OpenOperationsKampala, Uganda, with travel across Uganda and the region
Operations Manager
Turn Imani from a founder-led launch into a disciplined FMCG operating company, owning sales governance, stock control, logistics, customer operations, reporting and regional scale-up.
Role details
Type: Full time, senior leadership. A fractional or consulting start may be considered for an exceptional candidate.
Reports to: Founder / Managing Director
Posted: 30 September 2026
Closes: 31 December 2026
Apply for this roleMission
- Build the operating backbone for Imani Uganda: people, process, controls, reporting, route-to-market discipline and regional readiness.
First 30 / 90 / 180 Days
30 days
- Create a 90-day operating plan covering sales pipeline, stock controls, cash collection, warehouse discipline and weekly reporting.
- Set up a weekly leadership rhythm: sales pipeline review, stock reconciliation, customer issues, cash position and action tracker.
- Review the pricing model and set clear discount approval rules.
- Define immediate hiring needs for sales, inventory, accounts and operations support.
90 days
- Make direct B2B sales run smoothly into hotels, factories, offices, schools, hospitals, cleaning companies and retailers buying direct.
- Put in place SOPs for customer onboarding, quotations, invoicing, deliveries, inventory counts, sample control and collections.
- Deliver the first monthly management pack: revenue, gross margin, inventory, debtors, customer pipeline and cashflow.
- Set the criteria for choosing sub-distributors and rolling out regionally.
180 days
- Prepare Imani for Uganda-wide coverage and expansion into priority East African markets.
- Build a controlled sub-distributor model with minimum orders, targets, territory rules and a reporting cadence.
- Reduce the founder's day-to-day load by creating accountable department owners and dashboards.
Responsibilities
- Own the company's operating rhythm, weekly KPIs, management meetings, escalations and cross-functional priorities.
- Turn the business plan into monthly execution plans with clear owners and deadlines.
- Create and enforce SOPs for sales operations, inventory, deliveries, returns, documentation and customer service.
- Protect Imani's pricing discipline, gross margin and customer segmentation.
- Support the Sales Manager on account priorities, pipeline quality, proposals and customer terms.
- Negotiate with key B2B buyers, logistics providers, suppliers and future regional partners.
- Ensure accurate stock counts, batch traceability, loss and damage controls, dispatch controls and reorder signals.
- Work with Inventory and Accounts to reconcile physical stock with inventory value and landed cost.
- Coordinate compliance documentation, import files and standards requirements.
- Hire, manage and coach the early team across sales, operations, inventory and accounts, with role scorecards and weekly reporting.
- Prepare regional expansion playbooks for Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and other approved territories.
Required Experience
- 5+ years in FMCG, commercial operations, route-to-market, distribution, manufacturing or country operations.
- Senior leadership experience in Uganda, for example as Head of FMCG, Country Manager, General Manager, COO or Commercial Operations Director.
- Strong understanding of Uganda's trade channels, B2B selling, institutional buyers, distributors, wholesalers and field execution.
- A track record of building operating systems from scratch, not only running an established machine.
- Strong command of gross margin, inventory discipline, cash collection and reporting.
- Comfortable in a high-ownership startup with little bureaucracy and high accountability.
Preferred Background
- Detergents, personal care, cleaning products, beverages, household goods or imported FMCG.
- Regional exposure across East Africa.
- Launching new product categories or building distributor networks.
- Working knowledge of Zoho Books, ERP/CRM or inventory systems.
KPIs
- Monthly revenue and gross profit against target
- Gross margin protection and discount control
- Stock accuracy above 98%
- Order cycle time and on-time dispatch
- Debtor days and cash collection
- SOP adoption and weekly reporting compliance
Case Exercise
- Prepare a 90-day operating plan for launching Imani into Kampala hotels, factories, offices and cleaning companies while protecting price and stock control.
- Compensation is discussed with shortlisted candidates.
- Apply with the form below. In your cover note, tell us why you're a strong fit and describe one achievement that shows you can build, sell, operate, control stock or manage finance in a fast-moving business. We may contact strong candidates quickly; only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage.