Duties & Responsibilities

Sales Operations Manager (JB6228)
Gqeberha, Port Elizabeth or Johannesburg, Gauteng
R55 000 to R60 000 a month + Quarterly performance incentive + Benefits
Permanent

A fast-growing FMCG distributor operating within the nicotine and vaping category across Southern Africa is seeking a hands-on Sales Operations Manager to drive consistent field execution across three regions. Reporting to the Commercial Operations Manager and working closely with national and regional sales leadership, the role will own call coverage, distribution, ranging, shelf compliance, promotional execution and field accountability. This is an operational, field-based position for someone who personally identifies and resolves execution failures across stores, depots and delivery operations, rather than managing through reports or layers of subordinate managers

Minimum Requirements:
Proven, hands-on FMCG field execution experience covering call coverage, distribution, ranging and in-store standards.
Demonstrable success personally resolving execution gaps, supported by measurable before-and-after coverage or compliance results.
Willingness to spend significant time in stores, depots, trucks and the field with sales representatives.
Experience holding regional or field teams accountable to standards without having direct management authority over them.
Practical experience with CRM systems, call-planning processes and sales-reporting tools.
Comfortable operating within a clearly defined execution mandate without requiring broader commercial or strategic authority.
Willing and able to travel extensively throughout South Africa.
Valid driver’s licence and own reliable vehicle.
Must be based in or willing to relocate to Cape Town, Gqeberha or Johannesburg before commencing employment.
Johannesburg-based candidates must be able to work independently without a dedicated office or nearby in-person team support; only warehouse hot-desk facilities are available.
Experience personally turning around a known field-execution problem is advantageous.
Experience working alongside, rather than replacing, a National Sales Manager or Head of Sales is advantageous.
FMCG experience within a founder-led, entrepreneurial or fast-scaling business is advantageous.
Experience within nicotine, vaping, tobacco or regulated consumer goods is advantageous.
Experience developing a compliance, audit or execution tool successfully adopted by a field team is advantageous.
Available to commence as soon as possible, subject to notice-period requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities:
Own national execution standards covering call coverage, distribution, ranging, shelf compliance and promotional execution.
Complete a national field-execution audit within the first 90 days, identifying gaps by region and channel.
Develop and implement a practical national execution scorecard within 90 days covering coverage, ranging and shelf compliance.
Personally conduct regular field audits across all three regions.
Identify execution breakdowns at their source and work directly with responsible employees to correct them.
Assign an owner and follow-up date to every issue and ensure findings are resolved within agreed deadlines.
Establish the national operating rhythm through weekly execution reviews, daily activity checks and firm reporting deadlines.
Hold Regional Sales Managers and representatives accountable to execution standards in partnership with national sales leadership.
Escalate recurring or systemic execution failures promptly.
Identify and resolve CRM, call-planning, reporting and order-to-cash process weaknesses.
Develop practical tools and straightforward SOPs that field teams will use consistently.
Partner with Logistics and Operations to resolve stock-availability and delivery-reliability issues.
Work with Finance on store- and account-level pricing, credit and debtor-compliance matters.
Produce weekly national execution reports outlining compliant areas, failures, corrective actions and progress.
Monitor execution KPIs and identify risks before they affect quarterly performance.
Reduce regional differences in execution compliance quarter on quarter.
Track national compliance, issue close-out rates, operating-cadence adherence and revenue movement attributable to execution improvements.
Act as the operational backup to national sales leadership during periods of absence or transition, ensuring execution continuity while strategic and commercial authority remains with executive management.

Please do not apply using Scanned CVs, no supporting documentation is required at this point, this will be requested later.

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