Sales Operations Manager

Pro-Match Recruitment; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Pro-Match Recruitment is seeking a results-driven National Sales Execution Lead in South Africa. The role focuses on establishing national standards for customer coverage, distribution, and in-store execution.

You will drive field audits, scorecards, and weekly reviews, collaborating with regional teams to close gaps and improve performance. Ideal candidates will have hands-on FMCG field sales experience, a track record of improving coverage and execution, and the ability to travel nationally to

Qualifications

• Proven hands-on FMCG field sales or sales execution experience.
• Demonstrated ability to improve coverage, distribution, ranging or in-store execution with measurable results.
• Ability to identify execution gaps and implement measurable solutions.
• Experience working with field sales teams and regional managers, with accountability.
• Willingness to travel nationally and in-store visits.

Responsibilities

• Own national execution standards covering customer coverage, distribution, ranging, shelf compliance and promotional execution.
• Establish clear and practical standards across regions and conduct field audits.
• Drive weekly execution reviews and daily reporting with stakeholders.
• Visit stores, depots and operational environments to identify execution problems.
• Develop a national execution scorecard and monitor KPIs across regions.
• Collaborate with Logistics, Finance and Operations to resolve stock, pricing or process issues.
• Produce weekly execution reports and provide management with clear action outcomes.
• Support leadership in national sales decision-making and continuity.

Skills

FMCG field sales

Problem-solving

Analytical ability

Process discipline

Detail-oriented

Tools

CRM systems

Call planning tools

Sales reporting tools

Job description

Key Responsibilities

National Sales Execution & Standards

• Own national execution standards covering customer coverage, distribution, ranging, shelf compliance and promotional execution.
• Establish clear and practical standards that can be consistently applied across all regions.
• Conduct regular field audits personally across the national sales network.
• Visit stores, depots and operational environments to identify execution problems at source.
• Identify gaps between planned sales activity and actual market execution.
• Work directly with Regional Sales Managers and sales representatives to correct execution failures.
• Ensure corrective actions have a clear owner, deadline and follow-up process.
• Drive continuous improvement in field execution standards across all regions.

Execution Scorecard & Performance Management

• Develop and implement a simple national execution scorecard covering the most important field KPIs.
• Ensure the scorecard is practical, easy to understand and actively used by the sales organisation.
• Monitor coverage, ranging, distribution, shelf compliance and promotional execution.
• Compare execution performance across regions and identify areas of inconsistency.
• Track improvement over time and identify regions requiring additional intervention.
• Ensure execution performance is measured using reliable field audit and sales data.
• Provide management with a clear view of what is working, what is not and where intervention is required.

Operating Rhythm & Accountability

• Establish and manage the national sales execution operating rhythm.
• Run weekly national execution reviews with the relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure daily activity checks and reporting requirements are completed accurately and on time.
• Hold Regional Sales Managers and field teams accountable to agreed execution standards.
• Follow up on outstanding actions and ensure issues are not allowed to remain unresolved.
• Escalate systemic execution failures quickly to the Commercial Operations Manager and National Sales Manager / Head of Sales.
• Create a culture of consistent follow-through, accountability and execution discipline.

Field Audits & Corrective Action

• Conduct regular in-field audits across Cape Town, Gqeberha / Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and other national territories.
• Assess actual store-level execution against agreed standards.
• Identify the root cause of poor coverage, ranging, availability or compliance.
• Personally work with the responsible teams to implement corrective action.
• Track all audit findings through to completion.
• Measure the effectiveness of corrective actions using follow-up audits and sales data.
• Identify recurring problems and implement processes to prevent them from happening again.

Sales Processes & Systems

• Identify process and system issues that negatively affect sales execution.
• Improve CRM usage and data discipline across the field sales organisation.
• Improve call planning and customer coverage processes.
• Identify order-to-cash issues creating unnecessary friction for sales teams.
• Develop practical SOPs and field tools that sales teams can easily understand and adopt.
• Simplify processes where unnecessary administration is preventing effective field execution.
• Work with relevant stakeholders to ensure systems support rather than hinder sales activity.

