Sales Capability Manager

This role owns the sales capability and effectiveness agenda end to end. Day to day, it means digging into sales, distribution, SFA and execution data alongside live field observation to work out why the sales force is not converting its effort into results — then designing the deployment models, processes, routines, coaching systems and tools that fix it. It matters because the business is looking to grow through sharper execution and more productive selling time from the team it already has, not through simply adding headcount.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape and deliver the annual sales capability strategy, including the competency framework and capability plan, so that development investment follows commercial priorities rather than being spread evenly.
• Diagnose performance gaps at root-cause level, combining sales and productivity data, execution metrics, customer insight and capability assessments to separate people issues from process, coverage or tooling issues.
• Rework territory design, customer coverage models and call routines to lift selling time, reduce wasted coverage and raise output per representative.
• Codify and roll out standard selling processes, playbooks, SOPs and field execution standards that hold consistently across channels and markets.
• Build the coaching muscle of frontline sales managers through a structured coaching framework and field coaching programme, so performance conversations happen in the field rather than only in review meetings.
• Drive adoption and effective use of SFA and other sales productivity tools, tracking uptake through standards and adoption dashboards rather than assuming rollout equals usage.
• Lead continuous improvement and commercial projects — simplifying sales processes, removing non-value-adding activity and assessing the return on each initiative before scaling it.
• Influence Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, Supply Chain and IT to implement change without direct line authority, and flag risks to execution, coverage, capability or productivity with recommended mitigations.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in Commerce, Business Administration, Economics or a closely related discipline. A master's degree or MBA is an added advantage.
• Professional qualifications in Sales, Marketing, Commercial Excellence, Learning & Development or a related field are beneficial.
• Six to ten years of progressive experience in FMCG, consumer goods or another fast-moving, highly competitive commercial environment.
• At least three years spent in a sales capability, sales excellence, sales operations, commercial excellence, trade marketing or sales leadership role.
• Two to three years of hands-on field sales or sales management experience is strongly preferred.
• A demonstrated record of building sales capability and lifting sales force effectiveness — not a career limited to classroom or workshop delivery.
• Proven experience designing and embedding sales processes, sales routines, performance management systems and field execution standards.
• Hands-on experience building sales competency frameworks, training programmes, coaching systems and sales playbooks.
• Practical track record in sales force productivity, territory optimisation, customer coverage, route-to-market design and sales execution improvement.
• Ability to show how capability interventions translated into measurable commercial results, with strong commercial and data-based judgement.
• Comfort working with Sales Force Automation (SFA), Power BI, Excel or comparable commercial analytics platforms.
• Demonstrated strength leading cross-functional projects and driving change management and adoption across a sales organisation.
• Regional or East African FMCG experience is an added advantage.