Business Manager – Ready Meals Portfolio

About the role

The client, a leading regional food manufacturing group in Iraq, seeks an experienced Business Manager to own and grow its Ready Meals portfolio across frozen foods, vegetables, meat & protein products, ready‑to‑eat meals and sauces.

Key responsibilities

• Own the Ready Meals business strategy and P&L, driving revenue, volume, margins and profitability.
• Identify consumer and market opportunities and translate them into new products, categories and revenue streams.
• Focus on meat & protein value chain from sourcing and processing to manufacturing, cold chain, distribution and route‑to‑market.
• Explore local sourcing, meat processing, slaughterhouse partnerships and strategic investments.
• Review the existing portfolio to decide where to grow, innovate, improve or rationalise.
• Collaborate with R&D and Manufacturing to develop and commercialise new products.
• Strengthen distribution and market penetration for frozen and ready‑meals products.
• Manage pricing, product mix and margins to deliver sustainable growth.
• Work closely with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing, Trade Marketing and Finance to deliver the business plan.
• Lead and develop the Ready Meals team with clear commercial priorities and accountability.

Required profile

• Strong commercial and business leadership experience within the food industry, ideally across frozen foods, ready meals, meat and protein, or sauces.
• Proven P&L or business‑unit ownership with a solid understanding of revenue, volume, margins and profitability.
• Track record of growing and scaling a food category or business.
• Understanding of sourcing, manufacturing, supply chain and route‑to‑market.
• Experience developing and commercialising new products based on consumer and market insights.
• Meat, poultry or processed protein experience is a strong advantage, especially across the full value chain.
• Exposure to meat processing, slaughterhouse operations, integrated protein businesses or strategic sourcing partnerships is highly advantageous.
• Strong cross‑functional leadership ability to work with commercial and operational teams.
• Experience in Iraq or similar emerging markets is preferred.