About the role

Job Posting Title: National Sales Manager - Biscuits & Confectionery, Nigeria

Functional Area: Sales & Operations

Department/Product: Packaged Foods Business / Biscuits & Confectionary

Location: Lagos, Nigeria

About OLAM CARAWAY:

Olam Caraway Packaged Foods Business (PFB) manufactures and markets a range of branded packaged food products to consumers across West African markets. Over the last decade, the PFB business has established regional brand and market leadership positions in multiple consumer categories across targeted markets in West Africa. The Olam Caraway portfolio currently counts eight key brands that are marketed to more than ten West African markets. The consumer categories that we are present in West Africa include Culinary, Beverages, Biscuits, Confectionery, Noodles and Food Ingredients (MSG and Seasoning).

Role Overview:

The incumbent heads National Sales, Distributor Management and Trade Marketing for the Biscuits & Confectionary category for Nigeria covering all Channels. The incumbent would be responsible for achieving Primary and Secondary sales KPIs by developing Category sales strategies, unlocking growth from Category Wholesale and coaching & leading the Biscuits & Confectionary sales team. The incumbent will be based in Lagos and will lead a dedicated Biscuits & Confectionary team of Regional Managers (RSM), Assistant RSMs, ASMs & SOs. This role reports into the Head of Sales, Caraway, Nigeria.

Key Responsibilities:

Sales Strategy: Develop key growth pillars and sales strategies for the Category by mapping opportunities at Geography, Channel & Price-point level, and crystallize them into an actionable Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the sales team. Work with the Regional Managers to identify State and LGA-specific nuances and initiatives to drive disproportionate sales growth in key geographies.
Primary & Secondary Sales KPIs: Undertake complete ownership of Biscuits & Confectionary monthly sales plan achievement (Primary and Secondary Volumes, Distribution and Secondary KPIs) across all channels of Nigeria. Drive daily sales rhythm on distributor collections, invoicing and team working. Oversee Van operations and identify ways to drive effectiveness of Van capacity utilization.
Trade Marketing: Development and execution of monthly trade promotion initiatives aimed at driving primary and secondary offtakes targeted at Category wholesalers, Open market semi-wholesalers and Neighborhood stores. Monitor and drive the execution for these initiatives through robust weekly reviews with regional teams. Effectively utilize the Trade Spends budget to achieve category goals. Oversee monthly reconciliation and timely trade payout settlements by liaising with Finance.
Distributor Management: Design targeted programs to drive counter sales from top distributors. Engage with the top distributors across Nigeria through field visits to identify & translate emerging trends into sales plans. Oversee Distributor Management processes and identify ways to improve efficiency on Order Taking, Inventory Management, Range Availability and Supply/Delivery.
Sales Processes: Embed a daily Sales Ops rhythm with the help of Sales Enablers and Performance score cards. Leverage Sales Analyst to drive reporting Systems including DSRs, Caraway Compass and HHD usage, Activation trackers, Monthly reporting, Trade claims, Damage & Shortage claims. Continually monitor and strengthen commercial hygiene of sales reporting, trade claims, asset tracking.
RTM Development: Continually evaluate and optimize the Biscuits & Confectionary RTM by developing deep channel, customer & category understanding via trade visits. Monitor the Category redistribution aspects on a regular basis (Outlet Mapping, Coverage, Attendance, PJP Compliance, Bill Productivity) and identify plans to strengthen our distribution.
Team Management: Lead & coach the field sales team members through in-market presence and role-model Olam values. Work with Sales Development Head and HRBP-Sales to identify capability development needs of the Biscuits & Confectionary category team and embed regular training & up-skilling to improve effectiveness. Lead the Sales DC (Development Center) and Assessment Center exercise to build talent pipeline. Responsible for design and implementation of Sales Incentive plan.
Cross-functional Collaboration: Liaise regularly with Plant team to ensure stock availability across SKUs and update production plans to incorporate changes in any SKU demand patterns. Engage with the Logistics team to resolve any supply issues and implement interventions to improve distributor turn-around time. Attend the monthly SNOP meetings and contribute by undertaking the SKU-wise Forecast preparation in coordination with the Demand Planner. Collaborate with Marketing to roll-out Shopper interventions and Consumer Activation plans to dial-up Visibility, Shelf share and Tertiary sales on key focus products.

Candidate Profile:

Minimum 15 years of FMCG work experience, with preference for those from leading Biscuits/ Confectionary companies (in-part or full).
Preference for Tier 1, full-time premier institute pass-out MBAs (Master’s degree).
Should have experience as a People Manager, and must have undertaken a Regional/ National Sales role in his/her career.
Candidate with extensive experience in Sales, Trade Marketing, Route to Market, and/or Sales Capability Development across multiple geographies/ countries.
Must have experience of designing & implementing Trade Activation programs for winning in Wholesale channel and demonstrated experience of rolling out initiatives to win share in competitive markets.
Open for Nigerian and Expat talent.