Commercial Manager at The Key Recruitment Group

• One of our clients based in Cape Town / Port Elizabeth , a fast-growing FMCG distributor operating in the nicotine and vaping category across Southern Africa. They are seeking a Commercial Manager to own and drive the company's revenue performance — from strategy through to execution.
• This is a senior, high-impact role. The Commercial Manager will be responsible for growing our customer base, deepening relationships with key accounts, managing and developing the sales team, and ensuring that commercial decisions are grounded in data and delivered with discipline.

Non-negotiable requirements

• Minimum 5 years commercial, sales management or key account management experience
• Proven track record of delivering revenue growth — must be able to evidence with numbers
• Experience managing and leading a sales team — not just individual contributor experience
• Strong FMCG, distribution or consumer goods background
• Demonstrable key account management experience at a buyer or senior decisionmaker level
• Commercially astute — understands margin, pricing, trading terms and P&L implications
• Excellent communication, negotiation and presentation skills
• Data-literate — comfortable interpreting sales data, building forecasts and reporting to senior leadership
• Relevant qualification — BCom (Marketing / Sales / Business Management), NDip or equivalent

Preferred experience — strong differentiators

• Experience in the nicotine, vaping, tobacco or regulated consumer goods category
• Established trade relationships in Western Cape and/or Eastern Cape retail and wholesale channels
• Experience managing distributor networks or sub-distributor relationships
• Experience in a business scaling through growth — not just steady-state management
• Exposure to ERP or CRM systems for pipeline and account management
• Experience launching new products into trade — ranging, pricing, promotional planning
• Multi-region commercial responsibility (e.g. national accounts or two or more provinces)
• Operational management experience — ability to step into or support operational functions beyond pure sales

Key Responsibilites:

Sales Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Own the company's commercial strategy and revenue targets across all channels and regions
• Develop and execute go-to-market plans for existing and new product lines
• Identify growth opportunities across retail, wholesale, forecourt and independent trade channels
• Drive new business acquisition — prospecting, pitching and closing new accounts
• Monitor market trends, competitor activity and pricing to maintain competitive positioning

Key Account Management

• Own and grow relationships with the company's top-tier retail and wholesale accounts
• Negotiate trading terms, promotional agreements and ranging decisions with key buyers
• Ensure key accounts are serviced to the highest standard — availability, compliance and relationship depth
• Resolve commercial disputes and escalations with speed and professionalism

Sales Team Leadership

• Lead, manage and develop the field sales and account management team
• Set clear individual and team targets, conduct regular performance reviews and coaching sessions
• Drive accountability — celebrate wins, address underperformance quickly and constructively
• Build a high-performance sales culture focused on results, discipline and customer focus
• Recruit and onboard new sales team members as the business scales

Channel & Distribution Management

• Manage distributor and sub-distributor relationships where applicable
• Ensure optimal product ranging, availability and visibility across all trade channels
• Collaborate with Operations to align sales volumes with supply chain capability
• Monitor sell-through rates, stock holding and returns across the channel

Commercial Reporting & Forecasting

• Produce weekly and monthly commercial performance reports for the Director
• Provide accurate sales forecasts to support production planning and cash flow management
• Track and report against KPIs — revenue, volume, new accounts, coverage and debtor performance
• Use data to identify risks, opportunities and corrective actions proactively

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Finance to manage credit risk, payment terms and debtor discipline within the sales team
• Collaborate with Marketing on promotional calendars, trade activation and brand standards
• Partner with Operations to manage availability, lead times and fulfilment for key accounts