification readiness and gender-inclusive sourcing. You will deepen relationships with traders and buyers, such as Louis Dreyfus, Neumann Kaffee Group, Sucafina, and convert them into recurring, revenue generating engagements.

Commercial horticulture supply chains

Lead Farm Africa’s horticulture offer, building on the Waitrose Foundation work (2017 – 2025) and Harris & Green spice work, reframing it towards ESG aligned commercial supply-chains. You will pitch to retailers, exporters and suppliers on traceability, living incomes, human-rights due diligence and climate resilience as a direct commercial benefit to their value chains.

Unlocking technical assistance (TA) funds for future income

Open a new income stream by positioning Farm Africa as a paid technical-assistance provider to impact investors and blended-finance vehicles (for example Acumen/ARAF-type facilities, and new African based Agri-SMEs funds). You will identify funds whose investees rely on smallholder supply chains, build the de-risking pitch from Farm Africa’s proven models, and convert conversations into TA contracts — de-risking investments at the design stage, where it matters most.

Key responsibilities

1. Pipeline & business development

   • Own the end-to-end commercial pipeline: identify, qualify, pitch, negotiate and close contracts across the three focus areas.
   • Apply a clear Go/No-Go and ROI framework to opportunities — weighting faster-converting coffee, spice, agro-forestry and business-advisory work against slower, higher-risk, higher-return carbon contracts.
   • Develop compelling propositions, proposals and pricing that protect margin and reflect the true cost and risk of delivery.

2. Contract delivery & margin

   • Manage a profitable portfolio of contracts to time, budget and quality, using expert consultants for delivery and minimising the load on country project staff.
   • Manage working-capital exposure inherent in commercial terms (e.g. tranche-based or paid-on-delivery contracts) while delivering above standard cost-recovery margins.
   • Maintain and grow a vetted roster of sector specialists and consultants (coffee, horticulture, agro-forestry, carbon/PES, BDS).

3. Relationships & positioning

   • Build trusted, senior relationships with corporates, traders, retailers, foundations and impact investors.
   • Reframe Farm Africa’s offer from CSR towards commercial supply-chain ESG and investment de-risking and communicate it credibly to commercial decision-makers.
   • Represent Farm Africa externally as the commercial face of the Unit.

 

4. Leadership & governance

• • Build and lead a lean core team, recruiting and developing talent whose profiles themselves attract investors and corporates.
  • Report to the Director of Programmes and the SMT; work with the Advisory Board and Programme Advisory Committee on horizon-spotting and innovation.
  • Embed ESG policy, KPIs, monitoring and reporting; track diversified income, impact capital raised and ESG compliance across the portfolio.

• Steward the Unit through its pilot phase towards a sustainable structure — potentially a Farm Africa trading entity or social enterprise (CIC) — while avoiding material financial risk to Farm Africa.

Person Specification – who we are looking for

Commercial and entrepreneurial mindset: Demonstrated experience of delivering against revenue targets, with strong capability in business development, pricing and negotiation.

Confident operating in commercial environments and engaging with senior stakeholders, including corporates and investors. Able to balance commercial delivery with a strong commitment to Farm Africa’s mission and impact.

Essent#

• Commercial delivery: a proven track record of generating revenue and closing commercial contracts, ideally in advisory, consulting or business development.
  • Supply-chain fluency: hands-on knowledge of agricultural / food-system supply chains, including coffee, horticulture or comparable commodities, as well as the ESG, traceability and certification pressures buyers face.
  • Financial literacy: understanding of blended finance, impact investment, technical-assistance facilities and de-risking, with the credibility to pitch investors.
  • Commercial discipline: able and experienced in setting up systems, managing P&L, working capital and margin, and making disciplined Go/No-Go decisions.
  • Relationships & leadership: able to build senior relationships with corporates, traders and funds, and to lead a lean expert team.
• Regional grounding: deep experience of East African agricultural markets and operating contexts.
• Mission fit: genuine alignment with smallholder livelihoods, gender inclusion and climate resilience.

Desirable

• Sector background: management-consulting, agri-trading, or commodity background.
• Technical exposure: ESG standards, EUDR, carbon/PES (ARR, REDD+), living-income or human-rights due-diligence experience.
• Venture-building: experience standing up a new commercial unit, social enterprise or CIC.
• Languages: English essential (working French and/or KiSwahili desirable)
  

  Our Values

• Investing in smallholder farming is the number one way to combat poverty in rural Africa. Farm Africa is a leading NGO specialising in growing agriculture, protecting the environment and developing businesses in rural Africa.
• EXPERT: Expertise and insightful evidence-based solutions are at the heart of everything Farm Africa does.
• GROUNDED: Our teams and partners work closely with local communities, engaging them in every level of decision-making.
• IMPACTFUL: We deliver long lasting change for farmers, their families, and the environments they live in.
• BOLD: We model innovative approaches and are not afraid to challenge strategies that are failing.