Senior Sales and Marketing Assistant Director -FMCG ( Open Market, Distribution and Key Account)
Senior Sales & Marketing Assistant Director – FMCG Open Market, Distribution & Key Accounts
Location: Lagos Branch
Department: Sales & Marketing
Reports To: General Manager
Employment Type: Full-Time
Job Purpose
You will be responsible for developing and executing the Company's sales and marketing strategy to drive revenue growth, market penetration, product visibility, customer acquisition and sustainable distribution of its FMCG food portfolio, including margarine, corn starch, baking powder and related products, across Lagos and other assigned territories.
This is a highly hands-on, commercially driven and field-oriented role requiring an experienced FMCG professional who combines strategic sales and marketing capability with strong market execution.
The successful candidate will develop commercial and market-entry strategies while personally driving the identification, engagement and conversion of major distributors, large traders, wholesalers, bulk buyers, industrial users and corporate/B2B customers capable of generating significant and recurring sales volumes.
A major focus will be expanding the Company's presence across Lagos open markets and wholesale/distribution channels, securing high-volume and truck-load transactions, developing strong distributors, strengthening product visibility and establishing an effective route-to-market structure.
The role will also be responsible for building, leading, coaching and developing a high-performing sales team, establishing territories and coverage plans, setting performance expectations and driving disciplined field execution.
The preferred candidate will have experience within a multinational or highly structured FMCG organisation, combined with strong practical knowledge of Nigeria's open-market and traditional-trade environment.
Key Responsibilities1. Sales Strategy & Commercial GrowthDevelop and execute sales strategies aligned with business objectives. Deliver agreed monthly, quarterly and annual sales volume, revenue, margin and market penetration targets. Personally drive the acquisition of major distributors, traders, wholesalers, bulk buyers and strategic customers. Drive high-volume and truck-load sales across assigned territories. Build a sustainable sales pipeline capable of delivering consistent revenue and volume. Grow existing accounts while developing new commercial opportunities. Drive both primary sales to distributors and secondary sales/market off-take. Maintain commercial discipline around pricing, margins, discounts, credit and collections.
- Marketing Strategy & Market DevelopmentDevelop and execute the Company's sales, marketing and market-development strategy.
Identify priority markets, customer segments, distribution channels and product opportunities. Develop strategies to strengthen product positioning, visibility, awareness, trial and market acceptance. Develop go-to-market strategies for new products, territories and customer segments. Translate market and customer insights into practical commercial initiatives. Recommend appropriate pricing, promotional, trade and customer-acquisition strategies. Develop sales and marketing plans and budgets with Management. Measure marketing activities against sales growth, distribution, customer acquisition, volume and ROI.
- Open Market, Distribution & Route-to-MarketLead penetration and expansion across Lagos open markets and assigned territories.
Map priority markets based on sales potential, customer concentration, competition and product opportunity. Develop and continuously improve the Company's route-to-market and distribution strategy. Maintain a strong personal presence within key open markets and wholesale clusters. Identify distribution and market-coverage gaps and implement corrective actions. Build relationships with influential traders, wholesalers, distributors and market decision-makers. Ensure effective product availability, visibility and movement across relevant channels.
- Distributor, Trader & Key Account DevelopmentIdentify and appoint credible, financially capable distributors with the ability to purchase and effectively move significant volumes.
Develop relationships with major traders, wholesalers and bulk buyers. Establish distributor sales targets, business plans and performance expectations. Monitor distributor sales, stock movement, secondary sales and market coverage. Develop corporate, institutional and industrial customers, including manufacturers, bakeries, food processors, hospitality businesses and other relevant commercial users. Lead commercial negotiations within approved pricing, margin and credit parameters. Grow key accounts and drive repeat purchases and long-term customer retention.
- Trade Marketing & Market ActivationDevelop trade marketing initiatives that strengthen product visibility, availability and sales conversion.
Plan and execute targeted market activations, trade promotions and customer initiatives. Develop appropriate trade incentives within approved commercial guidelines. Work with distributors and trade partners to strengthen product positioning and visibility. Drive product trial, adoption, off-take and repeat purchase. Monitor promotional effectiveness and ensure marketing expenditure contributes to measurable commercial results.
- Market Intelligence, Planning & ReportingMaintain strong knowledge of the Nigerian FMCG market, particularly the Lagos open-market, traditional-trade and wholesale environment.
Monitor competitor products, pricing, promotions, pack sizes, trade margins, credit terms and distribution activities. Identify market trends, commercial opportunities, competitive gaps and changing customer needs. Translate market intelligence into actionable sales, marketing, pricing and distribution strategies. Develop sales plans, forecasts and customer pipelines. Track performance by product, territory, distributor, customer and salesperson. Report regularly on sales volume and revenue, truck-load sales, distributor performance, customer acquisition, key accounts, market coverage, team performance, competitive activity and receivables. Work closely with Operations, Warehouse, Logistics and Finance to ensure product availability, efficient order fulfilment and collections.
Key Performance Indicators
Performance will include:
Achievement of sales volume, revenue and margin targets Number and value of high-volume/truck-load orders Number and performance of productive distributors Number of active major traders, wholesalers and bulk buyers Primary and secondary sales growth Distributor productivity and stock movement Growth in market penetration and distribution coverage Number and value of new key accounts/B2B customers Customer retention and repeat purchase Sales volume per distributor/key account Territory and sales team performance Product availability and market visibility ROI of trade marketing activities Forecast accuracy and collection performance Successful entry into new markets, channels and territories Qualifications & ExperienceBachelor's degree or HND in Marketing, Business Administration, Economics or a related discipline. MBA or relevant professional qualification is an advantage. Minimum of 10 years' progressive FMCG sales and commercial experience, with significant field sales and distributor-management exposure. Minimum of 6 years' sales leadership/managerial experience, with responsibility for teams, territories and commercial performance. Strong preference for candidates from a multinational or highly structured FMCG organisation with established traditional-trade, distribution and route-to-market systems. Proven experience developing and executing sales and marketing strategies. Strong experience across open market, traditional trade, wholesale and distributor channels. Proven expertise in route-to-market development and distribution expansion. Demonstrable record of securing and managing high-volume distributors, major traders, wholesalers and bulk buyers. Strong knowledge of the Lagos open-market and wholesale distribution landscape. Experience in trade marketing, market activation, product positioning, promotions and go-to-market execution. Proven record of meeting and exceeding demanding commercial targets. Existing relationships with major distributors, traders, wholesalers and commercial buyers will be a strong advantage. Experience within food products, edible fats/oils, baking ingredients, consumer foods or related FMCG categories will be advantageous. Required Skills & CompetenciesStrategic sales, marketing and business development Strong FMCG open-market and traditional-trade expertise Route-to-market strategy and execution Distributor and key-account management Trade marketing and market activation Product positioning and go-to-market planning Pricing, margin and commercial management Strong negotiation and closing capability Ability to independently identify and close high-volume opportunities Strong leadership and people-management capability Ability to build a sales team from the ground up Strong networking and relationship-management skills Market intelligence and competitor analysis Strong analytical, forecasting and reporting skills Results-driven, target-oriented and commercially accountable High level of integrity and professionalism Willingness to spend significant time in the field engaging markets, distributors, major traders, wholesalers and customers
The ideal candidate is a hands-on FMCG Sales and Marketing professional with strong commercial, strategic and field execution capability.
We are not looking for someone whose experience is predominantly limited to managing reports, presentations or supervising sales activities from the office. The successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to develop robust commercial strategies and personally translate them into measurable market results.
The individual must know how to open and penetrate markets, build route-to-market structures
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