Job Description

With over 70 years of excellence, Ciro is South Africa's leading coffee manufacturing and out-of-home beverage solutions provider. From sourcing and roasting to training, distribution, and technical support, we deliver complete coffee solutions nationwide. Through the Ciro Coffee Academy-South Africa's first national, SCA-certified training centre-we're elevating coffee skills and standards coast-to-coast.
As National Sales Manager, you'll join Ciro's executive leadership team to steer Regional Sales, Call Centre, and Operations divisions toward ambitious growth goals. You'll set the strategy, manage performance, and champion initiatives that deliver profitable national and regional sales.
Key outputs:

• Team Management: Lead and manage the Regional Sales, Call Centre, and Operations teams, ensuring alignment with company objectives and strategies.
• Relationship Building: Establish and nurture commercially astute relationships with suppliers, service providers, and customers, both current and future.
• Sales Growth: Drive and support the sales and call centre teams to achieve profitable sales growth nationally and regionally by meeting and exceeding sales targets.
• Strategy Development: Collaborate with Key Account managers to develop, lead, and implement commercial and growth strategies for the respective regions.
• Operational Management: Oversee day-to-day sales functions, including targets, budgets, forecasting, promotions, and customer management.
• Customer Pipeline: Ensure each region has an active customer pipeline and track progress in terms of incremental volume and turnover gained from conversions.
• Promotional Planning: Work with regional managers and the national call centre manager to create a quarterly promotional grid, track progress, and make adaptive improvements.
• Incentive Programs: Implement appropriate incentive calculators to keep the sales team motivated and ensure company turnover growth and margin improvement.
• Operational Controls: Ensure appropriate controls and SOPs are in place across all regions to monitor expenditure and manage customer events and to ensure company assets are placed at customers where the required min offtakes are being achieved.
• Price Notifications: Equip and brief the sales teams to effectively communicate price increase notifications to customers and track progress.
• Ecommerce Strategy Activation: Develop strategies and or loyalty and promotional programs to encourage more customer engagements and transactions on the CIRO Orders ecommerce platform.
• Collaboration: Foster a collaborative working relationship between regional sales and call centre teams through SOPs, upskilling, and training.
• Sales Performance Tracking: Create KPI trackers to measure regional and call centre performance and implement corrective plans where gaps are identified.
• Market Analysis: Analyze sales information and competitor activity to make necessary changes and
• Talent Management: Focus on succession planning, talent management, and development of a competent National Sales team with expertise in coffee knowledge and CIRO equipment solutions.
• Market Exploration: Investigate new markets, innovation trends, product ranges, and service offerings by attending trade shows and customer events.
• Competitor Intelligence: Utilize sales teams and their networks to gather competitor
• Technical NSV: Deliver and improve technical NSV across the customer base by region and ensure the achievement of Budgets for Equipment sales, rentals and maintenance.
• Cost Management: Ensure sound management and control of variable and fixed sales costs nationally and by region.
• Key Account Activations: Implement and activate Group customer plans and or new group rollouts developed by various Key Account manager.
• Social Responsibility: Drive social responsibility and internal sustainability programs and initiatives (Fairtrade, Organic, Relationship Coffee).
• Strategic Planning: Participate in the development of strategic growth and defense plans and ensure successful execution.
• BBBEE Compliance: Ensure the appropriate staffing and procurement plans is in place to maintain a level 2 rating.
• Skill Development: Ensure regional teams maintain and grow their Coffee Specialist skills and knowledge base.
• Ciro Executive Team: participate in all meeting and strategic discussions involving this team.

This role requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and excellent communication skills to drive growth and ensure operational effectiveness.
Required experience:

• 10 years' experience in a management role
• 10 years' experience within the Food Services Channel
• Minimum 5 years' customer service management
• Minimum 5 years' coffee industry and a solid foundation
• Minimum 5 years dealing with Union

Knowledge:

• Microsoft Office and SAP system
• Technical & Industry Knowledge - coffee industry, sales operations, technical support, training and supply chain processes.
• Sound mathematical abilities
• Technical knowledge (equipment, automatic machines, vending machines and traditional espresso)
• Data analytics and reports - advanced proficiency in Customer Reporting Management (CRM) / Ciro App, platforms, Microsoft Excel, and business intelligence/reporting tools

Skills:

• Minimum of 10 Years Sales Experience, Food Service and or Coffee/Beverages
• Experience within the Out of Home Channel
• (Business & Industry, Forecourts, Hospitality, Restaurants, Office Direct, Quick Service Restaurants)
• Leadership skills with the ability to influence and guide cross-functional teams, including Sales consultants, Supply chain, Technical specialists and Marketing and Tele-sales
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey priorities, performance updates, and strategic initiatives.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to manage multiple regions, projects, and stakeholder needs simultaneously