Head of Product Development and Diversification Job KTDA

Engineering Jobs, KTDA Jobs. Responsible for leading new product development, research and diversification, identifying market trends and consumer needs, overseeing product formulation, testing and commercial launches, coordinating research partnerships, ensuring regulatory compliance, supporting new processing technologies, developing business cases, and tracking product performance and ROI. Requires a Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Agricultural Economics, Chemistry, Business, or a related field, with 8–10 years’ experience including at least five years in senior NPD/R&D leadership . The position is based at KTDA Headquarters in Nairobi and requires on-site work.

Position Scope

• Reporting to the Group General Manager-Research, Development and Innovation, the successful candidate will be responsible for driving KTDA’s growth through market-led innovation and data science. The role will generate strategic future business opportunities by turning ideas, research, and market insights into commercial solutions across the tea value chain. It ensures KTDA innovates beyond traditional black CTC tea to create more value for farmers, factories and consumers.

Key Responsibilities

• Developing and implementing KTDA’s innovation and Data Science strategy aligned to corporate objectives;
• Establishing/ managing the KTDA Prototyping Lab or Innovation Hub with capabilities for rapid product, process, and engineering prototyping;
• Working closely with R&D to translate research outputs into market-ready products and processes through validation, modeling and commercialization;
• Building KTDA’s data ecosystem: integrating factory, farmer, market, and consumer data to inform all innovation decisions;
• Establishing dashboards and predictive models to track innovation performance and ROI;
• Conducting test marketing, A/B testing, and market trials for innovations before full launch;
• Developing analytics for brand performance, pricing, demand forecasting, and customer segmentation;
• Tracking commercial KPIs of all innovations and reporting impact to the management;
• Sourcing innovations in precision farming, IoT, drones, soil sensors, smart irrigation, and climate-smart inputs;
• Testing new technologies with R&D and Field Services on selected farms/buying centers before full rollout;
• Coordinating usage of data to measure impact on yield, cost, and labor before scaling to thousands of farmers;
• Translating research and market data into simple recommendations Field Officers can deliver to farmers;
• Using market analytics, consumer data, and sales trends to identify gaps for specialty teas, functional teas, RTD, extracts, and premium blends;
• Monitoring post-launch performance and using data to optimize blends, packaging, and pricing;
• Overseeing prototyping of new packaging, blends, and delivery formats to meet local and export market needs;
• Identifying diversification opportunities beyond tea: herbal infusions, nutraceuticals, foods, beverages, cosmetics using market and agronomic data;
• Collaborating with R&D to assess or conduct market, agronomic and technical feasibility of sourced or co-developed non-tea concepts;
• Leading cross-functional teams to prototype and pilot non-tea products within KTDA ecosystem;
• Tracking performance of diversified products and recommend portfolio adjustments;
• Ensuring regulatory compliance and commercial viability of all non-tea innovations;
• Applying data analytics and AI to optimize factory processes – withering, rolling, fermentation, drying, sorting;
• Partnering with R&D and Engineering to pilot data-driven solutions for energy savings, throughput, and quality consistency;
• Developing predictive models for quality control, predictive maintenance, and waste reduction;
• Driving adoption of digital tools and dashboards across 69 factories to improve OEE and predictive maintenance models and digital twins to reduce downtime and costs.
• Identifying market and factory needs for proprietary engineering products: energy-efficient equipment, automation, waste valorization, and by-product machinery;
• Collaborating with R&D, Engineering and Factory teams to define speciation, test prototypes in live factory environments and scale successful solutions

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Data Science, Business, Engineering, Food Science, Marketing, or related field. 
• Certification in Product Management, AI/ML, or Innovation preferred.
• Minimum 8-10 years’ experience, with 5 years in a senior role in Innovation, Data Science, or Product Development.
• Proven experience working with R&D teams 
• Experience launching products and process improvements in FMCG, Agro-processing, or Manufacturing.
• Tea/agriculture sector experience is a strong advantage.
• Technical: AI/ML, Python/SQL, BI tools, IoT, data modeling, product and process analysis.
• Market research, business case development, marketing strategy, P&L.
• Ability to partner with R&D, Engineering, Marketing, and Factories with clear role boundaries.
• Leadership: Strategic thinking, innovation management, project delivery, and stakeholder engagement.
• Analytical: Data storytelling, problem solving, and commercial acumen.

How to Apply

Click here to apply