National Commercial Lead

Herbst Alliance?; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 000 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading pharmaceutical organization in Gauteng is seeking a National Sales Manager to drive a new sales initiative. This role requires over 5 years of experience in pharmaceutical sales and strong leadership skills. The ideal candidate will build relationships and drive performance across corporate pharmacy groups. The company offers a flexible remuneration package and a supportive growth culture.

Benefits

Flexible remuneration

Performance incentives

Mentorship opportunities

Qualifications

• 5+ years in pharmaceutical sales, 3+ years leading field teams.
• Experience building national sales organizations.
• Fluent in analytics and comfortable enforcing execution discipline.

Responsibilities

• Design and scale a national sales initiative.
• Execute GDC Playbook for disciplined field action.
• Build relationships with industry stakeholders.

Skills

Pharmaceutical sales experience

Leadership skills

Strong relationship building

Analytical skills

Job description

Overview

National Sales Manager - Gulf Drug Company (Gauteng) Clarity in plan. Discipline in execution. Data in every decision. Gulf Drug Company (GDC) is launching an national sales initiative to accelerate growth. We're hiring a proven leader to build a national sales engine and deliver standout results. Location: Gauteng (national travel). Recruitment mandate: Herbst Alliance, part of the Herbst Group of Companies. Why GDC GDC is a proudly South African, locally-owned pharmaceutical organisation with a dynamic portfolio across Rx, OTC, and Consumer Health. With a strong national tender legacy, GDC is scaling their private healthcare focus with a refreshed OTC range: Painblok, Magasil, De Witts, Pectikon, Zyora, Sinopol, UTI-X, Bionase, to name a few. GDC products are widely available in corporate and other leading pharmacies. Innovation is embedded in GDC's DNA, from formulations and packaging to new strategies and growth. The edge: Herbst Group commercial excellence

Responsibilities

• Design, launch, and scale a full national sales initiative: sales design, headcount phasing, hiring, onboarding, quotas, territory architecture, and performance standards.
• Be accountable for execution of the GDC Playbook (sales planning) to convert strategy into disciplined weekly field action.
• Coordinate resource allocation vs a defined, data-led plan: align people, time, spend, trade activity, and activation cycles.
• Drive range and distribution across corporate pharmacy groups and priority independents: ensure availability, visibility, and swift execution.
• Build trusted relationships with key industry stakeholders (corporate retail, independents, distributors, buying groups, and other decision-makers) and present a clear, value-led service offering to clients.
• Lead operational excellence using Sniper and SKII (Herbst Group) for targeting, territory planning, pipeline / coverage, dashboards, and a tight weekly review rhythm.
• Coaching and support: ride-alongs, field training, and capability building delivered at best-practice level with Herbst Alliance.
• Sales initiative implementation: First 3 months – National sales organisational blueprint approved; first wave of hires onboarded. Territory design live; Sniper / SKII cadence in place. Baseline distribution & facing audit complete; execution gaps closed through weekly fixes. GDC Playbook adoption 90% across priority teams; resource allocation locked to the data-led plan.

Performance Targets

6–12 months: Step-change in numeric / weighted distribution and on-shelf availability across top chains and key independents. Sustained uplift in rate‑of‑sale for priority SKUs. A high‑performing, coached and accountable team with stable pipeline coverage and accurate forecasting. Strong, trusted stakeholder relationships that translate into durable commercial advantage for GDC and value for clients.

Experience required

• 5+ years in pharmaceutical / commercial sales (Consumer, OTC, Rx, Generics), 3+ years leading field teams.
• Built or scaled national / private‑channel sales organisations (corporates + independents).
• Fluent in analytics and fast learner; comfortable enforcing execution discipline and resource‑to‑plan alignment.
• Strong leadership skills, talent magnet and developer: sets standards and builds team capability.
• Efficient, driven relationship‑builder with a consultative, value‑led approach to client service.
• Clean driver's licence; national travel readiness.
• S&OP exposure.

What GDC offers

Flexible remuneration: we reward value as a core principle, with performance incentives. A high‑performance, growth‑focused culture with mentorship and clear advancement. The opportunity to shape the future of the organisation by launching a national sales engine, backed by Herbst Alliance training and Herbst Group enablement (Sniper / SKII).

How to apply

Enquiries: Chantal Davies at Send your CV to Or use the Easy Apply option on LinkedIn. This recruitment is managed by Herbst Alliance (part of the Herbst Group of Companies).

Employment equity

GDC is an equal opportunity employer.

Appointments will be made in line with business needs and fair selection practices.