Product Development & Commercialization Lead - Avocado

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Director, the Product Development & Commercialization Lead - Avocado will develop a processed frozen avocado business that builds on an established, export-oriented horticulture platform spanning grower engagement, raw-material aggregation, factory processing, quality assurance and international sales. The role will validate the commercial, technical, operational and financial case; integrate the opportunity into existing field-to-factory capabilities; and lead implementation if approved.

*The role will be based in Kenya and is open to foreign nationals.

Key Responsibilities

Opportunity Assessment and Business Planning

• Assess the opportunity against existing horticultural sourcing, processing, cold-chain, export-market and customer capabilities, identifying where shared infrastructure and services can accelerate entry.

• Validate demand, product formats, pricing, routes to market, raw-material availability, plant capacity, yields, labour, utilities, logistics, regulatory requirements and operating costs.

• Prepare an investment-grade feasibility study covering capital, working capital, margins, risks, returns, sensitivities and operational synergies.

• Recommend the business model, governance, organisation, budget, performance measures and phased implementation roadmap.

Technical, Process and Supply Validation

• Develop a year-round avocado supply model through contracted growers and commercial farms, covering agronomy support, seasonality, varieties, quality, traceability, pricing, input recovery and supply risk.

• Validate fruit receiving, ripening, preparation, processing, freezing, packing, storage and dispatch requirements within the existing factory and cold-chain environment.

• Coordinate factory trials, customer samples and third-party assessments to confirm yields, product quality, shelf life, scalability and cost.

• Define commissioning, staffing, systems integration and operational-readiness requirements for launch.

Quality Assurance and Documentation

• Embed the new product range within the existing field-to-factory quality, traceability and food-safety management framework.

• Ensure compliance with customer and export requirements covering HACCP, pesticide residues, hygiene, allergens, ethical sourcing, cold chain, certification and licensing.

• Establish product specifications, testing and release criteria, shelf-life studies, batch records and reliable end-to-end performance reporting.

Project Leadership and Organisational Readiness

• Lead a cross-functional team spanning agronomy and sourcing, factory operations, quality, supply chain, finance, HR and sales.

• Set clear workstreams, milestones, accountabilities, decision gates and reporting arrangements across field and factory operations.

• Design a lean launch organisation, seasonal workforce plan and capability-building programme, demonstrating readiness to assume the General Manager role.

Market Development, Product Innovation and Commercialisation

• Assess priority export markets, customer segments, competitors, specifications, pricing, demand trends and channels for value-added frozen avocado products.

• Leverage established international customer, distributor, trade-fair and B2B networks to build a qualified pipeline and secure viable offtake or supply arrangements.

• Lead stage-gated development of frozen avocado pieces, purée, pulp, guacamole and private-label or customer-specific formats.

• Develop costings, country and customer pricing, margins and commercial terms, positioning traceability, reliability, sustainability and grower impact as competitive strengths.

Stakeholder Management

• Build productive relationships with growers, customers, suppliers, logistics partners, certification bodies, regulators, financiers and industry stakeholders.

• Provide timely, decision-oriented reports on supply, factory readiness, trials, market traction, financial projections, risks and next steps.

Academic & Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Engineering, Agribusiness, Supply Chain, Business Management or a related field; a postgraduate qualification is desirable.

• 8–10 years’ experience in business development, commercialisation or business-unit leadership within export horticulture, frozen foods or value-added food processing.

• Fluent written and spoken English; strong analytical, presentation and stakeholder-management capability.

• Proven success in building investment cases and taking food products from concept and factory trial to commercial launch.

• Practical understanding of grower or farm sourcing, raw-material aggregation, factory processing, traceability, cold chain, food safety and export certification.

• Demonstrated experience developing international customers, private-label or B2B products, and negotiating export commercial terms.

• Strong financial and operational acumen, including costing, pricing, budgeting, capacity planning, modelling and P&L management.

• Leadership experience across multi-site, seasonal or labour-intensive agribusiness and manufacturing operations, with capacity to build and scale a new business.