Logistics, Stock & Operational Execution

• Work closely with Logistics and Operations to identify stock availability and delivery issues affecting sales.
• Identify recurring fulfilment problems impacting customer service and in-store availability.
• Escalate stock and delivery risks before they materially affect sales performance.
• Monitor the relationship between stock availability, customer orders and field execution.
• Support the implementation of practical solutions to improve product availability in the market.

Finance & Commercial Process Support

• Work with Finance to identify pricing, debtor and account-level issues affecting field execution.
• Ensure sales teams are aware of relevant account restrictions and commercial requirements.
• Identify process gaps between sales, finance and customers.
• Escalate recurring commercial administration issues that prevent effective execution.
• Support the resolution of account-level problems impacting sales activity.

Reporting & Management Information

• Produce a clear weekly national execution report for the Commercial Operations Manager.
• Report on execution compliance, regional performance, key issues and corrective actions.
• Track execution KPIs against agreed targets.
• Highlight emerging risks before they materially affect quarterly performance.
• Provide clear commentary on the reasons behind execution gaps.
• Ensure reporting is based on reliable field audit and raw sales data.
• Maintain accurate records of audit findings, corrective actions and close-out status.

National Sales Leadership Support

• Work closely with the National Sales Manager / Head of Sales without duplicating their commercial responsibilities.
• Provide reliable execution information to support national sales decision-making.
• Act as the operational link between national sales leadership and regional field execution.
• Provide continuity of execution during periods where the National Sales Manager / Head of Sales is unavailable.
• During any temporary leadership gap, maintain execution continuity while commercial and strategic authority remains with the Commercial Operations Manager or Founder.
• Demonstrate the capability to progress into broader national sales leadership in the future based on performance.

Key Performance Indicators

• National Execution Compliance: Coverage, ranging, shelf and promotional compliance against agreed standards.
• 90-Day Execution Baseline: Completion of a national field audit identifying execution gaps by region and channel.
• Execution Scorecard: National scorecard implemented and actively used within the first 90 days.
• Regional Consistency: Reduction in execution-performance variance between regions quarter on quarter.
• Issue Close-Out Rate: Percentage of identified audit issues resolved by the agreed follow-up date.
• Operating Cadence: Weekly execution reports and reviews completed accurately and on schedule.
• Field Audit Completion: Completion of agreed national field audits and follow-up visits.
• Process Improvement: Number and impact of practical process or system improvements implemented.
• Revenue Contribution: Measurable sales improvement attributable to identified and implemented execution fixes.
• Reporting Accuracy: Reliable and timely execution reporting supported by source data.

Minimum Requirements

• Proven hands‑on FMCG field sales or sales execution experience.
• Demonstrated experience personally improving coverage, distribution, ranging or in‑store execution.
• Proven ability to identify an execution gap and implement a measurable solution.
• Must be able to provide specific examples with before-and-after results.
• Experience working directly with field sales teams and Regional Sales Managers.
• Experience holding regional or field teams accountable to standards without direct reporting authority.
• Strong understanding of FMCG sales execution and field operations.
• Practical experience with CRM, call planning and sales reporting systems.
• Strong process and operational discipline.
• Strong problem‑solving and analytical ability.
• Comfortable spending significant time in stores, depots and with field teams.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively nationally.
• Valid driver’s licence.
• Own reliable vehicle.
• Based in, or willing to relocate to, Cape Town, Gqeberha / Port Elizabeth or Johannesburg.
• Johannesburg‑based candidates must be comfortable operating independently without a dedicated company office.
• Comfortable working within a clearly defined execution mandate without requiring broader strategic or commercial authority.

Preferred Experience

• Experience taking over an underperforming sales region or operation and improving execution.
• Experience working alongside a National Sales Manager or Head of Sales.
• FMCG experience within a founder‑led, entrepreneurial or fast‑scaling business.
• Experience in nicotine, vaping, tobacco or other regulated consumer goods.
• Experience developing and implementing field audit or compliance tools.
• Experience working across multiple regions or geographically dispersed sales teams.
• Experience within a distributor‑led sales environment.
• Experience improving sales processes, CRM discipline or call planning.

Personal Attributes

• Results‑driven and highly accountable.
• Practical and strongly execution‑focused.
• Hands‑on and comfortable working in the field.
• Strong problem‑solving ability.
• Commercially aware and focused on measurable outcomes.
• Highly organised and disciplined.
• Strong attention to detail.