Origin Coffee Trainee (Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania)

We are Neumann Kaffee Gruppe. And we love coffee.

For us at Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG), everything revolves around coffee. As a globally active green coffee service group, our more than 3,300 employees in 28 countries work with dedication for and with green coffee, which is always the focus of our services along the entire coffee supply chain. Our fields of work are just as diverse as our employees and we are proud to live this diversity.

Ibero Kenya Limited is amongst the top exporters of green coffee in Kenya and is renowned for its commitment to excellence. We have curated a distinguished reputation for supplying premium-grade Kenyan coffee to the global market, achieved through expertise in rigorous sourcing, high quality control measures, and a transparent supply chain. This expertise and knowledge, allied with our ultra-modern facility, enables us to deliver an exceptional level of service and efficiency.

We are certified as a Great Place to Work®, highlighting our strong culture of trust, collaboration, and respect. Discover here what our employees like best about our workplace.

Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) is the world's leading green coffee service group, trading and servicing green coffee responsibly across the globe. Our Origin Trainee Program builds the next generation of coffee leaders -grounded in NKG's values of Service, Excellence, Integrity, Responsibility, Respect, and Courage - through hands-on rotations across the value chain, from origin to customer.

We’re hiring three Origin Coffee Trainees - one based in Kenya, one in Tanzania, and one in Uganda - to join our NKG East Africa Team.

Your responsibilities

• Over 24 months, you will follow a structured learning and development journey designed to accelerate your career through hands-on experience across the coffee supply chain and origin operations. You will gain practical exposure through job rotations, blended learning, mentoring and coaching from leaders and experts, corporate training, and special projects. Through these rotational assignments, you will be exposed to:

• Procurement & Quality: sourcing, supplier relations, cupping, grading, built on long-term producer relationships grounded in Service and Excellence.

• Sustainability & Compliance: traceability, certifications, ESG, EUDR, reflecting our commitment to Integrity and Responsibility

• Trading & Market Analysis: futures & options, price risk, supply and demand trends, developing the ability to make sound commercial calls.

• Logistics & Export Operations: shipment planning, documentation, customer delivery, reinforcing accountability and operational excellence.

• Finance & Accounting: margin and cost analysis, working capital and trade finance flows, P&L computation, capital expenditure, building the financial discipline behind sound commercial decisions.

• Capstone Project: Every trainee closes out the program with a capstone project - a real business challenge you identify, develop, and present to senior leadership. Past examples of the kind of impact this can have include growing sales in a specific market, deploying technology to improve operational efficiencies, or developing a sustainability initiative that improves the livelihoods of coffee farmers in your origin. The capstone is your chance to demonstrate the commercial judgment and ownership expected of NKG’s future leaders.

What's in it for you

Structured Career Development: Benefit from a structured 24-month programme designed to accelerate professional growth through hands-on experience, skills development and networking and a clear path toward management roles within NKG - for those with the courage to lead and the service mindset to earn it.

Meaningful Work from Day One: Contribute to projects that strengthen coffee quality, improve operational efficiency, support sustainable sourcing, and create value for farmers and NKG customers across the coffee value chain.

International Exposure

• A defining feature of the program - you will spend time embedded in an NKG destination-market office abroad, seeing the coffee journey from the buyer's side of the table.

• This placement will give you first-hand insight into how roasters and customers evaluate quality, negotiate contracts, and plan purchasing and how the sourcing, quality, and logistics decisions made at origin ripple through to their outcomes.

• You will work alongside NKG's trading, sales, and logistics teams in that market, building the cross-border relationships and commercial perspective that future origin leaders need to bridge producer and customer priorities effectively.

• You will finally return to your home origin with a sharper, end-to-end view of the coffee value chain.

Structured Mentorship & Coaching: Learn from experienced NKG leaders and coffee supply chain experts, gaining practical guidance across sourcing, trade, quality, logistics, operations, and customer delivery.

NKG Leadership Principles: You will complete a basic leadership learning path that introduces the NKG Leadership Principles grounded in our NKG's values of Service, Excellence, Integrity, Responsibility, Respect, and Courage. The focus will be on self-leadership, collaboration, feedback, accountability, ownership and leading in line with NKG’s shared principles.

Network and industry exposure: Build meaningful connections and experience a dynamic and diverse work environment at the heart of East Africa’s coffee industry, with opportunities to learn, grow, and make an impact across the coffee value chain.

Your Profile

• Recent Graduate (within 2 years) in Agribusiness, Economics, or Finance; a master’s degree is an added benefit

• A maximum of 2 years’ working experience
• Strong leadership potential to grow into future leadership roles within NKG’s coffee supply chain and origin operations.

• Demonstrated integrity and professionalism in prior academic or work settings

• Willingness to be based in-country (Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda) with regional and international travel

• Fluency in English. Proficiency in Kiswahili or Luganda is an added advantage. If not proficient, a willingness to learn is a must.

What will make you succeed

• Exceptional interpersonal skills - this is a highly relationship-driven business, and success depends on building trust with producers, partners and customers

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• A curious, strong learning mindset and a genuine interest in coffee and commodity markets

• Adaptable, resilient, and ready to work across cultures and geographies with respect for diverse teams

Our staff appreciates

• International: Working in an international atmosphere in a growing and progressive company
• Benefits: An attractive salary with extra benefits
• Flexibility: Flexible working hours including a mobile work option

Have we sparked your interest?

Apply now and specify your preferred country location (Kenya / Tanzania / Uganda).

Please get in touch with your first point of contact:

Hellen Akumu

About Us

There is not much better than the smell and taste of a freshly brewed coffee, right?! That’s why we at NKG work passionately for our beloved product every day. As a globally operating green coffee service group, we work devotedly for and with coffee, as it is the only product our business focuses on. With more than 40 companies in 28 countries and more than 3,300 highly skilled employees, we are active in the sectors Export & Milling, Import, Farming, Agents & Representative Offices, and Services. The best possible design of processes along the coffee supply chain is always our top priority – of course with regard to the consideration of social, environmental, and economic needs as an integral part of our business model. Our group is privately owned and run. David M. Neumann is the founder-family’s third generation Managing Partner and overseeing the group jointly with his Management Team.