National Sales Manager - Biscuits & Confectionery (Nigeria) at Olam Agri

Olam Agri is a market-leading, differentiated food, feed, and fiber agri-business with a global origination footprint, processing capabilities, and deep understanding of market needs built over 33 years. With a strong presence in high-growth emerging markets and products across grains & oilseeds, animal feed & protein, rice, edible oils, specialty grains & seeds, cotton, wood products, rubber and commodity financial services.

Olam Agri is at the heart of global food and agri-trade flows with more than 40 million MT in volume traded annually. Focused on transforming food, feed and fiber for a more sustainable future, it aims at creating value for customers, enabling farming communities to prosper sustainably, and strive for a food-secure future.

We are recruiting to fill the position below

Job Title: National Sales Manager - Biscuits & Confectionery (Nigeria)

Location: Lagos
Reports to: Head of Sales, Caraway

Role Overview

• The incumbent heads National Sales, Distributor Management and Trade Marketing for Biscuits & Confectionery 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 & Confectionery sales team.
• The incumbent will be based in Lagos and will lead a dedicated Biscuits & Confectionery team of Regional Managers (RSM), Assistant RSMs, ASMs & SOs.
• This role reports to 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 & Confectionery 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 off-takes 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 & Confectionery 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 & Confectionery 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/ Confectionery 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

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online