Sales Channel Lead

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa; Mthatha; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa is seeking a Sales Channel Lead to join the Sales Execution team. The role reports to the Regional Sales Director and focuses on delivering revenue growth across Traditional Trade, QSR, and other channels while strengthening customer partnerships.

You will drive RTM excellence, lead frontline teams, and ensure governance and compliance. A strong track record in FMCG sales and channel management is required, with an emphasis on data-driven decisions and cross-functional

Qualifications

• Bachelor9s Degree in Sales, Marketing, Business Management, Commerce, or related field (Essential).
• Postgraduate qualification advantageous
• 8910 years FMCG sales experience across Traditional Trade, QSR, PFM, or related channels
• Minimum 395 years9 experience in sales leadership or channel management roles
• Proven experience leading frontline sales and execution teams
• Strong experience in customer relationship management, RTM execution, and commercial delivery
• Experience managing cross-functional stakeholder relationships and trade execution initiatives
• Strong commercial and financial acumen
• Strategic thinking and execution capability
• Strong leadership and people management skills
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship management capability
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills
• Analytical and data interpretation capability
• Strong understanding of FMCG sales principles and RTM methodologies
• Operational execution and performance management capability
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Ability to lead change and drive continuous improvement initiatives

Responsibilities

• Lead execution of channel strategies across TEG, PFM, QSR, and Traditional Trade to deliver sustainable revenue growth, market share expansion, outlet growth, and profitable customer development aligned to ABP and commercial objectives.
• Drive execution excellence through RTM standards, RED execution, call adherence, strike rate optimisation, and promotional compliance to maximise in-market performance and customer coverage.
• Develop and maintain strong commercial relationships with customers, distributors, franchise groups, and internal stakeholders to strengthen partnerships, improve service delivery, and support long-term business growth.
• Lead, coach, and develop high-performing frontline sales and execution teams through effective performance management, capability development, succession planning, and continuous coaching to drive accountability and execution excellence.
• Ensure adherence to company policies, governance frameworks, SHEQ standards, pricing architecture, and operational controls to minimise risk, safeguard company assets, and protect the organisations licence to trade.
• Drive flawless execution of promotional campaigns, customer activations, and trade initiatives to improve visibility, product availability, outlet compliance, and return on investment across all assigned channels.
• Translate regional commercial strategies into actionable channel execution plans. Analyse sales trends, market intelligence, customer insights, and operational data to identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and improve overall channel performance.

Skills

FMCG sales

RTM execution

Channel management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor9s Degree in Sales/Marketing/Business

Job description

Role Purpose

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) presents an exciting opportunity for a Sales Channel Lead to join the Sales Execution team at CCBSA. The role will report to the Regional Sales Director. CCBA is the 8th largest Coca-Cola authorised bottler in the world by revenue, and the largest on the continent. It accounts for over 40% of all Coca-Cola ready-to-drink beverages sold in Africa by volume. With over 14 000 employees in Africa, CCBA group services more than 800 000 customers with a host of international and local brands. CCBA group operates in 14 countries: South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, and the islands of Comoros and Mayotte.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Key Outcomes

Channel Performance & Revenue Growth

• Lead execution of channel strategies across TEG, PFM, QSR, and Traditional Trade to deliver sustainable revenue growth, market share expansion, outlet growth, and profitable customer development aligned to Annual Business Plans (ABP) and commercial objectives.

Route-to-Market & Execution Excellence

• Drive execution excellence through effective implementation of Route-to-Market (RTM) standards, RED execution, call adherence, strike rate optimisation, and promotional compliance to maximise in-market performance and customer coverage.

Customer & Stakeholder Management

• Develop and maintain strong commercial relationships with customers, distributors, franchise groups, and internal stakeholders to strengthen partnerships, improve service delivery, and support long-term business growth.

Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead, coach, and develop high-performing frontline sales and execution teams through effective performance management, capability development, succession planning, and continuous coaching to drive accountability and execution excellence.

Commercial & Operational Governance

• Ensure adherence to company policies, governance frameworks, SHEQ standards, pricing architecture, and operational controls to minimise risk, safeguard company assets, and protect the organisation’s licence to trade.

Trade Execution & Market Activation

• Drive flawless execution of promotional campaigns, customer activations, and trade initiatives to improve visibility, product availability, outlet compliance, and return on investment across all assigned channels.

Business Planning & Performance Management

• Translate regional commercial strategies into actionable channel execution plans. Analyse sales trends, market intelligence, customer insights, and operational data to identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and improve overall channel performance.

Asset & Resource Optimisation

Ensure optimal utilisation and compliance of company assets, promotional materials, equipment, and operational resources to maximise operational efficiency and commercial return

Functional Capabilities

• Channel Strategy Execution
• Route-to-Market (RTM) Leadership
• Commercial & Revenue Growth Management
• Customer & Relationship Management
• Sales Execution & Operational Excellence
• Team Leadership & Capability Development
• Cross-Functional Stakeholder Management
• Trade & Promotional Execution
• Governance, Compliance & Risk Management
• Performance Management & Reporting

KBI

• Net Sales Revenue (NSR)Volume vs Target
• Market Share Growth
• Outlet Volume Growth
• RED Execution Compliance
• Strike Rate & Call Adherence
• Numeric Distribution
• Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty Index
• Promotional Execution Compliance
• Trade Investment ROI
• Team Performance & Capability Development
• Asset Compliance & Verification

Skills and Experience and Education

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Sales, Marketing, Business Management, Commerce, or related field (Essential)
• Postgraduate qualification advantageous

Experience

• 8–10 years FMCG sales experience across Traditional Trade, QSR, PFM, or related channels
• Minimum 3–5 years’ experience in sales leadership or channel management roles
• Proven experience leading frontline sales and execution teams
• Strong experience in customer relationship management, RTM execution, and commercial delivery
• Experience managing cross-functional stakeholder relationships and trade execution initiatives

Skills

• Strong commercial and financial acumen
• Strategic thinking and execution capability
• Strong leadership and people management skills
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship management capability
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills
• Analytical and data interpretation capability
• Strong understanding of FMCG sales principles and RTM methodologies
• Operational execution and performance management capability
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Ability to lead change and drive continuous improvement initiatives

General

The advert has minimum requirements listed. Management reserves the right to use additional or relevant information as criteria for short-listing.