Lead - Automation & AI Enablement

About the role:

Our client is one of East Africa's leading FMCG companies, operating in edible oils & fats, food, beverages, home care, personal care, and animal feeds. The company is modernizing its digital backbone, strengthening SAP S/4HANA, and integrating automation and AI into operations, production, supply chain, and corporate functions. The Lead - Automation & AI Enablement will play a key role in accelerating this digital evolution.

Additionally, they will be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying automation, RPA, analytics, and AI/ML use cases across our client's operations from factory floors to support offices.

This is a hands-on technical role suited for a young, high-potential specialist with strong AI/ML and automation skills, capable of building prototypes, deploying real value-driven solutions, and supporting the digital transformation roadmap.

The ideal candidate brings a mix of software automation talent (Python, Power Automate, Automation anywhere), analytics dashboards (Power BI), and experience working around SAP environments (ECC or S/4HANA preferred).

Key Responsibilities:

1. Automation & AI Roadmap Execution

• Support the creation and rollout of our client's automation and AI enablement roadmap.
  

• Identify automation opportunities in production, supply chain, finance, HR, sales, and procurement.
  

• Prioritize high-impact use cases in collaboration with business stakeholders.
  

2. RPA & Workflow Automation

• Develop RPA bots using Automation Anywhere or Power Automate.
  

• Automate repetitive workflows across offices (finance, HR, procurement, logistics).
  

• Maintain automation scripts, troubleshoot failures, and optimize performance.
  

3. AI/ML & Predictive Insights

• Build machine learning models for forecasting (demand, raw material usage, supply chain).
  

• Support predictive maintenance and anomaly detection for production machines.
  

• Develop computer-vision models for quality control (optional but desirable).
  

• Validate model accuracy and deploy into live environments.
  

4. Systems Integration & SAP Ecosystem

• Integrate automation with SAP S/4HANA, SCADA, WMS, MIS, and ERP environments.
  

• Support creation of APIs, connectors, and data pipelines.
  

• Build process automation directly around SAP transactions where relevant.
  

5. Analytics & BI Enablement

• Build dashboards in Power BI or SAP BI (Bobj) for operational insights and KPI tracking.
  

• Automate data extraction, cleaning, and reporting pipelines.
  

• Enable business teams to make decisions using accurate, timely data.
  

6. Process Excellence & Governance

• Document automated workflows, models, and processes.
  

• Enforce automation governance standards, access control, and security.
  

• Track ROI, adoption, and tangible value created by each automation project.
  

7. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work with operations, production managers, finance teams, HR, supply chain, and commercial teams to identify automation and AI opportunities.
  

• Support change management and onboarding of end-users.
  

RequirementsQualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in IT, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field.
  

• 2 - 5 years of relevant experience
  

• Certifications in RPA, Data Engineering, AI/ML, or Python are an advantage.
  

• Hands-on development experience in:
  

  • RPA: Automation Anywhere  or Power Automate
    

  • AI/ML: Python (Pandas, Scikit-learn, TensorFlow or PyTorch)
    

  • Data engineering and analytics (SQL, Power BI)
    

• Experience in workflow automation, building bots, and deploying ML models.
  

• Exposure to SAP ECC or S/4HANA, or other ERP integration.
  

• Experience in manufacturing, FMCG, or supply chain environments is a plus.
  

Technical Skills

• Python: data wrangling, scripting, ML model development
  

• RPA: Automation Anywhere or Power Automate
  

• BI: Power BI, SQL, SAP BI
  

• Cloud: Azure or AWS fundamentals
  

• API/Integration experience
  

• Git, version control, automation testing
  

• Understanding of SCADA/WMS/ERP systems is an advantage
  

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving
  

• Ability to translate business needs into technical solutions
  

• Curious, proactive, self-driven — "builder mindset"
  

• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement
  

• Ability to work cross-functionally and handle multiple projects
  

HOW TO APPLY
Qualified candidates are encourage to share their CV via: 
Email Subject Line: Lead – Automation & AI Enablement

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis

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