The Recruiter

Our client – the Nigerian subsidiary of an international group operating in the agro-industry sector – is a company specialized in the local production of therapeutic nutritional foods aimed at combating malnutrition, particularly among children and vulnerable populations.

Its products are supplied to public health programs, humanitarian aid initiatives, and nutritional support programs in hospitals and medical facilities.

The Nigerian subsidiary is based in Kano (Northern Nigeria), where it operates an industrial facility validated by agencies such as UNICEF, WFP, and Médecins Sans Frontières to meet local and regional needs.
The company processes locally sourced raw materials into adapted nutritional products, while also supporting local farmers.

The Context

The company – with 200 employees and USD 35 million in annual revenue – is experiencing a phase of hypergrowth, requiring the recruitment of seasoned professionals for several strategic positions. The objective is to effectively support the executive management in the company’s transformation.

REPORTS & SCOPE
Reporting to: Commercial Director / VP Sales / General Manager (depending on structure)
Key interfaces: Marketing, R&D/Product, Operations/Manufacturing, Quality &
Regulatory, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, Customer Service
Scope: Domestic and/or regional export markets; B2B (retail, foodservice, distributors, industrial clients)

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

Drive profitable growth by identifying, developing, and closing new business opportunities in the agro-food sector.
Build and manage strategic customer and partner relationships, expand market presence (channels and geographies), and ensure commercial strategies align with operational capacity, quality standards, and regulatory requirements.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1) Commercial growth in modern trade & key accounts

 Lead negotiations with national/regional retail chains: listing, shelf space, category review, seasonal plans, promo calendars, and trade terms.
 Manage category management conversations (assortment rationalization, planograms, pricing ladders, pack-size architecture).
 Own annual Joint Business Plans (JBP) with top accounts: volume, margin, promo plan, distribution targets, and activation.

2) New listings, launches, and portfolio management

 Drive new product listings end-to-end: sell-in story, pricing, case pack, shelf-ready packaging requirements, barcodes/GS1 setup, retailer portals.
 Coordinate launch readiness across functions: packaging artwork approvals, legal claims, nutritional tables, allergen statements, shelf-life validation.
 Manage portfolio decisions based on velocity, margin, and complexity (SKU rationalization; reduce low-rotation SKUs).

3) Trade spend, promotions, and in-store execution

 Build and manage trade spend budgets (flyers, end-caps, in-store displays, shopper promos, sampling).
 Evaluate promotion mechanics (TPR, multibuy, bundles) using post-event ROI analysis.
 Coordinate with field sales/merchandisers/distributors to ensure availability, facing, and compliance with planograms and promo execution.

4) Private label and contract manufacturing (if applicable)

 Develop private label opportunities: tender responses, cost models, specs, MOQ, lead times, packaging formats, and quality audits.
 Manage negotiations on service levels, penalties, quality clauses, and change- control processes (recipe/pack changes).

5) Demand planning alignment & service level ownership

 Lead the commercial inputs to S&OP: forecast assumptions, promo uplifts, new listing ramps, and seasonal peaks.
 Collaborate with Supply Chain to manage capacity constraints, substitutions, and allocation rules during shortages.
 Own customer-facing communication for OTIF risks, recovery plans, and revised delivery commitments.

6) Pricing, cost volatility, and margin protection

 Monitor raw material and packaging cost movements (commodities) and propose price actions or pack/recipe adjustments where feasible.

 Implement margin improvement levers: price/mix, pack-size optimization, case configuration, logistics cost-to-serve.

7) Quality, claims, and customer incident management

 Work closely with QA/Regulatory on complaints, returns, non-conformities and corrective actions that impact customers.
 Ensure strict compliance with retailer standards: allergen management, traceability, recalls, cold-chain integrity (if chilled/frozen).

8) Channel expansion beyond retail

 Develop growth in foodservice (restaurants, caterers, institutions) with tailored formats (bulk packs, different SKUs).
 Expand distribution via wholesalers, e-commerce marketplaces, and export partners where relevant.

