Head Of Central Sales Team and E-Commerce at Virgin Active South Africa

Your Purpose...

• Is to “change people’s lives for the better through wellness”;
• We deliver social wellness experiences that enable people to meet their personal wellness goals, through holistic physical, mental nutritional and social wellbeing.
• Responsible for leading Virgin Active’s central and digital sales channels to deliver sustainable member growth, commercial value and a seamless sales journey.
• The purpose of this role is to own CST performance, online conversion, assisted digital journeys and e-commerce optimisation, ensuring that online and CST contribution grows materially while quality of sale, speed-to-lead and member experience remain high.
• The role acts as the commercial bridge between marketing demand generation, website / digital journey optimisation, lead management, club conversion support and final sales outcomes.

Your Duties and Responsibilities...

• Develop, Implement, and continuously evolve the national Central Sales Team (CST) and E-commerce strategy aligned with Virgin Active’s commercial objectives
• Own delivery of CST and e-commerce sales targets across units, revenue, conversion, commercial and membership yield and net member movement.
• Lead the operating rhythm of CST, including lead allocation, contact strategy, appointment conversion, online follow-up, assisted digital conversion and campaign response.
• Own digital funnel performance from lead capture to online or club conversion, including speed-to-lead, abandonment points, online conversion and handover quality into clubs.
• Partner with Marketing Acquisition and the Global Website Transformation team to improve lead quality, landing-page performance, website conversion, self-service capability and digital commercial outcomes.
• Partner with the CRM programme to ensure systems, pipeline visibility, reporting, automation and customer journeys support a more effective digital and central sales model.
• Design and implement CST and online operating standards, scripts, conversion disciplines and reporting routines.
• Lead and develop a high-performing central sales team, ensuring clear performance expectations, pipeline discipline, coaching, workforce planning, and measurable commercial outcomes.
• Translate CST and e-commerce activity club-level execution through Regional Heads of Sales, Area Sales Managers, and club teams to ensure clear lead ownership, effective handover and alignment between central and field channels.
• Own campaign performance review for central and digital channels, including learnings, ROI, funnel conversion and recommendation of improvements.
• Provide clear monthly and quarterly reporting on CST and online contribution, risks, opportunities, resourcing and channel economics.

Our Minimum Requirements...

We can’t live without…

• Formal Matric qualification.
• Relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Sales, Commerce, Marketing, Digital or a related field.
• 7+ years’ leadership experience in telesales, contact centre sales, digital commerce, lead management or a similar commercial environment.
• Strong understanding of online conversion, funnel management, CRM processes, lead-response disciplines and e-commerce performance drivers.
• Proven track record of leading teams against conversion, revenue and service outcomes.
• Commercially strong, highly analytical and comfortable using performance data to drive action.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across sales, marketing, product, digital and operations.
• Excellent communication, coaching and presentation capability.
• High digital fluency and comfort with new technology, systems, reporting tools and automation.

Core Interpersonal Skills:

• Emotional Intelligence- proven ability to anticipate the needs of others before they are voiced
• Active Listening- Able to genuinely hear concerns with the ability to defuse tense situations and ensuring members and staff feel heard and valued
• Cultural Awareness and Fluency- understand international norms, etiquette and diverse backgrounds to provide a welcoming environment for our international and VIP members
• Empathy – be able to understand, or and be aware of, someone else’s feelings especially during stressful situations, such as travel delays or billing disputes

Operational & leadership Skills Required:

• Attention to Detail, noticing the small things
• Resilience and Composure, be able to remain calm and optimistic under extreme pressure, during peak or periods or system failures
• Problem solving and conflict resolution – be able to turn challenges into opportunities by thinking and acting quickly to resolve issues before they impact a member’s experience
• Adaptability: be flexible to handle unpredictable shifts in processers, resource changes, last minute VIP guest arrivals, or sudden changes in event plans.
• Relatability – the capacity to connect with diverse stakeholders across all backgrounds
• Situational Awareness – constantly monitoring the environment to identify members who need support or help
• Curiosity- the ability to seek out and transform standard transactions into personalised stories and memorable experiences
• Time Management – the ability to efficiently meet stringent deadlines while maintaining a relaxed and unhurried demeanor for guests.
• Digital Fluency – must be proficient in new age technology and systems

Closing Date 11 August 2026