Head of Sales - Nigeria

Job title : Head of Sales - Nigeria

Role Purpose

• The Head of Sales Nigeria is a member of the Nigeria Management Team and is responsible for the sales performance, across all channels, for Nigeria. 
• The National Sales Leader drives the overall country’s sales objectives, whilst supervising, fine-tuning and monitoring in market execution. 
• He/she coordinates and influences the activities of the National distributor and Sub distributors and takes pro-active initiatives to seize every opportunity to increase sales in accordance with the companies’ policies and strategies.
• Own Country Sales Delivery: Achieve Nigeria’s volume, value, and profitability targets within budget, timelines, and company policies across all channels and regions.
• Sales Strategy & Execution: Develop, implement, and monitor country-specific sales strategies and operational plans in alignment with brand, category, and customer strategies.
• Distributor & Network Management: Lead, influence, and optimize performance of national and sub-distributors, ensuring efficient stock management, order cycles, claims handling, and adherence to agreed KPIs.
• Business Development & Market Expansion: Identify and drive new business opportunities, expand trade channels, and strengthen market presence to grow the scope of operations.
• Trade Marketing & Promotions: Plan, negotiate, and execute annual and monthly promotional calendars, consumer activations, and in-store initiatives; evaluate effectiveness and optimize future programs.
• Route-to-Market : Develop and continuously refine route-to-market strategies, ensuring competitive advantage and strong execution across all touchpoints.
• Financial Governance & Forecasting: Manage budgets, pricing policies, distributor margins, and pay-for-performance models; support accurate sales forecasting and financial compliance.
• Performance Monitoring & Reporting: Track IMS, stock levels, distribution, and KPIs by channel/customer; deliver timely, accurate reports, insights, and action plans.
• In-Store & Execution Excellence: Ensure best-in-class merchandising, visibility, speed-to-shelf for launches, and consistent execution standards using data-driven insights and technology.
• Leadership, Capability Building & Stakeholder Management: Lead, coach, and develop high-performing sales teams; collaborate cross-functionally (marketing, supply chain, finance) and manage key external stakeholders to drive business success.

Your Profile

• A minimum of 12 years’ relevant experience with at least 3 years at senior Sales Leadership level leading a Sales/Commercial team in FMCG environment in Nigeria.
• Hands-on experience in the development of route-to-market strategies in Nigeria.
• Strong operational knowledge and experience of working distributors and key accounts.
• Strong understanding of in-store operations and Sales excellence
• Highly developed negotiation and strategy development skills
• People management capabilities.
• Business + Entrepreneurial acumen/Financial Skills
• Business Management Skills /Joint Business Planning.