Country Sales at HC Solutions Ltd: (Deadline 20 March 2023)

JOB PROFILE

Job Title

Country Sales

Business Group

Food Manufacturing

Department

Commercial

Administrative Reporting

Country Manager

OVERALL JOB PURPOSE

Develop the country market by executing both Footprint expansion and market penetration initiatives and ensuring competitive advantage across Rwanda.

Develop Sales strategy where the company has direct influence on customers’ and consumers’ preferences to increase sales volume with a specific focus on the First Mile.

Drive an initial 2-year focus on the recruitment of Resellers and Stockists from all key districts and Trading centers in Rwanda.

Be the champion of in-trade execution through brand visibility, price management, track competitor activities and influence availability of entire range across priority trade segments (Resellers, Stockists and Grocers). As an expert in country market activities and, using experience on how to influence business performance through strong customer relationships and market intelligence, build a profitable and sustainable market in Rwanda.

Work with the Logistics function to ensure efficient, consistent, and reliable supply to optimize volume and value growth.

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

       1. Country Market Strategy & Execution

• Develop Sales strategy in support of the Commercial Imperatives with a specific focus on Route to Consumer and Sales Excellence.
• Develop awareness and be a key representative of the company in trade.
• Develop and consistently update a customer database including improved understanding of Reseller customers and the introduction of customer segmentation to aid in prioritization of segmented execution.
• Validate RtC design assumptions and determine the optimal number of Resellers by district
• to win in the first mile.
• Identify and appoint Resellers and Stockists to develop the company footprint with a specific focus on the First
• Mile.
• Execute the sales and marketing strategic plan through the development of key sales action plans
• aligned to the business KPI’s.
• Use sound market intelligence to assess pricing trends and provide input into the pricing strategy.
• Prepare and manage annual country sales budgets, with associated action plans to meet the
• expectations covering sales and trade marketing deliverables.
• Build brand awareness and visibility in the market through development and placement of Point of Sale
• and promotional material.
• Provide input on the development of new products and pack sizes suited to the Rwandan market.
• In support of the second phase of the BSPS (Buy-Store-Pack-Sell) model (beyond 24 months), implement
• the company Sales Way, through the development and entrenchment of ISSOs (Sales Service
• Offering), PSGs (Perfect Store Guideline), Call schedules and sales routines.
• Appoint and manage a team of salespeople to execute the second phase of the BSPS model
• Set the execution calendar, sales call cycles, selling standards and route plans for the customers’ sales
• representatives and monitor performance adherence to standards/targets.
• Conduct regular trade visits, and co-ordinate structured market and customer immersions to ensure the
• business is proactively addressing potential areas of opportunity and risk.
• Identify and action opportunities to continuously develop and improve sales and execution e.g., future Tele sales function.

2. Forecasting & Financial “Grip” on Domestic Sales/Performance Drivers

• Leverage market intelligence to identify the drivers of performance and effectively communicate
• changes and implications to the business.
• Provide input into the bottom-up demand planning process, through accurate forecasting of country
• sales and capturing of key assumptions used in formulation of plans.
• Capture, control, and report on the effectiveness of sales / trade marketing activations and associated
• costs and return on investment.
• Routinely track and report on sales performance against agreed objectives and highlight discrepancies and corrective actions plans that are being put in place

CUSTOMER AND STAKEHOLDER ACCOUNTABILITIES

1.       External Customer Relationship Management

• Negotiate and manage the relationship with customers, driving sales performance and responding to customer needs and dispute resolution in an effective manner.
• Conduct regular meetings with customers to review business performance and negotiate corrective actions to fill any gaps against forecasts; maintain complete contact reports and records of customer engagements.
• Conduct regular sales briefings and training for the customers’ Sales Representatives.
• Manage any third-party merchandising (permanent or blitz) to improve the availability of a full range of priority SKUs.

2. Internal team alignment

• Work closely with the Country Manager to optimize the S&OP process and deliver an accurate and timely domestic demand plan.
• Assist in the management of the interface between national sales and key interface functions i.e., Procurement, Warehousing, Packaging and Distribution, to ensure optimal solutions aligned to customer service requirements – improving cost to serve without compromising on customer needs.
• Liaise closely with the Quality team to ensure timely resolution to customer complaints and quality enquiries.
• Collaborate with Trade Marketing at Group to devise and execute appropriate domestic sales and marketing activities to build the company brand equity and drive sales distribution and trial of new/developing products.
• Collaborate with Group RtC in support of footprint expansion and market penetration initiatives.
• Support the Country Manager by providing relevant and timely input to commercial reporting and responding in a timeous manner to ad-hoc requests for business support.

OPERATIONAL PROCESS ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Complete all necessary country sales reports within the required timeframe (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, and annual reports)
• Implement processes in support of sales and trade marketing activities in trade

PEOPLE AND LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITIES

1.    Leadership

• Motivate, manage, and facilitate teamwork and performance within the future sales team to ensure objectives and targets are achieved.
• Support the Country Manager with ideas through effective and appropriate communication strategies.
• Demonstrate company values driven leadership.

2.    Capability Development

• Take ownership of his/her personal development plans with the support of Country Manager.
• Develop the skills and knowledge of the future sales team, through structured and effective sales coaching and development plans.

JOB SPECIFICATION

FORMAL LEARNING REQUIREMENTS

Essential Required Qualification

Business Degree

Preferred Qualification

Bachelor of Commerce in any Field

PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Essential Professional Registration

Preferred Professional Registration

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

Essential Experience

5 years’ relevant commercial experience in FMCG, including:

• Sales experience in the Rwandan market
• Leadership of a sales team (inclusive of sales reps)
• Management of key customer relationships
• Negotiation of contracts and promotional deals
• Working in a cross functional team
• Sales forecasting
• Merchandising experience

Preferred Experience

FMCG sales management, including implementation of merchandising standards and building of sales cycle plans

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

Essential Knowledge

• Rwanda domestic market understanding
• Applicable government and industry regulatory requirements
• Sales, RtC and sales / trade activation processes
• Strong commercial and financial understanding, and highly numerate

Essential Skills

• Team leadership and development
• Proactivity and independence, with high levels of initiative
• The ability to work effectively in a team Negotiation and relationship management skills
• Issue resolution / problem solving skills
• Analytical rigor and ability to write reports
• Communication, influencing and presentation skills
• Ability to collaborate effectively across the organization and multiple disciplines
• Ability to influence others and manage conflicting demands from multiple stakeholders
• Proficient in MS Office Suite (Excel & PowerPoint)

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Location & travel requirements

• The candidate will be located in Kigali and expected to travel extensively across the country

Hours of work

• Normal working hours according to the employment contract will apply

Tools & equipment

• Normal working company tools as per employment contract will be provided