Sales Director - East Africa

Role Overview

This position holds the commercial mandate for Mars Snacking across East Africa, with Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania as the primary markets. Day to day, the Sales Director shapes the region's growth agenda, directs distributor and retail partnerships, and manages the full P&L while guiding a 17-person sales organisation. The role matters because it links enterprise strategy to on-the-ground execution, ensuring that route-to-market choices, customer investments, and supply plans translate into durable, profitable share gains.

Key Responsibilities

• Formulate and execute annual and multi-year sales strategies for Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, targeting category expansion and market share growth for the Mars Snacking portfolio.
• Own the East Africa P&L, with accountability for Net Sales Value, gross margin, controllable contribution, and efficient deployment of commercial resources.
• Build and manage strategic relationships with distributors and retail customers, designing route-to-market, cost-to-serve, and category approaches across Traditional Trade, Modern Trade, and D-Commerce channels.
• Partner with Strategic Demand, Supply, and Marketing teams to convert shopper and trade-partner insights into integrated commercial plans and demand forecasts.
• Lead a team of 17 associates, including five direct reports, through coaching, engagement, succession planning, and recruitment of diverse talent.
• Represent East Africa in the Africa Business Team and Sales Leadership Forum, contributing to broader Sub-Saharan Africa initiatives and sharing best practices.
• Drive negotiations and stakeholder alignment with internal and external partners, maintaining an enterprise-first perspective.
• Monitor performance, reallocate resources, and adjust plans as market conditions evolve.

Requirements & Qualifications

• 15–20 years of commercial and sales leadership experience within Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).
• Demonstrated capability in distributor management, customer partnerships, sales execution, and route-to-market strategy across varied African markets.
• A completed university degree is required; an MBA or relevant postgraduate business qualification is strongly preferred.
• Proven full P&L ownership, financial acumen, and resource allocation experience across Traditional Trade, Modern Trade, and D-Commerce channels.
• Values-led people leadership: recruiting, mentoring, and developing diverse teams, succession planning, and driving high associate engagement.
• Strategic thinker with strong negotiation, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative leadership skills, embodying an enterprise-first mindset.
• Ability to translate customer and shopper insights into commercial plans and demand forecasts.

What We Offer / Why Join

• Enterprise-level exposure through a seat on the Africa Business Team and the Sales Leadership Forum.
• Direct leadership of a 17-person sales organisation, including five direct reports.
• Ownership of route-to-market and category strategy across three core East African markets.
• An inclusive, high-performance culture with a strong emphasis on development and building a regional talent pipeline.
• Close cross-functional partnership with Strategic Demand, Supply, and Marketing teams.
• Peer learning and best-practice sharing across Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The opportunity to shape commercial growth for the Mars Snacking portfolio in a diverse and dynamic region.