Territory Manager - Nakuru at Twiga Foods

Reporting to the Regional Manager, the Territory Manager is accountable for the profitable growth of customer numbers, volume, revenue, margin and exceptional customer experience in the assigned territory, based on a detailed knowledge of the trade drawn from regular trade visits and personal interactions with customers.

The role holder is accountable for developing annual impactful annual territory operational plan, anchored on Fresh first, and accompanying budgets/P&L, drawn from the regional/commercial strategy, and translating it into (a) weekly/monthly and quarterly commercial goals for each route and individual in the team; (b) demand plans that are shared with stakeholders in the business to enable products and services to be procured and availed on time and in full; and (c) driving realization of the P&L and ensure optimum utilization of resources assigned to the territory.

The role holder will effectively develop, coach and guide account development and fulfilment teams, enabling performance and the continuous building of the capability of the teams managed. S/he will influence 100% digital migration to the Soko Yetu App drive the uptake of the financial services to bring true value to the vendors within the assigned territory and continuously seek opportunities for profitable, sustainable expansion within the territory.

Key Responsibilities

Customer First

• Proactively engage current, potential and former customers in the territory.
• assess if product assortment/service offerings; fulfilment options meet their expectations and delivers a positive customer's experience, reinforce the positive and make recommendations to address any gaps profitably and sustainably.
• Understand customers evolving needs and contribute to the development of appealing, sustainable, scalable, solutions that can be executed profitably within the vendor/customer/channel segment.
• Advocate for Customer First in the team, proactively monitor customer complaints and confirm they are resolved in the shortest time possible. Engage the customers for feedback and confirmation of satisfactory issue resolution and monitor retention.

Profitability Growth

• Proactively contribute to the development of the regional and commercial strategy.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues within Commercial and across the business to develop an impactful annual territory operational plan, drawn from the regional/commercial strategy, that will deliver optimal product assortment/service offerings, fulfilment options, fee/cost to serve and exceptional customer experience for each channel, resulting in consistent growth in customer numbers, volume, revenue and profitability.
• Embed Fresh first as the foundational principle of the operational plan.
• Develop an annual budgets/P&L for the territory plan that enables weekly/monthly and quarterly commercial goals to be: - cascaded to each route and individual in the team - converted into demand plans that are shared with stakeholders in the business to enable products and services to be procured and availed on time and in full.
• Anchor the plan and P&L on trends and new business opportunities in the territory. Build route density. Create optimal products assortment mix, service offerings and fulfilment options to maximum sustainable profitable growth, whilst delivering an exceptional customer experience.
• Drive the P&L of the territory and deliver the anticipated results. Monitor and control the budget and ensure optimum utilization of resources assigned to the territory.
• Devise innovative initiatives to introduce new products to the market. Develop and maintain relationships with key influencers in the territory and leverage the relationships to drive product uptake source feedback and gain insights that will enable Twiga remain the preferred stock-up partner in the trade.
• Contribute to the development of marketing and merchandising programs, monitor execution, measure the impact, and give feedback for the continuous improvement of future programs.
• Evaluate options for profitable, sustainable expansion within the territory, create the business case and execute as approved.
• Collaborate with the Finance team to ensure compliance with all agreed service levels and financial credit terms to control collections and receivables.

