Head of Sales

About the role

The Head of Sales has the primary responsibility of defining and driving the delivery of the organization’s overall sales and revenue targets through the sales team. This is only possible through coordinating internal & external stakeholders and creating an environment where the sales team is able to create long-lasting relationships with their customers. This role is suitable for an individual who has a passion for delivering through teams. 

Key Responsibilities

Driving the Sales and Marketing Strategy 

• Through strategy formation, you are responsible for the senior level decision-making, through developing, planning and implementing sales strategies that are in Line with the company's short and long-term strategies.
• Grow sales volume through critical analysis of sales performance and preparing periodic sales report showing sales volume, potential sales, and areas of proposed client base expansion 
• Define and manage sales KPIs, forecasts, plans as well as budgets in line with the overall company strategy.
• Assess routes to market, develop a strategic approach in selling efforts, and implement new approaches in congruence with the organization’s sales KPIs, that is, plan result-oriented selling activities with Sales Team Leaders and Sales Agents 
• Conduct research and identify areas of improvement in the sales strategies with a view of establishing actionable insights that will boost sales and increase profitability.
• Identify and monitor new trends in the market ahead of the curve, hence, offering the business a competitive advantage and keeping it ahead of its competition in the market.
• Drive Retention initiatives for Sales Team while at the same time building future pipeline for top performers i.e. identify and differentiate performers through goal setting and management

Team Management and Leadership

• Act as an ambassador for the organizational culture and values, through leading by example and spearheading the transfer of best practices to the team members.
• Attain sales growth by managing the performance of the sales teams in line with agreed KPIs, ie. sales, new agent recruitment, retention & productivity and market expansion targets, .
• Responsible for monitoring career growth and development of the sales  team by encouraging internal promotion, mentorship and coaching of the team members.
• Diagnose core performance challenges through data analytics and provide timely solutions to the problem.
• Develop Regional Sales Managers and Sales Team Leads ability to recognize success and give it freely to those excelling in their teams, as well as diagnose and support team members who care struggling.
• Maintain an ‘ownership mentality’ of the sales team by ensuring responsible spending habits by the sales team by vetting and querying all receipts issued for reimbursement.

Collaboration

• Collaborate with the training manager to  identify training gaps within the sales team, ensure the team undergoes regular training equipping them with relevant skills enabling them undertake their day to day duties.
• Liaise with HR team to ensure recruitment of top talent in the market and retention of the talent by having incentive structures that boost morale and increase productivity
• Together with the marketing manager ensure marketing initiatives are aligned towards driving sales and lead generation.
• Collaborate with all teams in order to understand timelines around new products to be launched hence making it easier to tailor unique strategies around the product and contribution of the team in launch of the product.
• Work with all relevant teams in order to get relevant data and information, translating it into actionable strategies that drive sales and lead to achievement of set sales targets. 
• Partner with senior management to achieve the revenue goals of the organization.
• Provide periodic reports showing sales volume, potential sales, and future expansion plans.

Does this sound like you?

• Over 8 years professional experience with minimum 5 years experience in Sales Management in the off-grid sector.
• At least 5 years’ experience in a senior leadership position in sales. Must have managed large teams with high revenues at a Country or Regional level 
• Work experience in startups and have built a sales team from scratch, with experience leading a sales functions with multiple sales channels
• Proven to be a self-starter who works well with autonomy and can ask for help without hesitation.
• Willing to recognize and own mistakes in order to reflect, learn, and continually develop as a leader.
• A manager who encourages others to take ownership of their work in both good and bad circumstances.
• Proven experience delivering sales targets through high performance teams
• Passionate about developing team capability through mentorship and coaching.
• Experience with developing managers to upskill their teams and support their efforts.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and experience working in a dynamic, evolving environment.