Tupande Soko Avocado Oil Quality Assurance Senior Coordinator (Fixed-Term)

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund equips 5.5 million smallholder farmers to make their farms more productive. Across nine countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa's farmers, we provide high-quality farm supplies, tree seedlings, accessible credit, modern agronomic training, and a wide range of other agricultural services. On average, this model enables any farmer to increase their income and assets on supported land by more than 35 percent, while permanently improving their resilience. This is all made possible by our team of 9,000+ full-time staff, drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. To learn more, please see our Why Work Here blog post.

Our Kenya program, founded in 2006, operates under the local brand Tupande. Close to 500 staff in our Kakamega headquarters support 1,747 field staff and serve more than 1 million farmers. In Nairobi, around 50 staff support global functions like procurement, recruitment, government relations, and communications.

About the Role

Ensures compliance with food safety, environmental, and regulatory standards and leads a team of QA Officers and technicians to deliver consistent product quality and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

Quality Assurance Strategy and Leadership

• Develop and implement a robust QA strategy, policies, and procedures aligned with company goals and industry best practices.

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to elevate product quality and reduce deviations and non-conformities.

• Set quality performance targets, monitor KPIs, and report results to senior leadership.

Team Management

• Manage and mentor a team of QA Officers and laboratory personnel.

• Oversee staff scheduling, training, performance management, and skills development.

• Ensure the QA team operates efficiently and is well-equipped with tools and training.

Compliance and Regulatory Oversight

• Ensure all operations comply with Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), HACCP, GMP, SHEQ, and local environmental regulations.

• Coordinate and lead internal and external audits; prepare reports and follow up on corrective actions.

• Act as the point of contact for quality and food safety inspections by external bodies.

Laboratory Oversight

• Oversee all laboratory testing processes, including dry matter, oil quality, ripening, water, and wastewater analysis.

• Ensure testing equipment is calibrated, maintained, and operated according to SOPs.

• Review and validate test results; investigate and escalate significant deviations.

Process and Product Quality Assurance

• Monitor and validate quality at critical control points across receiving, ripening, processing, and storage.

• Approve raw material intake, in-process materials, and finished products based on quality criteria.

• Review QA reports and recommend corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).

Facility Hygiene and Sanitation

• Ensure cleaning schedules cover all production areas, equipment, and facilities.

• Review cleaning records and sanitation checklists.

• Approve cleaning and sanitizing chemicals and ensure correct concentrations are used

• Supervise the sanitation consumable use and stock control

Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain complete and accurate QA documentation, including test records, deviation logs, and audit reports.

• Compile and present weekly/monthly quality reports to management.

• Drive root cause analysis and ensure proper closure of non-conformities.

Food Safety and Waste Management

• Champion food safety culture across the organization.

• Supervise proper waste segregation, disposal, and environmental controls.

• Ensure proper handling of boiler water and wastewater testing for regulatory compliance.

Career Growth and Development

We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You'll have weekly check-ins with your manager, access to mentorship and training programs, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months, and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You'll have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.

Qualifications

Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:

• Minimum academic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree or Diploma in Food Science, Chemistry, Food Engineering, Microbiology, or a related discipline.
• Work Experience: Minimum 3–5 years of progressive experience in quality assurance in food manufacturing or agro-processing. At least 2 years in a supervisory or management capacity overseeing QA/lab teams.
• Knowledge and experience in the Food safety management system, Environmental, Occupational Health and Safety in the workplace.
• Attention to detail: Ensures all your tasks are completed to the processing needs.
• Analytical skills: Have the ability to identify a problem, investigate to find out relevant facts, and find a logical solution. 
• Written and verbal communication: Strong verbal communication skills can help you explain ways to improve processes to other people so they can achieve set quality standards.
• Ability to work as part of a team: Teamwork champion for team work to to help all departments deliver their deliverables.
• Time management: Ensures you have adequate time to complete your tasks to the desired output and  quality standards.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Sagana, Kenya

Benefits

Health insurance, paid time off

Contract Duration

1 Year

Eligibility

This role is only open to citizens or permanent residents of Kenya.

Application Deadline

26 October 2026. Please note that we hire on a rolling basis which means that applications are reviewed and processed on a continuous basis until a hire is made.

One Acre Fund never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the interview process. Official One Acre Fund emails will always arrive from an @oneacrefund.org address. Please report any suspicious communication here (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org), but do not send applications or application materials to this email address.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism are deeply connected to our organization's mission and purpose. One Acre Fund aspires to build a culture where all staff feel consistently valued, represented, and connected – so that our team can thrive as professionals, and achieve exceptional impact for the farmers we serve.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.