Purpose of this Role 

•  research and identify new business opportunities in specialty channels - including new markets, growth areas, trends, customers, partnerships, products - or new ways of reaching existing markets.

•  Develop and execute PICOs for trade partners and POS across the country.

•  Promote and sustain trade marketing excellence. ▪ Address channel partner issues and drive prompt resolution. meet with customers/clients face to face or over the phone.

• foster and develop relationships with customers/clients.

• understand the needs of your customers and be able to respond effectively with a plan of how to meet these.

• think strategically - seeing the bigger picture and setting aims and objectives in order to develop and improve the specialty channel business.

• work strategically - carrying out necessary planning in order to implement operational changes.

• have a good understanding of the businesses' products or services and be able to advise about them.

• train members of your team, arranging external training where appropriate.

• discuss promotional strategy and activities with the marketing department.

• liaise with the finance team, warehousing, and logistics departments as appropriate.

Stakeholder Management.

• Play a leadership role in Public Relations initiatives in the specialty channels including CSR activities.

• Drive strategic partnerships and collaboration with internal cross functional leadership, external vendors and channel partners.

• People Management.

• Lead the team in creating and sustaining a work environment driven by an enabling coaching culture. 

• Build and develop high performing teams and drive superior performance standards. 

• Manage team members to ensure effective delivery of business unit objectives. 

• Develop a high performing team by embedding formal performance development and informal coaching.

• Encourage frequent knowledge sharing between team members. ▪ Determine and analyze development needs for the team & ensure that identified training requirements are budgeted for and executed.

•  Create effective workforce and recruitment demand plans to ensure that current and future business requirements can be met.

• Manage leave for team members and create leave plan to ensure adequate coverage. ▪ When required, initiate disciplinary processes for team members calling on support from HR.

• Resolve grievances raised by team members and escalate only if required.  Address poor performance of any team member through the formal Performance Improvement program and ensure that continued poor performance is appropriately dealt with.

• Motivate team members and ensure that their efforts are recognized. ▪ Ensure effective communication on key focus areas and developments.

Governance & Reporting.

• Ensuring the employees and commercial teams have the right analytics to perform the most relevant actions.

• Implementing core governance structures in order to facilitate better reporting, execute pricing decisions, avoiding arbitrage etc.

• Ensure timely effective compliance of annual budget plans. 

• Identify process improvement areas & ensure implementation.

• Ensure timely, accurate, complete daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annual reports. ▪ Hold quarterly business reviews.

• Review Operations reports and provide feedback & follow up on issues noted.

• Provide formal input into business process and area to address operations.

Job Requirements

Qualifications 

• BA degree in marketing and related felid.

•  MBA is an added advantage.

Experience

• 8+ years in a sales and distribution leadership role with a leading FMCG, Telco, Technology or digital mobile brand or leading Bank, directing and managing large complex teams.

• Extensive experience in sales operations supporting a huge number of channel partners and sales teams.

• General management experience is an added advantage. 

• Strong financial and commercial acumen and experience in channel partner management. 

• Deep sales and distribution knowledge; extensive knowledge of routes to market in Ethiopia.

• Experience in trade marketing or leading trade marketing teams, experiential marketing and market impact teams.

• Ease navigating through matrix organizations and virtual teams.

• A mix of B2C, B2B2C and B2B experience will be a huge advantage.

Behavioral Competencies

• Flexible.

•  Passionate. 

• Energetic.

• Can do attitude. 

• Strategic Thinking.

• Networking.

• Risk Management.

• Negotiation Skills.

• Future Oriented.

Technical Competencies

• Selling Skill.

• Commercial Acumen. 

• Financial Management. 

• Negotiations Skills. 

• Customer Relationship Management.

• Developing Value Proposition.

• Product/Brand Knowledge.

• Financial Management.

• Risk Management.

• Governance and Compliance.

• Leadership

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and/or cover letters through THIS LINK mentioning the job title.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.