UI Assistant Business Development Manager at Unilever

Role Purpose

Drive sustainable and profitable growth across assigned East African markets by leading distributor performance, commercial planning, customer development and market execution. The role will combine hands-on business delivery with the development of capability for broader regional leadership responsibilities and operates within a regional business covering Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Somalia

Core Responsibilities

• Business Delivery: Own turnover, growth, profitability and market execution targets for the assigned approximately EUR 7M business. Lead annual plans, monthly performance reviews and corrective actions.
• Distributor Leadership: Build and execute joint business plans, lead distributor governance, strengthen capability and hold partners accountable for agreed commercial outcomes.
• Commercial Planning: Own forecasting, demand planning, pricing, portfolio mix, trade investment and promotional planning in collaboration with relevant functions.
• Market Development: Identify and convert growth opportunities across priority geographies, brands, customers and channels. Expand distribution, coverage and execution quality.
• Operational Excellence: Maintain healthy inventory, service, working-capital and order discipline. Proactively manage supply risks and prevent avoidable out-of-stocks.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing and Customer Operations to deliver end-to-end business priorities and resolve execution barriers.
• Governance and Compliance: Ensure distributor operations, commercial investments and market activities comply with company policies, controls and regulatory requirements.
• Scale and Succession: Demonstrate readiness to assume additional markets, customers and P&L responsibility as the East Africa business grows.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Commerce, Marketing or a related discipline; postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• Approximately 5-8 years of progressive FMCG commercial experience in Sales, Customer Development, Distributor Management or a related field.
• Proven record of delivering sales and business targets through distributors and customers.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical capability and understanding of P&L drivers.
• Comfort operating independently across multiple markets and influencing stakeholders without direct authority.
• East Africa or comparable emerging-market exposure is strongly preferred.
• High ownership, learning agility, resilience and an entrepreneurial growth mindset.

Skills and Experience

• Distributor management - Joint business planning, governance, performance reviews and capability building.
• Commercial delivery - Demonstrated delivery of growth, revenue targets and disciplined execution.
• Planning and analytics - Forecasting, demand planning, performance analysis and action-oriented reporting.
• Financial acumen - Working knowledge of P&L, gross margin, trade investment, ROI and working capital.
• Route to market - Experience improving coverage, channel execution and distributor productivity.
• Stakeholder leadership - Ability to align customers and cross-functional teams around clear decisions and actions.
• Communication - Executive-ready written and verbal communication, including customer negotiation and business reviews.