ISM-1 · Fully Remote · Full-time

East & South Africa

International Sales Manager for ZoeM’s agro-export portfolio in East & South Africa. Own the full buyer funnel — prospecting, qualifying, negotiating, closing repeat-shipment agreements. Fully remote within the region.

Priority markets

Tanzania · Ethiopia · Kenya

Language

Local language + English · region residents preferred

Experience

3–5 years B2B / export; ≥2 yrs food / agro preferred

Apply for ISM-1 → Back to all roles

Region context

ISM-1 territory.

Channel focus, trade-show calendar, and the corridor-specific knowledge you’ll need.

Channel focus

Importers in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa · rice & grain wholesalers · spice traders · HoReCa & hotel-supply (Serena, Hilton, Radisson)

What you should already know

Mombasa and Dar es Salaam are the key entry ports. Ethiopia has tight FX controls — buyers prefer staged LCs. Hospitality groups (Serena, Hilton) are reliable repeat buyers. Kenya runs as the regional hub for re-export into Uganda and Rwanda.

Full job description

International Sales Manager.

All five regional roles share this job description. The region-specific intel lives above.

What you’ll do

Build and own a qualified pipeline of importers, wholesalers, retail buyers, processors, and HoReCa distributors.
Lead outbound prospecting via LinkedIn, trade directories, APEDA buyer lists, embassy commercial sections.
Convert inbound enquiries into qualified opportunities within 24 hours.
Negotiate Incoterms (FOB, CIF, CFR), MOQs, payment terms (LC, TT, DA/DP), packaging, private-label, shipment schedules.
Coordinate with sourcing, QA, and logistics to confirm spec, lead time, and pricing before quoting.
Own buyer onboarding end-to-end — KYC, sample dispatch, contract sign-off, first-shipment hand-holding.
Retain and grow existing accounts — wallet share, SKU mix, repeat-order rate.
Weekly commercial report; maintain pipeline, forecast, account notes in CRM.

Must-haves

Bachelor’s in International Business, Agribusiness, Commerce, Food Tech, or related. MBA a plus.
3–5 years B2B sales / export; ideally ≥2 years in food, agro, FMCG, or perishables.
Proven track record of closed import/export deals — specific deal sizes, customer names, shipment volumes.
Working knowledge of Incoterms 2020, HS codes, export documentation (BL, CO, Phyto, COA, packing list), LC / TT payment flows.
Resident of East & South Africa with native or expert command of a local language of the region, and strong spoken & written English. We will strongly prefer local candidates from the region.
Comfortable with CRM (HubSpot / Zoho / Salesforce) and Excel pipeline reporting.

Nice-to-haves

Existing Rolodex of importers, distributors, or retail buyers in your priority markets.
Prior experience selling Indian-origin or competing-origin (Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Thailand, Vietnam) produce.
Exposure to private-label / contract-pack arrangements for retail chains.
Knowledge of EU MRL, US FDA, GCC SFDA regulatory regimes.