Divisional Sales Manager (Baking Division) at RCL Foods

The Role

RCL FOODS is seeking a Divisional Sales Manager to join our Baking Division. The role will be based in Pretoria and will report into the Sales Executive. The Divisional Sales Manager will be entrusted to effectively drive the divisional sales team, ensuring effective accounts management and professional customer relationship management that achieve customer and Vector sales objectives, KPIs and targets as well as maintain and grow the relationships with defined key accounts that translate into increased sales volumes and expanded product lines.

Minimum Requirements:

• Degree in Management, Business Administration and/or Marketing
• Valid Code EB drivers’ licence
• 10 years' experience in a marketing and sales function that includes managing complex and/or significant customer relationships and key/national accounts with at least 7 years in a management role.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Divisional Strategy Formulation and Implementation:

• Formulate short- and long-term (3-year) divisional strategies to deliver sustainable, profitable growth by key customers.
• Prioritise products and initiatives by customers within the division on the basis of demand.
• Ensure alignment across plans and with the supply side of the business.
• Participate in the S&OP product forecast process to drive improved forecast accuracy.
• Determine the tone and direction the divisional team takes in its approach to working with key customers.
• Drive the achievement of targeted sales growth.
• Evaluate and monitor competitors and their activities and formulate proactive responses when required.
• Work collaboratively across cross-functional teams to align demand and supply across the company.
• Drive the achievement of strategic and operational targets.
• Participate in the Baking commercial planning process through the development of an annual customer business plan.
• Manage and penetrate key accounts at all levels, develop relationships that enable the achievement of divisional and customer plans and objectives and lead all Baking cross-functional team activities related to such accounts.

Account Management:

• Ensure that all accounts are profitably serviced in order for the company to achieve sales and revenue goals.
• Analyse sales statistics to determine business growth potential.
• Monitor and analyse sales and market trends.
• Develop proposals, negotiate terms and conditions, and implement contractual agreements for key accounts with accountability for delivering strong financial results.
• Plot the annual and long term objectives for responsible accounts and ensure all volume, distribution and profit targets are met.
• Coordinate multi-disciplinary teams to ensure smooth and efficient operations and delivery of all services to key account customers. This includes demand plotting and delivering products.

Client Relationship Management:

• Manage all aspects of account profiles, including performance history as well as customer forecasts.
• Ensure that customers have up to date knowledge of new products, market trends and performance statistics.
• Develop and maintain strong work relationships with key opinion leaders in the market to inform future planning and sales focus.
• Manage the presentations to and negotiation with key accounts.
• Drive the awareness and understanding of customers’ budgets, goals and needs and the impact on Baking.
• Drive the nature and extent of all communications with customers.

Market and Customer Insight Maintenance:

• Identify divisional priorities and market and customer knowledge gaps to help set research needs.
• Participate in determining an appropriate customer research budget.
• Participate in market and customer research.
• Analyse and track market and customer trends and in-market measures at the customer and divisional level, such as distribution, share, price, and merchandising performance.
• Identify business implications and make recommendations.

Division Planning and Execution:

• Lead an annual divisional management planning process to create customer-specific promotional plans.
• Participate in determining annual marketing objectives and strategies and advertising and promotion spending.
• Lead divisional performance reviews.
• Estimate ROI for key divisional initiatives and evaluate plans post-execution.

Pricing Guidelines Management:

• Participate in setting new product pricing to extract maximum value for Baking and key account customers.
• Track brand pricing across customers within the division.
• Recommend pricing corrections.
• Understand how customer spending is allocated.
• Recommend improvements to create greater value.

Financial Management:

• Participate in recommending base and stretch financial goals for the broader sales team.
• Manage and control the divisional sales budget.
• Understand key drivers of profit and loss and actively support the achievement of financial targets including driving profitable product mix, maximising profitability, and identifying business opportunities.
• Identify business risks to achieving the sales targets.

Organisational Efficiency:

• Implement and simplify appropriate business processes to increase organisational effectiveness and efficiency in support of key account requirements.
• Support corporate strategy alignment and business update meetings.

Divisional Leadership:

• Lead and develop staff within the context of the Labour Relations Act, Employment Equity Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Skills Development Act.
• Monitor staff performance and provide regular feedback.

Closing date: 03 December 2020