Head of Sales Development at Silentnight Bedding

JOB DESCRIPTION

• The Commercial Manager plays a pivotal role in orchestrating the company's growth strategy and overseeing and coordinating all sales channels across customer categories. Reporting directly to the Managing Director, this position is responsible for managing a team, ensuring sales targets are met, and implementing strategies to drive revenue growth. The ideal candidate will possess exceptional leadership skills, a strategic mindset, and a deep understanding of marketing and sales operations management.

Key Expectations

• Develop growth strategy of the business through a segmented and differentiated portfolio of brands.
• Accountable for accelerated share, sales and profit growth for the company customer and channel portfolio and execution of approved business plans.
• Ensure that all strategic market objectives are achieved, delivered, and executed by strategic long-, medium- and short-term plans for systems and channel networks by sales, profit, and marketing objectives, analyzing past category performance and economic variables, and development and execution of detailed 1 year plan for all the products.
• Execution and implementation of commercial and business objectives via continuous learning, initiating, and coordinating progress on all projects, and facilitating implementation with other functions within the organization as well as with external agencies
• Monitor, analyze and evaluate marketplace developments including customer and consumer behaviour changes, sales, expert, and supply chain performance relating to the company's portfolio. Adapt and/or replan to accommodate deviations/changes in market conditions by devising and implementing new action plans to ensure the brand retains its competitive advantage
• Role model the company values and behaviours and always do the right thing
• Show business leadership by working within budget parameters, monitoring progress towards achieving goals, business planning,
• collaboration with other functions, agencies, and departments to ensure customer satisfaction, and success of projects and drive brand growth 8. Develop a loyal consumer base for the company's products by creating positive brand perceptions, associations, and usage experience - such as advertising, promotions, and relevant project management. Work closely with Supply Chain to ensure product availability
• Design, develop and implement communication programs to advertise the organization's products using media (TV, radio, print, direct mail, digital), events, and sales promotions. Develop and evaluate pricing strategies and structures
• Partner with Country Commercial leaders, Area Marketing Managers and other functional stakeholders (e.g. Finance, Supply Chain and HR) to ensure co-delivery of winning commercial goals
• Ensure compliance and corporate governance by showing in-depth knowledge on products, understands and abides by company and group policies and procedures
• Embedding continuous learning from successes and failures
• Initiating and coordinating progress on all projects
• Facilitating implementation with other functions within the organization as well as with aligned agencies and processes.
• Working within budget parameters
• Monitoring progress towards achieving objectives
• Providing input into overall planning of business
• Liaising with other functions and departments regarding issues such as distribution, production, innovation, sales performance, etc for best practices.
• Develops a loyal customer franchise for the company's brands by creating positive brand perceptions, associations, and usage experiences, through tools such as advertising, promotion, and supply chain management, to build strong brands and ensure the long-term profitability of the company
• In-depth knowledge of products
• Understands and abides by company policies and procedures
• Conducts Management Monitoring
• Communicates effectively with senior management, peers, and other departments
• Is a respected individual with customers and staff
• Use company values and expectations to drive actions and decisions, role model values and expectations
• Team Management:
• Lead, mentor, and motivate the sales team to achieve individual and collective sales targets.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, provide feedback, and implement training programs to enhance team skills.
• Ensure effective communication of sales objectives, targets, and company policies to the sales team.
• Records to Maintain

Candidate Specific

• Sales Reporting and Analysis:
• Generate comprehensive sales reports on a regular basis, analyzing performance against targets and KPIs.
• Provide insights and recommendations based on sales data to drive informed decision-making.
• Develop forecasting models to predict sales trends and adjust strategies accordingly.
• Customer Relationship Management:
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key clients, distributors, and retail partners.
• Address customer inquiries, resolve complaints, and ensure high levels of customer satisfaction.
• Implement customer feedback mechanisms to continuously improve products and services.
• Compliance and Operational Efficiency:
• Ensure adherence to company policies, procedures, and legal requirements across all sales activities.
• Optimize operational processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs within the sales department.
• Collaborate with other departments, such as Marketing and Supply Chain, to streamline cross-functional operations.
• Team Leadership and Development:
• Lead and mentor the Sales team, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Provide guidance and support to team members, ensuring clarity of roles and responsibilities.
• Conduct performance evaluations, set goals, and provide opportunities for professional growth.
• Self-Management
• Support, comply, and ensure complicity with Company Core values, Quality and Environmental standards, and all other Company policies and procedures
• Support encourage and develop the team and take ownership of team cohesion
• Proactively contribute to creating a good team atmosphere
• Anticipates and overcomes obstacles.
• Makes useful links to arrive at insightful plans and solutions
• Embraces personal challenge.
• Confident, rounded thinking
• Is resilient, optimistic, and open to change
• Has an Adult: Adult, collaborative approach to others
• A self-starter, motivated and able to positively motivate others k. Focused and target drove with a positive, can-do attitude Sales manuals; daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual sales reports; SOP's

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Sales, Marketing, or a related field.
• Proven experience (7 years) in sales management, preferably within the FMCG industry
• Strong leadership abilities with a track record of successfully managing and developing sales teams.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to interpret sales data and formulate actionable insights.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills for effective team collaboration and client interactions.
• Proficiency in sales software, CRM systems, and Microsoft Office Suite. Strategic thinker with a results-driven mindset and a passion for driving business growth.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt to changing market conditions.