Country Operations Manager – General Trade (GT)

talentdiamond; Jeddah; On-site; SAR 350,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

talentdiamond, recruiting for a leading multinational FMCG company in Saudi Arabia, seeks a Country Operations Manager – General Trade to lead GT sales and operations from Jeddah.

The role coordinates across Sales, Marketing, Planning, and Demand to drive growth, optimize KPIs, and deliver on strategic commercial initiatives in a fast-paced regional market.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of FMCG experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Supply Chain.
• Strong commercial and operational FMCG experience.
• Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Office.
• Ability to work across multiple functions and stakeholder groups.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability.
• Experience interpreting data and identifying operational root causes.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced commercial environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end sales cycle from opportunity to execution.
• Drive strategic growth across retail and wholesale business.
• Identify market trends, opportunities, and risks in the sales pipeline.
• Build and strengthen high-value partnerships to drive revenue.
• Coordinate with Sales, Marketing, Planning, and operations for growth initiatives.
• Ensure commitments align with delivery capabilities and timelines.
• Monitor competitor activity and support scenario planning.
• Improve sales cycle efficiency and data-driven decisions.
• Coordinate new product launches with business groups.
• Align exports demand and planning with exports team.
• Maintain master data to support forecasting accuracy.
• Track performance against sales KPIs and take corrective actions.
• Contribute to GT optimization initiatives.

Skills

General Trade Management

Retail & Wholesale Operations

FMCG Sales

Business Development

Strategic Growth Management

Sales Operations

Commercial Planning

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Data Analysis

Problem Solving

Market & Competitor Analysis

New Product Launch Coordination

Demand Planning Coordination

Export Coordination

Master Data Management

Financial Acumen

Team Leadership

Education

Engineering or Supply Chain degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Office

Job description

Our client, a leading multinational FMCG company in Saudi Arabia, is looking for an experienced Country Operations Manager – General Trade (GT) to join its Customer Development team in Jeddah.

The role will lead strategic growth across the retail and wholesale business, identify and develop high-value commercial opportunities, strengthen cross-functional execution, and ensure delivery against key sales and operational KPIs.

The successful candidate will act as a key link between sales, marketing, business groups, planning, and operational teams to ensure growth initiatives are commercially attractive, operationally achievable, and aligned with long‑term business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end sales cycle, from identifying opportunities and initial engagement through execution.
• Drive strategic growth across the retail and wholesale business.
• Identify market trends, commercial opportunities, and potential risks affecting the sales pipeline.
• Build and strengthen high‑value business partnerships that support sustainable revenue growth.
• Work closely with Sales, Marketing, Business Groups, Demand Planning, and other internal stakeholders.
• Ensure commercial commitments are aligned with operational capabilities and delivery timelines.
• Monitor competitor activity and market changes and support scenario planning where required.
• Improve business development processes, conversion rates, and overall sales‑cycle effectiveness.
• Analyze commercial and operational data to identify root causes and recommend practical solutions.
• Coordinate with business groups, demand planners, and sales teams on new product launches.
• Work closely with the exports team to ensure smooth coordination of export demand and planning.
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date master data to support planning and forecasting accuracy.
• Track performance against agreed sales KPIs and support corrective actions where necessary.
• Contribute to business optimization initiatives across the General Trade operation.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum 5 years of FMCG experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Supply Chain.
• Strong commercial and operational experience within an FMCG environment.
• Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Office.
• Demonstrated ability to work across multiple functions and stakeholder groups.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving capability.
• Experience interpreting data and identifying operational root causes.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced commercial environment.

Preferred Competencies

• Strong financial acumen and understanding of P&L.
• Experience in crisis management.
• Strong team leadership capability.
• Commercial planning and business development experience.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to translate market insights into practical commercial actions.

Key Skills

• General Trade Management
• Retail & Wholesale Operations
• FMCG Sales
• Business Development
• Strategic Growth Management
• Sales Operations
• Commercial Planning
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Data Analysis
• Problem Solving
• Market & Competitor Analysis
• New Product Launch Coordination
• Demand Planning Coordination
• Export Coordination
• Master Data Management
• Financial Acumen
• Team Leadership

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a commercially minded FMCG professional with a strong combination of sales, operations, analytics, and cross‑functional leadership.

The ideal candidate should be comfortable working with complex data, identifying opportunities and risks, coordinating across multiple teams, and driving measurable commercial performance across the General Trade business.