PROFILE

 Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Agribusiness, Food Science, or related field (MBA is a plus).
 Minimum 7–10 years total commercial experience, including 3–5+ years in senior BD/KAM roles in processed foods (or closely related FMCG food categories).
 Proven exposure to at least one of the following:
- Modern trade negotiations (national or regional chains)
- Distributor management
- Foodservice growth
- Private label / contract manufacturing tenders (if relevant)

COMPETENCES

A. Knowledge (what you must know)

 Agro-food value chain: sourcing, processing, manufacturing constraints, shelf-life, cold chain, traceability.
 Channel dynamics: retail/modern trade, traditional trade, foodservice, distributors/importers.
 Fundamentals of food safety, quality systems, and regulatory/labeling requirements (local + export where relevant).
 Pricing and margin management, trade spend mechanics, basic financial modeling (P&L, contribution margin).
 Negotiation frameworks and contract basics (including Incoterms for exports if applicable).

B. Know-how (what you must be able to do)

 Build and manage a robust pipeline (qualification, prioritization, forecasting).
 Lead complex negotiations with senior stakeholders; close multi-site or multi-year agreements.
 Create compelling proposals and business cases (market sizing, ROI, risk analysis).
 Execute go-to-market plans and coordinate cross-functional launches.
 Manage distributor networks (selection, KPIs, incentives, governance).
 Use CRM and analytics tools to drive decisions and performance.

C. Interpersonal skills (how you work)

 Strong executive presence and persuasive communication.
 Strategic thinking with a hands-on, results-driven mindset.
 High integrity and accountability; customer-first orientation.
 Collaboration across functions; ability to resolve conflicts constructively.
 Resilience and adaptability in fast-changing markets (supply constraints, commodity swings).
 Cultural sensitivity (especially for export and multi-market negotiations).

EXPECTED RESULTS

 Consistent delivery of new revenue and gross margin growth.
 A qualified pipeline that supports quarterly and annual targets.
 Successful acquisition of strategic accounts/distributors in priority channels/markets.
 Improved commercial discipline: forecasting accuracy, CRM hygiene, contract compliance.
 Strong customer satisfaction and service levels in collaboration with operations.

  Expansion of product portfolio presence through effective launches and channel execution.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

GROWTH & PROFITABILITY

 Net Sales Revenue by channel/account vs target
 Gross margin / contribution margin by account/SKU (post-trade-spend)
 Trade spend % of net sales and trade spend ROI
 Price realization (actual net price vs list, leakage from discounts/rebates)
RETAIL EXECUTION & PORTFOLIO HEALTH
 Numeric & weighted distribution (% of stores / % of category turnover covered)
 On-shelf availability (OSA) / out-of-stock rate (where data exists)
 Shelf share / facing compliance (audit-based)
 Promo compliance rate (promos executed as agreed; correct price, timing, displays)
 SKU velocity (sales per store per week) and SKU rationalization impact
(complexity reduction vs sales loss)

PLANNING & SERVICE

 Forecast accuracy (especially during promotions and launches)
 OTIF / fill rate for key accounts and during promo peaks
 Case-fill rate and order cycle time (order to delivery)
 Claims rate / returns (% of sales, or cases/ppm)

LAUNCH & INNOVATION EFFECTIVENESS

 On-time-in-full launch readiness (artwork approvals, barcodes, specs completed by gate dates)
 New product success rate (distribution achieved, velocity, repeat rate after X
weeks/months)
 Retailer listing wins (# listings gained, # banner wins, tender win rate)

TOOLS

 CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics (or equivalent).
 Analytics & reporting: Excel/Google Sheets, Power BI/Tableau,
category/retail data tools (as available).
 Sales enablement: PowerPoint/Google Slides, proposal templates, pricing calculators.
 Collaboration: Teams/Slack, shared drives (SharePoint/Google Drive), project trackers (Trello/Asana/Notion).
 Market intelligence: industry reports, trade press, distributor sell-out data (where available).
 Operational interfaces: ERP access (SAP/Oracle/Odoo or equivalent) for pricing, orders, and customer master data.