Trade Head

Job Description : TRADE HEAD ZAMBIA 15+ years experience Responsible for the alignment of Trade strategies with global and local markets Defining and endorsing Trade Marketing and Distribution strategies and route to market plans for all defined markets across the zone of responsibility Actively managing end markets in their RTM set-up plans including, but not limited to, active selling, distributor selection, terms of trade, margin optimisation, price management, trade marketing principles, key account plans, channel plans and distributor management Ensuring that all strategy plans are focussed on driving sustainable volume growth, incremental profit and cost optimisation through and efficient secondary supply chain structures The development and deployment of the area/ regional Sales, Trade Marketing and Distribution blueprint across priority markets or areas, to develop capability and enhance business opportunities Ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in priority markets or areas through the implementation of opportunity analysis workshops in order to maximise volume, distribution, trade and brand coverage, and share of market Driving process alignment in key markets in order to have a competitive edge and defined track, and follow up on Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) (such as volumes, revenue, stock policies, sales, call compliancy, on time and in full deliveries, strike rate, drop size, call visits per day, etc.) which will allow the businesses enhanced transparency for improved decision making Assessing the business performance of the company and competitors for respective channels/customer segments, in order to enhance effectiveness of developed trade and brand programmes by channels Managing the implementation of the ‘Sales and Operations Planning’ (S&OP) process, with the purpose of effectively reviewing business performance; strategic assessment and achievement of the company’s strategic objectives. This will need input from the marketing, primary supply chain, finance, manufacturing teams and business partners. The process will be owned by the Country Manager/GM Ensuring distributor contracts, with the associated service level agreement, are in place and tracked and monitored according to the performance agreements Ensuring that all significant business risks are identified and plans to address the risks are implemented Accountable for the leadership of the Sales team and the performance of the sales/trade department Developing and enhancing the RTM, Sales and TM&D leadership capability across all identified markets in the Area, by entrenching the ‘best fit’ market approach within the organisation and through engagement with key stakeholders in the Africa Leadership team In alignment to the HR talent strategy, managing TM&D talent development across markets/clusters/zones to enhance and improve the leadership pipeline at all levels Driving a high performance culture through active engagement with key stakeholders within the identified TM&D communities Keeping the TM&D staff fully informed at all times of strategies, directions, and objectives plus future action plans by ensuring that regular meetings and effective methods of communication are in place Exploiting learning from other regions/markets Identifying capability gaps in structures and plan, budgeting for up-skilling and training of own and distributor staff to meet industry and the company standards Developing coaching, mentoring and training interventions for Regional or National Sales Manager, Key Accounts Manager and Regional Marketing Manager competence and skills levels Defining and implementing succession plan and development actions for direct reports Responsible for the alignment between Sales and Marketing operations to ensure consistency Administrating the RTM, Sales and TM&D process definitions through the management and with sponsorship of the Project Management Office (PMO) Africa of key projects, across the priority markets Developing guidelines covering the Sales, TM&D input into market and area strategic plans, budget reviews and business plans, according to the new ways of working and business planning process Guiding end-markets in developing their annual operational plans, priorities and ensuring alignment to business strategy Managing and implementing RTM strategy with local leadership and recommending/ensuring that action plans are developed and implemented Defining and agreeing Sales, TM&D KPI’s to track performance in key markets/zones and ensuring corrected actions are in place Performing an assessment, by market, of their adherence to relevant stock level and shelf life policies and, if no policy exits, developing new ones Across all markets, evaluating and managing trading terms, margins and credit, to enhance volume, volume share and profitability in line with company objectives Across all markets, developing, managing and implementing action plans to upgrade the RTM, Sales, and TM&D operational efficiency and effectiveness Managing and encouraging communication between/with end markets on a regular basis to share learnings and best practices Focussing on the 4A`s and the picture of success to get the basics in place Implementing the brand, channel and cycle plans Carrying out quarterly business reviews with distributors and key business partners and feeding back into the business planning and reviewing of processes and budgets Sales force deployment and effectiveness: coverage, route planning, call rate, call frequency and call success rates Benchmarking cost-to-serve vs other Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies Responsible for building networks relevant to the Sales division and maintaining those networks Building an effective working relationship within the Sales, and TM&D community through actively managing and encouraging communication between/with end markets on a regular basis Continuously communicating with other Heads of Trade’s within the company, and other FMCG companies to build a strong network Building positive cross functional relationships with other marketing, support functions and ALT as a senior leader in the organisation Actively engaging with external key stakeholders (Area/ Regional and other Area teams) in support of key Sales, and TM&D initiatives Regularly share learning across functions and levels within the market/markets and zones of responsibility Responsible for innovative solutions in the Sales team Advising on best tools, practises and processes to ensure higher operation efficiency Driving strategic exploitation of market trends through engagement with key stakeholders and building on learning from other markets Seeking new ways of optimising/improving systems and processes to drive productivity, growth, effectiveness and efficiency Looking to other industries/companies for ideas to enhance our effectiveness and efficiency Identifying opportunities for improvement of trading terms (margins, information, credit, etc.) with assistance of the Revenue Team Ability to define and drive strategies into local markets/areas/clusters or zones of markets Ability to evaluate RTM, Sales and Trade Marketing strategies and make meaningful recommendations and implementation of the strategies to increase effectiveness and efficiency High skills in leadership, decision making, team work, ability to make things happen, ability to think strategically, and perform data analysis Proven developer of talented people, including high calibre coaching skills. Ability to develop and implement RTM, Sales and Trade M and Distribution strategies and plans consistent with the overall business objectives Understanding of consumer/customer segmentation (if available) and trade channels Ability to implement trade and brand coverage (availability) in line with strategic channels, outlet types and targets while guaranteeing product quality within the market Ability to develop and lead Sales and Trade Marketing and Distribution teams for best execution in every end market Ability to prioritise (focus resources) Ability to identify gaps vs benchmark Cross functional experience/exposure within marketing Previous senior line management roles with operational accountability Excellent leadership skills Always align to the company's six strategic imperatives High level management and leadership skills High level customer impact High level responsibility for the Sales and Trade Marketing department as a whole High level efficiency A minimum requirement of a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field

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