Uganda Head of Commercial Strategy and Execution

As the Commercial Lead, you will design and execute our commercial vision in Uganda. You will bridge the gap between high-level strategy and rural execution, overseeing a diverse portfolio that includes both market access for cash crops (like Coffee and Macadamia) and oversight of our rural retail operations (input sales). This is a high-impact role where you will own the full P&L, lead vertical integration efforts, and design the systems that connect thousands of farmers to global markets.

Responsibilities

• Shape the Strategy: Define the 3–5 year commercial roadmap for Uganda. You’ll conduct value chain analyses and decide where we should play—from rural aggregation to processing and export.
• Innovate & Scale: Build and manage a structured pipeline of commercial pilots. You will test new market access and rural retail models, using data-driven insights to turn small-scale innovations into country-wide programs.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Manage the end-to-end execution of crop buybacks and input sales. You’ll ensure products meet rigorous quality standards and optimise last-mile input distribution to ensure farmers have what they need to thrive.
• Own the P&L: You are responsible for revenue growth, margin optimisation, and capital allocation. You will build financial models that cover OPEX, CAPEX, and FX exposure where applicable.
• Build Partnerships: Act as our lead representative with buyers, processors, and distributors. You’ll build the strategic alliances necessary to strengthen value chains and represent the organisation at external events.
• People Management: You will directly manage two workstream leads and be responsible for the growth, development, and high-performing culture of the Commercial team.

Qualifications

For this role specifically, you will have:

Experience & Qualifications

• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, Marketing, or a related field.
• Professional Experience: 5+ years of experience in business development, market access, or commercial strategy.
• Value Chain Expertise: Deep understanding of agricultural value chains; experience with Coffee or Macadamia is strongly preferred.

Relevant skills

• Commercial & Strategic Acumen: Demonstrated ability to develop commercial strategies and identify significant revenue generation as well as impact opportunities in the agricultural sector for both farmers and the organisation
• Innovation Pipeline Management: Proven capability in prioritising, designing, running, and scaling commercial pilots in a logical and evidence-based sequence.
• Financial & Risk Modeling: Strong proficiency in financial modeling and budget management.
• Supply Chain & Logistical Execution: Proven capability in overseeing partner negotiations, aggregation logistics, quality control, last-mile distribution, and ensuring products meet buyer standards or export regulations.
• Project & Performance Management: Track record of setting and reviewing KPIs, managing complex multi-workstream projects, and driving accountability for results.
• Partnership Management: Demonstrated success in identifying, developing, and managing commercial partnerships with buyers, processors, and distributors.
• Stakeholder Influence: Ability to represent the department at senior levels and secure buy-in from cross-functional teams, including Field Operations and Government Relations.
• People Leadership: Experience coaching senior staff and building a results-oriented, collaborative team culture.