Warehouse & Distribution Manager

Penda Health is an award-winning startup company that is transforming healthcare in East Africa by building a chain of outpatient health clinics that offer evidence-based medical care and unparalleled member experience at surprisingly affordable rates.

Key Responsibilities 

• Culture & management
• You manage and motivate a high performing team.
• You are a great teammate, reliable, consistent.
• You debate with people across the organization and never use seniority to win a fight.
• You want to be part of the Penda story and show that by actively helping other parts of Penda.
• You handle conflict and feedback well and communicate and work with others at Penda well.
• Warehouse Operations Oversight:
• Oversee daily warehouse operations: inbound receiving, restocking, bin updates, packing, dispatch, and cold chain handling.
•  Implement and sustain a structured weekly operating rhythm that balances receiving, dispatch and inventory reconciliation.
•  Ensure rigorous adherence to inventory handling SOPs including FEFO/FIFO, batch tracking, bin card accuracy, and quarantine protocols.
• Outbound Distribution & Logistics:
•  Manage daily dispatch to 16+ Medical Centres grouped by route (Central/West/North and East/South), growing to serve up to 28 MCs over time.
•  Through the supervisors, coordinate with Logistics Assistants for timely dispatch prep, vehicle loading, route optimization, and post-delivery feedback.
• Oversee cold chain logistics for vaccines, lab items, and emergency dispatches—including monitoring and validation of temperature controlled items.
• Inventory Accuracy & Visibility:
•  Ensure accurate real-time entry into the EMR system for receiving, batch tracking, bin levels, and expiry updates.
• Supervise inventory audits (cycle counts, expiry checks, reconciliations), and drive routine dashboard reporting every Friday.
• Lead exception resolution processes, root cause analysis for variances, and implementation of corrective actions.
• Team Leadership & Capacity Building:
• Manage the all the warehouse staff (supervisors for pharma and non-pharma products as well as Warehouse Officers and Logistics Assistants).
• Foster team discipline around daily roles (receiving, dispatch, audit) 
• Coach team members towards 100% accuracy in data entry into EMR; 
• Drive a culture of efficiency, accountability, continuous improvement, and SOP compliance.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Compliance:
• Maintain phenomenal working relationships with Medical Centre teams, understanding their needs, need for urgency, and service quality expectations.
• Liaise closely with the Pharmacist Superintendent on all pharmaceutical PPB & GDP compliance matters.
• Collaborate with the Branch Accountant (BA) and HISC to ensure full stock traceability, audit preparedness, and financial controls.
• Planning, Reporting & Scale Readiness:
• Contribute to warehouse scalability plans for a 25+ MC network, including space optimization, cold chain capacity, and staffing.
• Recommend systems and tools upgrades aligned with operational complexity (e.g., EMR enhancements)
• Lead continuous alignment with Procurement and Assets & Facilities teams to ensure smooth flow of goods and infrastructure.

Key qualifications, Skills & Education

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business, or a related field. Other Professional qualifications an added advantage
• Certified Procurement & Supply Professional (CPSP-K) or equivalent qualification is required. Membership with KISM is an added advantage.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in warehousing and distribution managerial roles, ideally in a healthcare, FMCG, or regulated environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing fast-moving, high-volume inventory and coordinating last-mile delivery logistics.