COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR – WHEAT & MAIZE MILLING

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the overall commercial strategy in line with the company’s business plan and growth objectives.
• Identify opportunities to increase revenue, sales volumes, market share and profitability across all product categories.
• Conduct market research and competitor analysis to monitor flour and mealie-meal prices, market demand, customer preferences and industry developments.
• Identify and develop new markets, customer segments, distribution channels and geographical territories.
• Establish strategic relationships with wholesalers, retailers, supermarkets, bakeries, food manufacturers, institutions and bulk buyers.
• Develop commercial plans for the wheat and maize milling divisions, ensuring that each division achieves its approved sales and profitability targets.
• Evaluate opportunities for institutional supply contracts, bulk sales agreements, private-label products and strategic distribution partnerships.
• Advise management on market opportunities, competitive threats, pricing trends and commercial risks.
• Lead and manage the sales function to achieve approved monthly and annual revenue, volume and profitability targets.
• Develop sales budgets and establish targets for individual products, sales teams, customer segments and geographical territories.
• Oversee the sale of wheat flour, maize meal, bran and other products manufactured or traded by the business.
• Develop and maintain a strong customer base across wholesale, retail, industrial and institutional markets.
• Secure high-volume customers and negotiate long-term supply agreements within approved authority limits.
• Monitor daily, weekly and monthly sales performance against targets and implement corrective measures where necessary.
• Ensure effective management of sales pipelines, customer enquiries, quotations, orders and follow-ups.
• Develop sales incentive programmes, subject to management approval, to improve sales productivity and target achievement.
• Monitor customer buying patterns and identify opportunities to increase sales volumes and product penetration.
• Develop and recommend competitive pricing strategies for wheat flour, maize meal, bran and other milling products.
• Work closely with Finance and Production to establish accurate product costs and assess the effect of changes in grain prices, packaging costs, energy, transport and other production expenses.
• Monitor gross margins and contribution margins by product, packaging size, customer, sales channel and geographical market.
• Ensure that selling prices reflect market conditions while protecting the company’s profitability.
• Review discounts, rebates, promotional offers and special customer pricing to ensure that they are commercially justified and properly authorised.
• Analyse product profitability and recommend corrective action for underperforming product lines.
• Monitor the financial impact of changes in milling yields, production efficiency and by-product recovery on product margins.
• Ensure that pricing decisions are supported by accurate costing, financial analysis and approved commercial policies.
• Develop and implement marketing strategies to strengthen the company’s brands and increase market penetration.
• Oversee promotional campaigns, product launches, trade promotions and customer engagement initiatives.
• Ensure effective positioning of flour and mealie-meal products in target markets.
• Work with relevant departments to identify opportunities for new product sizes, packaging formats, product variants and value-added milling products.
• Monitor competitor brands, pricing, packaging, product quality perceptions and promotional activities.
• Develop marketing initiatives for wholesalers, retailers, supermarkets, bakeries and industrial customers.
• Evaluate the commercial return on marketing expenditure and promotional activities.
• Ensure that product claims, packaging information and marketing materials comply with applicable requirements and approved specifications.
• Coordinate with Production, Procurement, Warehousing and Logistics to align sales forecasts with production schedules and raw material availability.
• Ensure that customer orders are consistent with available finished goods, production capacity and delivery schedules.
• Monitor finished goods inventory to minimise stock-outs, overstocking, slow-moving products and avoidable losses.
• Review sales forecasts against actual demand and communicate changes in market requirements to Production.
• Monitor order fulfilment and ensure that customer commitments are met within agreed delivery timelines.
• Work with Production to identify opportunities to improve the commercial utilisation of milling capacity and maximise sales of available output.
• Coordinate the sale and distribution of bran and other milling by-products to appropriate markets.
• Escalate production constraints, raw material shortages and distribution challenges that may affect sales performance.
• Develop and oversee an effective distribution strategy for all milling products.
• Ensure that products reach customers efficiently, reliably and at competitive distribution costs.
• Monitor delivery performance, transport costs, customer service levels and order fulfilment.
• Coordinate with Logistics and Warehousing to optimise delivery routes, vehicle utilisation and distribution planning.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of distributors, agents, depots and other distribution channels.
• Identify opportunities to reduce distribution costs while maintaining acceptable customer service standards.
• Ensure that finished products are handled, stored and transported appropriately to protect product quality and packaging integrity.
• Monitor delivery-related customer complaints and implement corrective action.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key accounts, wholesalers, retailers, supermarkets, bakeries, food manufacturers and institutional customers.
• Negotiate supply contracts, pricing arrangements, payment terms and service agreements within approved limits.
• Monitor customer satisfaction, retention and repeat business.
• Ensure that customer complaints, shortages, delivery disputes and product-related concerns are resolved promptly in collaboration with relevant departments.
• Identify opportunities to grow revenue from existing customers through increased volumes and additional product lines.
• Monitor customer demand patterns and provide insights to improve production and distribution planning.
• Ensure that customer commitments are realistic and aligned with the company’s operational capabilities.
• Work with Finance to implement and enforce approved customer credit policies and credit limits.
• Monitor debtor balances, overdue accounts, customer exposure and collection performance.
• Ensure that sales teams actively support the collection of outstanding customer accounts.
• Review the creditworthiness of new customers and recommend appropriate credit terms in consultation with Finance.
• Ensure that sales growth is supported by sound credit management and sustainable cash flow.
• Recommend credit restrictions, revised payment terms or suspension of supplies for customers with unacceptable credit exposure, in accordance with company policy.
• Monitor bad debt risks and report material concerns to management.
• Ensure that customer credit terms and commercial agreements are properly documented and authorised.
• Prepare the annual commercial budget, sales forecasts and business development plans.
• Monitor actual performance against revenue, volume, gross margin, distribution cost and operating expense budgets.
• Prepare and present weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual commercial performance reports to management.
• Analyse variances between actual and budgeted performance and recommend corrective action.
• Monitor sales revenue, gross profit, product margins, customer profitability and collection performance.
• Work with Finance to evaluate the financial viability of major customer contracts, promotional campaigns and new market opportunities.
• Identify opportunities to improve commercial returns, reduce selling costs and optimise working capital.
• Provide management with reliable market intelligence, demand forecasts and commercial risk assessments.
• Ensure that commercial operations comply with applicable laws, regulations, company policies and contractual obligations.
• Work with Quality Assurance and Production to ensure that products supplied to customers meet approved quality and specification requirements.
• Ensure that product labelling, packaging information, weights and marketing claims comply with applicable requirements.
• Monitor commercial risks arising from grain price volatility, supply disruptions, competition, customer concentration and credit exposure.
• Ensure appropriate controls over customer contracts, discounts, rebates and sales transactions.
• Promote ethical conduct, accurate reporting and the prevention of fraud, unauthorised commitments and conflicts of interest.
• Escalate material commercial, regulatory and reputational risks to management.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Sales and Marketing, Business Management, Commerce, Finance or a related field.
• An MBA or postgraduate qualification in Business Administration, Strategic Management or Marketing will be an added advantage.
• At least 8-10 years of relevant commercial, sales or business development experience.
• Experience in wheat milling, maize milling, grain trading, food manufacturing or FMCG distribution is a MUST.
• Proven track record in achieving sales growth, managing commercial budgets, improving profitability and expanding market share.
• Demonstrated experience in pricing, product costing, distribution management, customer credit and key account management.
• Experience managing sales teams and developing effective sales and marketing strategies.
• Strong understanding of grain markets, milling products, food distribution and the commercial drivers of manufacturing profitability.

How to Apply