Background information about the job or company

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.

This 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 — driving revenue growth while protecting margin, credit discipline, and service standards that Kenya's top hotels and restaurants demand.

Our 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.

Responsibilities or duties

Account Development & New Business

• Build and maintain a structured pipeline of HoReCa prospects across Nairobi and surrounding regions
• Open new accounts across hotels, standalone restaurants, restaurant chains, QSR operators, catering companies, and institutional foodservice
• Conduct kitchen visits, product trials, sampling events, and chef demos to convert prospects into active accounts
• Prepare and submit competitive proposals and tender responses for hotel groups and institutional contracts

Account Management & Service Delivery

• Own day-to-day relationships with executive chefs, F&B managers, and procurement contacts across assigned accounts
• Take, validate, and follow through on orders end-to-end — from order capture to delivery confirmation
• Resolve service issues (short deliveries, quality complaints, temperature breaches, missed delivery slots) quickly and professionally
• Conduct regular structured review meetings with key accounts; track share of wallet and identify upsell opportunities

Commercial Performance

• Achieve monthly volume, revenue, and gross margin targets
• Negotiate pricing within approved bands; escalate margin-dilutive requests appropriately rather than concede unilaterally
• Enforce agreed credit terms; coordinate with finance to keep DSO and AR aging within company limits
• Place new accounts on appropriate credit terms only after due diligence and approval

Reporting & Market Intelligence

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date CRM records — visits, pipeline stage, forecast, account plans
• Submit weekly sales reports, monthly forecasts, and quarterly account reviews
• Provide actionable market intelligence on competitor activity, pricing moves, new product opportunities, and emerging accounts

Qualifications or requirements

Mandatory Requirements

Candidates must meet ALL of the following criteria to be considered:

Direct HoReCa Sales Experience

• Minimum 5 years in HoReCa / foodservice sales in Kenya
• Verifiable account references with named decision-maker contacts
• Demonstrated track record of owning and growing a portfolio of foodservice accounts

Meat Industry & Cold Chain Expertise

• Background in meat, poultry, seafood, or chilled/frozen perishables
• Hands-on knowledge of cold chain handling, temperature integrity during delivery, FIFO discipline, and shelf-life management
• Understanding of food safety practices relevant to perishable protein distribution

Product & Cuts Knowledge

• Working knowledge of primal and secondary cuts across chicken, beef, lamb, goat, fish, and other proteins
• Ability to discuss cuts, yields, portion weights, and applications confidently with executive chefs and butchery teams
• Understanding of custom specifications, packing formats, and portion-controlled products

Chef Order Management

• Demonstrated ability to take, interpret, and execute complex chef orders accurately (mixed cuts, custom specifications, portion weights, packing formats)
• Experience managing recurring standing orders alongside ad-hoc special requests

Margin & Credit Discipline

• Track record of protecting gross margin against constant chef and procurement pressure for special pricing
• Proven discipline managing accounts receivable in a channel notorious for slow payment
• Ability to balance commercial growth against credit risk and DSO targets

Preferred Qualifications

• Existing relationships with 4-star and 5-star hotel groups in Nairobi: Serena, Fairmont, Sarova, Kempinski, Hemingways, Tribe, Radisson, Movenpick, and similar
• Experience with airline catering, institutional catering, or hospital and corporate foodservice tenders
• Established rolodex of executive chefs, sous chefs, F&B managers, and procurement heads at premium Nairobi accounts
• Familiarity with Halal-certified supply chain requirements and documentation
• Prior exposure to HACCP, food safety standards, and traceability requirements expected by international hotel brands

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Hospitality, Food Science, or a related discipline
• Equivalent industry experience will be given priority over academic qualifications alone
• Additional certification in food safety, HACCP, or culinary fundamentals is a distinct advantage

Skills & Competencies

• Strong negotiation skills — able to confidently defend pricing under sustained chef and procurement pressure
• Commercial literacy — thinks in gross margin percentage, not just topline revenue
• Confident kitchen presence — can hold substantive conversations with executive chefs about cuts, yields, menu costing, and product applications
• Service mindset — understands that one missed delivery to a 5-star account can cost the entire relationship
• Self-driven — able to plan own route, manage own time, and operate with minimal daily supervision
• CRM and pipeline discipline; comfortable with structured weekly reporting cadence
• Valid Kenyan driving licence and willingness to travel within Nairobi and to upcountry accounts when required

