Head of Retail at M-Paya

The Role

• The Head of Retail builds, grows and manages M-PAYA’s retail channel across Kenya, ensuring our products are available, visible and actively sold through the right retail outlets, distributors, dealers and channel partners.
• This is a hands-on commercial leadership role that owns the retail growth agenda: from identifying new markets and recruiting channel partners to improving outlet productivity, merchandising, sales conversion and customer experience.

What You Will Do

Retail Channel Strategy

• Develop and execute the retail channel strategy in line with overall business growth objectives.
• Define the retail footprint, channel mix and route-to-market model.
• Identify expansion opportunities into new territories, towns and retail clusters.
• Develop plans to increase retail sales, market penetration and outlet productivity.

Retail Network Expansion

• Identify, recruit, onboard and manage dealers, retailers and other channel partners.
• Build a scalable retail network across priority markets.
• Develop territory plans and ensure adequate market coverage.
• Set clear partner expectations, targets and performance standards.

Sales and Commercial Performance

• Own retail channel revenue, volume and growth targets.
• Drive sell-in, sell-through and sell-out performance across the retail network.
• Monitor sales performance by territory, outlet, distributor and product.
• Develop corrective actions for underperforming territories and partners.
• Use sales data and market intelligence to identify growth opportunities.

Retail Execution and Merchandising

• Ensure M-PAYA products are properly positioned, displayed and promoted at retail outlets.
• Drive merchandising, POSM deployment, product visibility and brand compliance.
• Develop and execute retail promotions and trade activation initiatives.
• Work with Marketing to translate campaigns into effective retail execution.

Partner Management

• Build strong commercial relationships with distributors, dealers and retailers.
• Develop partner incentive and performance programs.
• Support partner capability development through product, sales and customer-service training.
• Resolve channel issues and ensure strong partner engagement and retention.

Team Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing retail sales team.
• Set clear individual and team targets, KPIs and territory plans.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and coaching.
• Drive a culture of accountability, field execution and continuous improvement.

Market Intelligence

• Maintain a strong understanding of retail market dynamics, competitor activity, pricing and customer behaviour.
• Conduct market mapping to identify new retail opportunities.
• Provide management with actionable insights on market trends, competitor movements and channel performance.

Stock and Operational Coordination

• Work with Operations and Finance to ensure product availability across the retail network.
• Monitor stock movement and availability at distributor and retail level.
• Minimise stock-outs, excess inventory and channel inefficiencies.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sales or a related field. A postgraduate qualification is an added advantage.

Experience

• 8+ years of experience in retail sales, channel management, distribution, route-to-market or related commercial roles.
• Proven experience building or managing a retail or distribution network.
• Experience managing sales teams and field-based commercial teams.
• Experience with merchandising, trade marketing and retail execution.

Sector experience (an advantage)

• Consumer electronics, electrical products, energy products, solar and renewable energy, or building materials.

Skills and competencies

• Commercial leadership: a retail builder who grows sales through channel development and market expansion.
• Strong understanding of distributor, dealer and retailer management.
• Territory planning, market mapping and outlet productivity.
• Strong commercial negotiation and relationship-management skills.
• Data-driven decision making, using sales data and market intelligence.
• Team leadership, coaching and a focus on accountability and field execution.

How Your Success Will Be Measured

• Retail revenue and sales growth
• Number and productivity of active retail outlets
• New distributor, dealer and retailer acquisition
• Retail market and territory expansion
• Sell-through and sell-out performance
• Outlet activation and productivity
• Retail brand visibility and compliance
• Partner performance and retention
• Sales team productivity
• Customer acquisition and repeat business

Who you will work with

• Internally: the Chief Commercial Officer (your line manager), Marketing, Operations, Finance and the retail sales team.
• Externally: distributors, dealers, retailers and other channel partners.