Director, Artisans Operations and Production 192 views0 applications

About WE

WE is a movement that believes when we come together we can create an even better world. WE makes it easy for you to get involved – whether at home, school or work – by offering resources to help you create positive social change in your community and around the world.

Through WE Charity initiatives, WE empowers communities to lift themselves out of poverty through our holistic, sustainable international development model, WE Villages.

In Canada, the US, and the UK, WE Day and WE Schools are initiatives of WE Charity that educate and empower young people. WE Schools is a year long educational program that nurtures compassion in students and gives them the tools to create transformative social change. WE Day is a series of stadium-sized events that celebrate youth making a difference in their local and global communities.

ME to WE is an innovative social enterprise that provides people with better choices for a better world. We offer socially conscious and environmentally friendly products as well as lifechanging experiences. ME to WE measures the bottom line not by dollars earned, but by the number of lives changed and the positive social and environmental impact made. Half of ME to WE’s net profit is donated to WE Charity. The other half is reinvested to grow the enterprise and its social mission.

WE is looking for an outstanding Director, Artisans Operations and Production to be based in Nairobi, Kenya. The person will be responsible for overseeing all functions involved in the production of Artisans products made in Kenya: from supplemental local inputs sourcing and procurement, production planning, inbound and outbound transportation of inputs and finished goods, warehousing, training and development of the artisans in the Masai Mara. In addition, the Director is also responsible for the International store (Duka) operations (sourcing, merchandising, operations and sales) at our Bogani lodge.

The incumbent will report directly to the Me to WE Head of Supply Chain and Product Development in Toronto, with a dotted line to the Kenya Country Director. There is a 3 months probationary period.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Project Management

• Works with the ME to WE CEO, the Head of Supply Chain and Product Development, Kenya Country Director and other team members to create an enduring vision and strategy for all Artisan products out of Kenya, and their related community impacts as well as planning to support the growth of ME to WE Artisans.
• Develop, implement and monitor all processes, quality and internal controls necessary to ensure flawless production process
• Researches and establishes new systems and/or processes to create efficiency and quality in the department
• Work in collaboration with Sales team to ensure proper operations growth and quality control over produced item
• Work in collaboration with the Product Development team to support the pricing and sourcing processes

Financial Monitoring and Analysis

• Oversees all cash flow processes and liaises with the accounting to ensure systems are built to capture data for analysis and that all accounting needs are met
• Develops procedures to ensure quality of financial tracking
• Develop a budget to control cash flows and liaise with the accounting team to ensure all accounts payable are always appropriately settled and cash available
• Liaise with the Head of Supply Chain, PD and Kenya Country Director to ensure proper cash flow
• Liaise with the Product Development team to ensure highest profitability of the designed product
• Oversee the financial goals and progress of the Sales team in Kenya
• All fiscal and budgetary matters for the department in Kenya

Production

• Oversee the production process
• Ensure all Purchase Orders are prepared within deadlines
• Work closely with the team to build the production schedule according to needs and clearly communicate priorities on a weekly/monthly basis
• Troubleshoot and help solve all production issues

Supply chain and logistics

• Procurement (local and international)/import (raw materials)
• Supporting the buying team by assisting with the creating of the buying lists and budgets
• Ensuring the buying team has resources like cash and transportation available when needed
• Support the production team with scheduling the appropriate number of Mamas working in the Atelier
• Ensure compliance with all international/local import standards
• Always Leverage the procurement scale to ensure cost effectiveness and production efficiency

Packaging and export (finished product)

• Ensure all produced items are appropriately tagged, barcoded and shipped in a timely manner
• Ensure the quality control process is in place and being followed by team members
• Ensure the shipping documents are prepared according to standards and shipments are being scheduled to deliver within requested deadlines
• Ensure compliance with all international/local export standards
• Ensure all shipments are being packed and shipped according to client’s needs and standards
• Ensure all systems are up-to-date and results are clearly communicated to the Toronto team
• Support the team to ensure the production numbers are being updated daily

Communication and Reporting

• Regular presentation of production results to department Head
• Regular reports on all major projects (timeline to be determined)
• Weekly check-in
• Communicate on a daily basis with the team on the ground to make sure the priorities are being understood and the resources available to ensure the production schedule is being executed without interruptions.

Oversee and support Sales team in Kenya (Duka at Bogani Lodge)

• Ensure proper training and clear communication
• Ensure sales goals are being met and supervise the sales/ merchandising strategy

Support the product design team during the design season and development process

• COGS – monitor and ensure pricing is correct
• QC over all documents and samples

Leadership & Team Management

• Fosters a sense of community among the team members within the context of our organizational core values
• Hosts regular check-ins with team members to provide on-going support and help problem solve challenges. Determine when issues need to be escalated
• Coaches and motivates team members, and influences them to take positive action and accountability for their assigned work
• Provides direction, leadership, and coordination for a wide-range of projects
• Leads departmental human resources functions such as hiring, evaluation, coaching/mentorship, professional development opportunities and difficult conversations with team members (where needed)
• Leads a team responsible for ME to WE Kenya Artisan product development and the conversion of these new products into an efficient & responsive production process
• Identify process and efficiency improvements.
• Troubleshoots challenges and escalates issues to department Director, when needed.
• Clearly and effectively delegates to managers and coordinators.
• Monitors progress, milestones and priorities; tracks action items; identifies process improvements.

Serves on the Directors Team for East Africa Operations

• Acts as a member of the director’s team within the Retail 360 department, as well as within the broader organization as a whole.
• Responsible for planning your departments needs in line with strategy for East Africa vision and efficiencies
• Join strategic direction planning, in representation of the Artisans Department, to contribute and lead the execution of team decisions
• Be an ambassador of leadership across all departments
• Plans and implements strategy to align departmental priorities with organizational priorities.
• Proactively manages change in strategy, identifies potential crises and devises contingency plans
• Ensures that all the department’s work aligns with WE Villages programming in Kenya, including product development, supply chain and pricing decisions, amongst other considerations
• Sets and continually manages expectations with internal and external stakeholders
• Ensures that all the department’s work aligns with WE Villages programming in Kenya, including product development, supply chain and pricing decisions, amongst other considerations
• Sets and continually manages expectations with internal and external stakeholders

Minimum Skills and Qualifications Required

• Min. 5 years of proven experience working/managing multinational teams, international supply chain and finance;
• Bachelors degree in either business management, supply chain management, finance and/or economics;
• Experience with industry specific programs – SAP as an example; Microsoft Office and any business management software;
• Aligned and passionate about WE mission and vision;
• Strong leadership skills and ability to manage, motivate and develop diverse teams
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong negotiation and problem-solving skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Excellent communicator Self starter and independent thinker