Food Innovation and Indigenization Manager

Location: Roo Bay Farm, Homabay

We are seeking a Food Innovation and Indigenization Manager to drive innovation in sustainable tilapia feed and biodiversity efforts. The role involves testing local ingredients, piloting scalable crop models, and enhancing tree planting programs across sites. You’ll collaborate with nutrition, ESG, and impact teams, while also identifying funding opportunities. Strong field execution and project management skills are key. Ideal for someone passionate about sustainable agriculture and aquaculture.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Develop roadmap of all available nutritional options for tilapia diet based on locally-available goods and waste goods.
• Collaborate with Nutritionist and Cage Feed Trial Managers to develop a testing program to methodically test and track the performance of these novel and indigenous ingredients as a fish feed.
• On high potential nutritional categories which are not available in large supply locally (or at too high a cost), build costing model to estimate the cost of producing the crop at scale; then set up pilots to test cost of production of these ingredients.
• Build on and develop a professional framework for Victory’s Biodiversity target – starting with trees on all operating sites. Then advance this to supply additional trees and biodiversity across our sites to drive our goals. Leverage HEAP program and other formats to create additional positive impact.
• Review and help apply for financing opportunities (grants, soft capital) to access more funding to drive all our initiatives further and faster.
• Work on special pilot testing at 106 grounds (and train/manage 106 Gardener) to get especially deep analysis on several key learnings.
• Identify local crops that can be produced in a large scale and become effective substitutes for bulking materials to be used in the production of fish feed.
• Closely collaborate with the Farm Gardener to ensure that the Farm Tree Nursery is well run and stocked with relevant plants, with emphasis on indigenous species.
• Actively participate in the values day activities by advocating and creating awareness on the benefits of tree planting and improved biodiversity.
• Work closely with the ESG and Impact Reporting functions.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Environmental Science, Aquaculture, Animal Nutrition, Agronomy, or a related field. A Master’s degree is an added advantage.
• Minimum 7+ years of hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture, aquaculture nutrition, agroforestry, or biodiversity programs. Experience working with indigenous plants, animal feed formulation, or agribusiness research is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of fish nutrition, feed ingredients, and feed trials.
• Proficiency in designing and executing agricultural or aquaculture pilot projects.
• Ability to create cost models and assess economic viability of crop production at scale.
• Familiarity with biodiversity frameworks and tree-planting programs.
• Competency in data collection, analysis, and reporting for environmental and sustainability metrics.
• Strong project management and coordination skills.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration abilities.
• Passion for sustainability, biodiversity, and environmental conservation.
• Creative and analytical thinker with a hands-on, problem-solving approach

Benefit:

• Visibility into the world’s fastest growing aquaculture company.
• Ideal for a candidate looking to dive into a mission-oriented Organization.
• The team is committed to the candidate’s success and will provide coaching, mentorship, and unique exposure to people and experiences that come from the most successful leaders in the entrepreneurial community and the social sector.

About Victory Farms

Victory Farms (VF) was established on Lake Victoria in 2016 with both on-shore and off-shore facilities. The head office is in Nairobi, and its Farm site is in Homa Bay County, with distribution across Kenya. VF has since become one of the fastest growing companies in aquaculture globally. In its first eight months of operation, the Company became the largest aquaculture producer in Kenya. Victory Farms aims to become the leading tilapia farm in Africa over the next 5 years while maintaining the highest environmental and social standards; as the most sustainable tilapia farm in the world, adhering to global standards and best practices, and producing affordable, sustainable protein to feed millions of people across Africa. Today, it is the largest commercial aquaculture player in East Africa and operates one of largest hatcheries on the continent.

The Company is continuing to rapidly expand its vertically integrated model: production, processing, and sales & distribution, to keep pace with the rapid growth in demand for protein. To support this, Victory Farms employs world class technologies, people, and processes to build its model for sustainable protein production on the continent. VF strives for the highest standards in performance, execution, culture, and integrity.

VF’s growth trajectory provides enormous opportunity for excited professionals to uplift their careers and make an impact within a diverse operation. We recognize the utmost importance which contributions by individuals and teams have to the success of Victory Farms. We work to create a fantastic environment for our employees. An environment where employees have an opportunity to develop professionally and personally.

How to Apply

Please send your CV and cover letter expressing your interest and qualifications to recruit@victoryfarmskenya.com by 15^th Aug 2025, Indicate the Job Title as the email subject – Food Innovation and Indigenization Manager.