Any other provided details

Benefits:

• Vehicle or transport allowance
• Airtime Allowance
• Performance Pay: Variable pay tied to volume, gross margin, and accounts receivable discipline

• Build and maintain a structured pipeline of HoReCa prospects across Nairobi and surrounding regions
• Open new accounts across hotels, standalone restaurants, restaurant chains, QSR operators, catering companies, and institutional foodservice
• Conduct kitchen visits, product trials, sampling events, and chef demos to convert prospects into active accounts
• Prepare and submit competitive proposals and tender responses for hotel groups and institutional contracts
• Own day-to-day relationships with executive chefs, F&B managers, and procurement contacts across assigned accounts
• Take, validate, and follow through on orders end-to-end — from order capture to delivery confirmation
• Resolve service issues (short deliveries, quality complaints, temperature breaches, missed delivery slots) quickly and professionally
• Conduct regular structured review meetings with key accounts; track share of wallet and identify upsell opportunities
• Achieve monthly volume, revenue, and gross margin targets
• Negotiate pricing within approved bands; escalate margin-dilutive requests appropriately rather than concede unilaterally
• Enforce agreed credit terms; coordinate with finance to keep DSO and AR aging within company limits
• Place new accounts on appropriate credit terms only after due diligence and approval
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date CRM records — visits, pipeline stage, forecast, account plans
• Submit weekly sales reports, monthly forecasts, and quarterly account reviews
• Provide actionable market intelligence on competitor activity, pricing moves, new product opportunities, and emerging accounts

• Strong negotiation skills — able to confidently defend pricing under sustained chef and procurement pressure
• Commercial literacy — thinks in gross margin percentage, not just topline revenue
• Confident kitchen presence — can hold substantive conversations with executive chefs about cuts, yields, menu costing, and product applications
• Service mindset — understands that one missed delivery to a 5-star account can cost the entire relationship
• Self-driven — able to plan own route, manage own time, and operate with minimal daily supervision
• CRM and pipeline discipline; comfortable with structured weekly reporting cadence
• Valid Kenyan driving licence and willingness to travel within Nairobi and to upcountry accounts when required

• Minimum 5 years in HoReCa / foodservice sales in Kenya
• Verifiable account references with named decision-maker contacts
• Demonstrated track record of owning and growing a portfolio of foodservice accounts
• Background in meat, poultry, seafood, or chilled/frozen perishables
• Hands-on knowledge of cold chain handling, temperature integrity during delivery, FIFO discipline, and shelf-life management
• Understanding of food safety practices relevant to perishable protein distribution
• Working knowledge of primal and secondary cuts across chicken, beef, lamb, goat, fish, and other proteins
• Ability to discuss cuts, yields, portion weights, and applications confidently with executive chefs and butchery teams
• Understanding of custom specifications, packing formats, and portion-controlled products
• Demonstrated ability to take, interpret, and execute complex chef orders accurately (mixed cuts, custom specifications, portion weights, packing formats)
• Experience managing recurring standing orders alongside ad-hoc special requests
• Track record of protecting gross margin against constant chef and procurement pressure for special pricing
• Proven discipline managing accounts receivable in a channel notorious for slow payment
• Ability to balance commercial growth against credit risk and DSO targets
• Existing relationships with 4-star and 5-star hotel groups in Nairobi: Serena, Fairmont, Sarova, Kempinski, Hemingways, Tribe, Radisson, Movenpick, and similar
• Experience with airline catering, institutional catering, or hospital and corporate foodservice tenders
• Established rolodex of executive chefs, sous chefs, F&B managers, and procurement heads at premium Nairobi accounts
• Familiarity with Halal-certified supply chain requirements and documentation
• Prior exposure to HACCP, food safety standards, and traceability requirements expected by international hotel brands
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Hospitality, Food Science, or a related discipline
• Equivalent industry experience will be given priority over academic qualifications alone
• Additional certification in food safety, HACCP, or culinary fundamentals is a distinct advantage