Sales Manager (Cleaning & Hygiene)

Top Vitae; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Top Vitae is seeking a senior, hands-on Sales Manager: Cleaning & Hygiene to lead a technical sales team and drive growth across South Africa. You will combine strong sales leadership with deep understanding of customer operations, support key accounts, and translate customer needs into practical commercial solutions.

You will travel extensively, build strategic partnerships, and drive disciplined execution to achieve revenue, margin and retention targets while coaching the team.

Qualifications

• Senior sales experience with leadership of a technical sales team.
• Experience in food-industry hygiene, cleaning or related sectors.
• Willingness to travel extensively and hold a valid driver’s licence.
• Proficiency with CRM systems and MS Office.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the divisional sales strategy to achieve revenue, margin, volume and profitability targets.
• Lead, coach and manage the sales team, setting targets and ensuring activity and pipeline results.
• Identify and convert new business opportunities and expand into target markets and geographic footprint.
• Maintain accurate sales forecasts, manage pricing and margins, and ensure disciplined CRM and reporting practices.
• Build and maintain strategic client relationships and protect existing business.

Skills

Sales leadership

CRM proficiency

Negotiation

Strategic account management

Customer relationship building

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Commerce / Food Science / Biotechnology / Microbiology

Honours or Master’s degree advantageous

Tools

CRM systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

This is a senior, hands-on commercial leadership role for someone who can combine strong sales management with technical credibility and a deep understanding of customer operations. You will lead and develop a team of Technical Sales Advisors, build strategic customer partnerships, identify new market opportunities, and ensure disciplined execution against sales, market-share, profitability and customer-retention objectives.

As Sales Manager: Cleaning & Hygiene, you will be expected to remain close to the market and to our customers. You will personally support key accounts, understand operational and hygiene challenges, identify opportunities where the company can add value, and work across the business to translate customer needs into practical commercial solutions.

If you are a commercially astute, results-driven sales leader who enjoys developing people, building long-term customer relationships and creating sustainable growth in technical B2B markets, this could be your ideal next role.

Key Accountabilities:

• Sales Strategy & Profitable Growth – Develop and execute the divisional sales strategy to achieve revenue, margin, volume and profitability targets.
• Business Development & Market Expansion – Identify and convert new business opportunities, expand into target markets and grow the customer base and geographic footprint.
• Strategic & Key Account Management – Build and maintain strong relationships with key customers, protect existing business and identify opportunities to increase share of wallet.
• Sales Team Leadership & Performance – Lead, coach and manage the sales team, setting clear targets and ensuring accountability for sales activity, pipeline development and results.
• Commercial & Pipeline Management – Maintain accurate sales forecasts, manage pricing and margins, oversee the sales pipeline and ensure disciplined CRM and reporting practices.
• Market Intelligence – Monitor customer needs, market developments, competitor activity and emerging opportunities to inform commercial and product strategy.
• Product Growth & Launch Support – Provide commercial input into new product development and ensure effective market introduction, customer adoption and growth of new and existing products.
• Customer Experience & Issue Resolution – Ensure a high standard of customer service and coordinate the effective resolution of commercial, product and technical customer.

Target Markets

The Cleaning & Hygiene division supplies specialised detergents and disinfectants approved for use in food manufacturing facilities, supporting both open and closed plant cleaning applications.

Requirements:

Education & Experience

• Grade 12 and a relevant Bachelor’s Degree, such as Commerce, Food Science, Biotechnology, Microbiology, or a related discipline. A relevant Honours or Master’s qualification will be advantageous.
• Strong senior sales experience, including proven leadership of a technical sales team and a track record of delivering sales revenue and gross profit growth.
• Relevant technical sales experience within the food industry, industrial hygiene, food chemicals, water treatment or related sectors.
• Demonstrated knowledge of food-industry cleaning and hygiene processes, including CIP (Clean-In-Place) systems and open plant cleaning applications.
• Practical understanding of detergent and disinfectant applications in food-processing environments, hygiene audits and sanitation assessments.
• Knowledge of HACCP, GMP and/or Food Safety Management Systems.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain strategic customer relationships and convert new business opportunities.
• Valid driver’s licence and willingness to travel extensively to customer sites and food manufacturing facilities.
• Proficiency in CRM systems and Microsoft Office applications.

Commercial & Technical Capability

• Strong consultative and value-selling capability, with the ability to uncover customer needs and translate them into practical cleaning, hygiene and sanitation solutions.
• Sound technical understanding of CIP systems, open plant cleaning, foam cleaning applications, disinfection and hygiene protocols, food safety and contamination control, and chemical dosing and application systems.
• Commercially astute with strong business-development, negotiation and account-management skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and root-cause-analysis capability, with the ability to assess customer processes and drive effective solutions.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the credibility to engage production managers, quality managers, hygiene managers, procurement personnel and plant management.
• Ability to interpret sales performance, market trends, competitor activity and customer requirements and convert these into practical growth strategies.

Leadership & Mindset

• A visible, hands-on people leader who can coach, motivate and develop Technical Sales Advisors while maintaining clear accountability for performance.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage competing commercial priorities and ensure disciplined field execution.
• Comfortable working independently and collaboratively across functions to align the organisation around customer and business priorities.
• A proactive growth mindset, with the ability to identify opportunities, make sound commercial decisions and drive execution through to measurable results.

This role requires extensive travel within South Africa and, where required, outside South Africa, including regular visits to customer sites and industrial food-production environments.