Our client is a well-established and growing food and beverage outlet offering quality tea and light refreshments in a clean, customer-focused environment. The organization is committed to excellent service standards, hygiene, and efficiency, and provides a supportive workplace for reliable and service-oriented staff.
We are seeking to recruit the Head of Modern Trade (Strategic & Commercial Lead), who will be a strategic commercial leader accountable for profitability, governance, and scalable execution across all Modern Trade chains. The role exists primarily to design systems, lead senior stakeholders, and delegate execution, NOT to personally manage day-to-day selling. Success is measured by clarity, discipline, margin protection, and leadership depth.
Core Accountability Areas
1. Strategic & Commercial Ownership
- Own Modern Trade P&L including margins, rebates, and trade investments.
- Translate company strategy into clear Modern Trade growth choices (what to push, protect, or exit).
- Design price architecture, promo ladders, and trade terms governance.
- Act as final escalation authority for commercial risk decisions.
2. Executive Account Leadership
- Lead C-level / Head Office relationships with key retailers such as Naivas, Quickmart, Chandarana, Clean shelf, and Eastmatt.
- Own Joint Business Planning (JBP): targets, assumptions, risks, and ROI.
- Negotiate annual contracts, rebates, claims, and deductions.
3. Governance, Not Micromanagement
- Define execution standards; do not personally enforce them.
- Build reporting dashboards that replace supervision.
- Ensure credit, claims, and pricing compliance through process, not presence.
4. Leadership, Delegation & Scale
- Lead and develop Key Account Executives as managers of outcomes.
- Delegate execution fully while retaining decision rights clarity.
- Build succession and reduce single-point dependency.
5. Cross-Functional Authority
- Drive alignment with Finance (margin, trade spend), Supply Chain (OTIF), and Marketing (NPD, activation).
- Provide executive-level insight, not operational reporting.
Required Profile & Qualifications
Candidates must possess:
- 10+ years FMCG experience with senior Modern Trade exposure (Non-Negotiable).
- Demonstrated Joint Business Planning (JBP) ownership.
- Proven P&L and trade spend governance.
- History of leading managers, not just teams.
- Comfortable saying NO to volume when margin is at risk.
- Qualification: BA/BSc/HND.