Twiga Way of Account Development & Fulfilment

• Embed the Twiga Way of Account Development and Fulfilment.
• Embed the Twiga Way of Account Development and Fulfilment within the team. Execute coaching and accompaniment, performance enablement, performance reviews, career guidance conversations as a standard way of leadership and management of the team in the territory.
• Conduct regular market visits and accompany the sales team to the vendor outlets to coach them on Twiga’s ways of selling and building collaborative, customer focused relationships
• Train on the team on the step-by-step process of the Twiga Way of Account Development and Fulfilment and the expected outcomes of this approach of mutual benefit/value for both the customer and the organization.
• Coach the team: - how to focus on the unique value proposition of partnering with Twiga and how to navigate through the decision-making process of the vendor for a positive outcome. - how to cultivate a digital mindset with vendors to enable them to migrate to self-ordering to the Soko Yetu App - opportunity sizing i.e., build their understanding how the territory works and the key market drivers. Widening their scope to appreciate the possibilities within the entire territory and not only specifically to the assigned route. Develop their agility to work in any part of the territory. - Continuously communicate and educate the team on the product portfolio for both new and existing SKUs within each category, new product launches, daily promotions to keep the team informed of the business
• Continuously communicate and educate the team on the product portfolio for both new and existing SKUs within each category, new product launches, daily promotions, and development in the business to keep the team informed and up to date.
• Foster honest, open, and continuous communication. Encourage the sharing of knowledge, learnings, challenges, wins, losses, and insights. Lead by example and create an environment of communal growth and improvement.
• Assess each team member’s individuals' strengths and improvement areas related to the Twiga Way of Account Development and Fulfilment and take appropriate action.

Data Analysis and Reporting

• Data Analysis and Insights
• Interpret and utilize the data shared in the reports (CLT, GP) shared by the BI team to make business decisions e.g., direct the team to the right customers to generate maximum revenue from the outlets visited
• Simplify the analyzed data for the team to understand, interpret and internalize data (for example customers to be re-activated per route per day) and in turn be motivated to meet the set business targets
• Empower the team to be able to measure the targets set by themselves at the end of each day
• Cascade clear KPIs to the team for the team to fully understand the targets set per day in their assigned routes e.g., SKU numbers, customer numbers and encourage a collaborative culture focusing on the collective effortrequired to keep the pipeline churning
• Maintain custody of all relevant documentation in the format and standard set, utilize organization systems as provided.
• Present comprehensive, accurate and informative reports with trends, insights, concerns, and recommendations clearly elaborated.

Team & Self-management

• Model Twiga’s culture and way of working and inculcating this within the team.
• Engage, coach, manage and motive the team in the territory
• Deliver the performance objectives set for the team. Hold monthly 1-on-1 performance reviews with the team and with own line manager, and institute corrective action where performance falls below expectation.
• Proactively manage the teams’ and own learning and development
• Adhere to the annual leave plan agreed with the line manager
• Adhere to people management polices

Compliance

• Comply with all organization policies, procedures, and statutory guidelines. Minimize and mitigate risks to the organization and enforce zero-tolerance to non-compliance.
• Close gaps/lapses identified as an outcome of audits; risk and/or any other compliance review; investigations; or other assessment mechanisms and take corrective/preventive actions within the agreed timelines.

Minimum Qualifications And Experience

• A bachelor’s degree from a recognized accredited university in commerce, marketing, or a related field.
• Accredited training in commercial ways of selling, sales operations, channel management, route to market, coaching are highly desirable.
• 6 years of solid experience driving sales performance, account development and fulfilment in general trade preferably in an e-commerce environment, with at least two years supervisory responsibility for a sizable diverse team. A proven track record in selling Fresh produce is a significant advantage.
• An entrepreneurial thinker with a high level of business acumen, an in-depth working knowledge of the general trade ecosystem and the ability to remain updated on industry-related developments.
• Exceptional relationship-building, stakeholder engagement and influencing ability with colleagues, customers and partners at a variety of levels. Ability to successfully manage negotiations and resolve conflicts.
• Digitally savvy with an affinity for data, coupled with strong analytical skills and the ability to utilize statistics, market insights and research to develop actionable insights to guide decision-making.
• Ability to prioritize and resolve tactical challenges of differing levels of complexity and urgency in a dynamic fast paced environment with conflicting demands.
• Ability to build, coach, motive, and deliver results through a dynamic, energized high performing team of direct and indirect reports. Demonstrable hand-on leadership delivered through daily cadences and continuous coaching and accompaniment.
• A highly driven, high energy, enthusiastic, pragmatic, resilient individual with a real passion for sales, hungry for success, a sense of urgency, and unquestionable integrity, with a track record of delivering in a target driven environment.
• Willing and able to travel.