National Sales Manager

Responsibilities:

National Sales Strategy and Leadership:

• Develop national sales plans and budgets aligned with approved commercial objectives.
• Translate business growth goals into regional, state, territory, channel, customer and individual sales targets.
• Establish sales policies, territory structures, customer segmentation and performance routines.
• Lead business reviews and report on revenue, volume, margins, risks, opportunities and corrective actions.
• Build a performance culture based on measurable outcomes, coaching and accountability.
  

Route to Market and Distribution:

• Design and improve national distribution strategies, including direct distribution, distributor-led coverage and hybrid models.
  
• Identify priority states, cities, trade clusters and customer segments for phased expansion.
  
• Recruit, onboard, develop and manage distributors, sub-distributors, wholesalers and strategic retailers.
  
• Establish distributor coverage plans, commercial terms and performance measures.
  
• Monitor stock levels, active outlets, order frequency, territory coverage and working capital exposure.

Sales Team Management and Field Execution:

• Build and lead a high-performing national sales team as the business expands.
  
• Set clear sales targets, call plans, route plans, territory responsibilities and reporting routines.
  
• Conduct field visits, distributor reviews and coaching sessions.
  
• Monitor sales productivity, outlet coverage, order values and collection performance.
  
• Identify capability gaps and recommend training, incentives or performance interventions.

Revenue, Pricing and Margin Management:

• Own national sales revenue and volume delivery against approved targets
  
• Maintain pricing discipline and prevent unauthorised discounts or inconsistent customer terms.
  
• Work with Finance and Marketing to monitor gross margins by product, channel, customer and territory.
  
• Evaluate promotions, rebates, discounts and trade investments based on commercial returns.
  
• Escalate material pricing, credit and commercial exceptions through approved procedures.

Key Accounts and Customer Relationships:

• Build relationships with major wholesalers, modern trade chains, strategic retailers and institutional customers
  
• Develop account plans covering sales volume, value, margins, distribution, promotions, service levels and payment behaviour.
  
• Negotiate commercially sustainable terms while protecting pricing discipline and cash flow.
  
• Strengthen customer relationships through reliable service, product availability and execution.

Forecasting, Supply Coordination and Collections:

• Own sales forecasts by category, product, territory, channel and major customers.
  
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Operations to align sales plans with production capacity, inventory and distribution constraints.
  
• Identify stock-out risks and support inventory prioritisation.
  
• Work with Finance to manage customer credit exposure, overdue balances and disputed invoices.
  
• Make collection follow-up part of the sales cycle and resolve issues delaying customer payments.

Trade Execution and Reporting:

• Work with Marketing to implement merchandising, product visibility, sampling, activations and promotional standards.
  
• Monitor competitor pricing, pack sizes, promotions, product launches, and distribution.
  
• Establish reliable sales reporting using approved CRM, ERP, mobile sales tools, distributor reports, and spreadsheets as applicable.
  
• Maintain documentation for pricing approvals, customer onboarding, credit terms, promotions, returns, and sales transactions.
  
• Provide weekly sales reports, monthly business reviews, and forward-looking dashboards.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Marketing, Product Development, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance and Human Resources to coordinate brand activation, product launches, demand forecasts, inventory, customer credit, workforce planning and sales performance.

Requirements:

• Minimum of an HND in Marketing, Business Administration, Economics, Finance or a related discipline. A relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
  
• At least 12 years of progressive FMCG sales experience, including a minimum of five years leading substantial regional, multi-region or national sales operations.
  
• Experience in food, packaged goods or related FMCG categories is preferred.
  
• Demonstrated experience building or managing distributor networks, general trade, wholesalers and modern trade or key accounts.
  
• Proven ability to deliver significant revenue and distribution growth with clear accountability for commercial targets.
  
• Experience launching new products, entering new regions, or building distribution for developing brands is strongly preferred.
  
• Exposure to pricing, margins, credit, collections, trade spending, and sales force productivity.
  
• Strong understanding of Nigerian regional markets, trade structures, customer economics and route-to-market practices.

Core Competencies:

• Commercial ownership and understanding of revenue quality, margins, working capital and cash conversion
  
• Execution discipline and ability to translate strategy into measurable field activity.
  
• Route-to-market and distributor economics expertise.
  
• Leadership, coaching, negotiation and relationship management.
  
• Analytical skills across sales data, forecasts, pricing, distribution metrics and dashboards.
  
• Practical problem-solving under pressure.
  
• Integrity, control awareness and sound commercial judgement.
  
• An entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to build systems and teams in a growing business.

Compensation and Benefits: A competitive compensation package will be offered in line with experience and market benchmarks. The package may include a performance-based incentive linked to agreed commercial measures. Benefits and allowances will be communicated during the formal offer process.

Location: Lagos, Nigeria, with extensive national travel.

Employment Type: Full-time.