Head of Product – Locks & Ironmongery

Head of Product – Locks & Ironmongery

Location: Mombasa

Industry: Building & Hardware/ Sanitary ware & Bathrooms/ Wood & Finishes/ Utilities & Systems

Nationality: Kenyan locals

Salary: 250,000 – 275,000 NET (Negotiable with the right candidate)

Joining: Immediate

Job Summary

The role focuses on driving sales and profitability, optimizing product performance, strengthening supplier partnerships, and ensuring the business maintains a competitive market position through effective product management and commercial leadership.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Professional qualifications in Product Management, Procurement, or Supply Chain Management will be an added advantage.
• Minimum of five (5) years' experience in Product Management, Category Management, or Business Development within the hardware, locks, ironmongery, construction, or building materials industry.
• Proven experience managing supplier relationships and leading commercial negotiations.
• Demonstrated success in driving product profitability and category growth.
• Experience in inventory planning and demand forecasting is highly desirable.

  
  

Key responsibilities

Product Strategy & category

•  Develop and execute product and category strategies that achieve sales, market share, and profitability objectives.
•  Manage the complete product lifecycle, including product sourcing, range development, pricing, product rationalization, and discontinuation.
•  Identify market trends, customer needs, competitor activities, and emerging product opportunities to maintain a competitive product portfolio.
•  Drive innovation through the introduction of new products and enhancement of existing product lines.

  
  

Commercial & Supplier Management

•  Develop and maintain strong strategic relationships with local and international suppliers.
•  Lead commercial negotiations to secure competitive pricing, favorable payment terms, rebates, and supply agreements.
•  Monitor supplier performance, ensuring quality, reliability, and cost efficiency.

  
  

Inventory & Supply Chain Management

•  Collaborate with Purchasing and Supply Chain teams to ensure optimum stock availability and inventory planning.
•  Monitor inventory levels to maximize stock turnover while minimizing excess inventory, stock-outs, and obsolete stock.
•  Support forecasting and demand planning activities to align inventory with business requirements.

  
  

Cross-Functional Leadership

•  Work closely with Sales, Marketing, Purchasing, Finance, and Operations to ensure successful product launches and effective market penetration.
•  Provide technical product knowledge, training, and ongoing support to internal teams and customers.
•  Support the sales team with product positioning, pricing strategies, and customer solutions.

  
  

Performance Management & Reporting

•  Monitor product sales, margins, profitability, and overall category performance.
•  Analyze sales trends and recommend corrective actions to improve business performance.
•  Prepare regular management reports covering product performance, market developments, supplier performance, and competitor analysis.
•  Ensure compliance with company policies, quality standards, and relevant industry regulations.

  
  

Technical Skills & Key Competencies

• Strong commercial and financial acumen.
• Excellent analytical and strategic planning skills.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Microsoft Excel. Experience using ERP systems and inventory management software is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of product lifecycle management and category management principles.
• Strategic and commercial thinking.
• Leadership and people management.
• Negotiation and influencing skills.
• Analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Customer focus and market orientation.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Results-oriented with sound decision-making ability.
• Planning, organization, and execution excellence.
• High level of integrity and accountability.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

•  Achievement of sales revenue and gross profit targets.
•  Growth and profitability of the Locks & Ironmongery product portfolio.
•  Product availability and inventory turnover.
•  Supplier performance, cost optimization, and contract effectiveness.
•  Successful introduction and performance of new products.
•  Customer satisfaction and retention.
•  Market share growth within the Locks & Ironmongery category.
•  Reduction in obsolete and slow-moving inventory.
• Accuracy of forecasting and inventory planning.
•  Timely submission of product performance and market analysis reports.
•  Customer Service

If you meet the requirements, please send your cv to careers@msvlgroup.com