Regional Sales Manager - Northern Nigeria

Date: 8 Jan 2025

Country: Nigeria

Function: Sales

Sub-Function: Front End / Customer Facing

About Us – olam food ingredients
We are a global leader in food & beverage ingredients. Pioneers at heart, we operate at the forefront of consumer trends to provide food & beverage manufacturers with products and ingredients that will delight their consumers. Making a positive impact on people and planet is all part of the delight. With a deep-rooted presence in the countries where our ingredients are grown, we are closer to farmers, enabling better quality, and more reliable, traceable and transparent supply. Supplying products and ingredients at scale is just the start. We add value through our unique, complementary portfolio of natural, delicious and nutritious products. With our fresh thinking, we help our customers unleash the sensory and functional attributes of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices so they can create naturally good food & beverage products that meet consumer expectations. And whoever we’re with, whatever we’re doing, we always make it real.

Product Information
Dairy
Made with care and respect, our dairy ingredients satisfy our customer’s business needs while helping them create tasty, nutritious, and convenient dairy products across many categories. Together, our thriving community of farmers, processors and innovators, not to mention the thousands of dairy cows living on our farms, create a wide selection of Dairy Ingredients, Cheese, Dairy Fats and Dairy Liquids. We are there at every stage of the dairy supply chain; starting at the farm and travelling all the way to the finished product, there’s no part of the dairy supply chain we don’t know.

Overview of the role

The B2B Dairy market in Nigeria can be broadly divided into two segments – Open Market (36000 MT/annum) and Institutions (~ 190 MT/annum). We define ‘Open Market’ as comprising of large key distributors similar to a typical FMCG structure spread across the country. These distributors in turn service smaller retailers and artisanal dairy manufacturers in their respective regions. We estimate this segment to comprise of approx. 20% of the Dairy imports into the country. Our products and brands (Lactorich, Supercow, Preplait and Milk House Blue) are known and trusted across the country, commanding a 10% premium over our closest competitors. Trade in this segment is characterized by lucratively high margins and requiring an FMCG-like distribution network (and brands) to address the needs of the primary distributors. Territorially, we broadly categorize the business into two – North and Southern region following broad geographic structures in the country.

The Northern region is our most important business contributing to 70% of our overall volumes. In FY24, we have averaged close to 1000 MT/month (approx. $ 50 mil/annum revenue) in the region and our ambition is to grow this business to 1400 MT/month (approx.. $ 70 mil/annum revenue). While we command a substantial market share, we do have some gaps in our Distribution network - plugging these geographical gaps is a major focus of our Distribution strategy.

Responsibilities

To effectively address this large part of the Open Market business, we are seeking a resource who can fill these gaps and be groomed into an NSM role. This will be a key senior role with direct reporting into the NSM, with a high potential to move into the NSM role. Our major asks from this role are:

•   Develop a roadmap and sales strategy to address the Open market segment in the North
•   Build and manage the open market team
•   Understand and address distribution gaps in the open market with specific focus on the Northern region
•   Establish productive and professional relationships with key customer accounts
•   Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual sales forecasts
•   Undertake product research activities and liaise with product development team to identify new opportunities
•   Manage logistics & ensure smooth deliveries
•   Business Development – opening new geographies and value chains in the Northern region
•   Tracking of sales overheads and ensuring zero deviations from budget

Requirements

MBA from a recognized institution school with 2-3 years of post-qualification industry experience. Africa experience would be a plus

Location

Kano, Nigeria

ofi is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, nationality, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Applicants are requested to complete all required steps in the application process including providing a resume/CV in order to be considered for open roles.