Divisional Sales Manager (DSM) Guinness

Job Title: Divisional Sales Manager (DSM)
Level: Senior Management
Reports To: Commercial/Sales Director

About Us
UBL is a subsidiary of EABL who owns 98.2% of UBL and 100% of IDU. Diageo in turn own 50.03% of EABL.

UBL operates within a multi-cultural, multi-national environment. UBL is further categorized into Demand and Supply functions. The Supply business is involved in the production of beer and spirits. The Demand business is involved in marketing and selling the product through RTM partners and retailers to consumers.

About the role
This role is located within the Demand/Sales business function. The DSM role is critical to the overall UBL short, medium, and long-term strategy in developing and driving our trade strategy and operational excellence within our RTM partners and Retailers.

The DSM is the high-level contact between UBL, its Distributors and retailers and is responsible for driving volumes and brand growth. This is a field-based position requiring close liaison with the Commercial Director and the commercial back-office support teams like Operations and Customer Marketing as well as key stakeholders in Supply and Finance. The role is also required to build business relationships with Distributor middle and senior management with a key influence in effective implementation of Distributor business plans.

The purpose of this role is to lead, develop and coach a sales team, execute commercial activities with brilliance and sell a portfolio of brands via a complex Route to market to achieve performance through effective customer management and cross functional ways of working. Create/influence divisional/business strategies and plans to leverage the Division’s unique dynamics in order to achieve agreed sales, distribution and market share objectives and beat the competition.

Financial Responsibilities:
As per the Annual Operating Plan for the Division

Market Complexity:
UBL is a strong player in the Total Beverage Alcohol business with ~59 % value share of the beer market and ~60% value share of the spirit’s market. UBL operates in a very competitive environment that has seen new entrants enter the alcohol industry. The nature of competitors is complex with both illegal and established players operating within a market that has regulatory challenges. The market situation is changing rapidly due to the economic situation, declining disposable income and opening of the economic trading blocs allowing in flow of products from other markets.

The trade is evolving and becoming more sophisticated especially at retail level. Retailers are becoming more demanding as they become more profit driven and as competitors fight for share. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated which requires more innovative ways of convincing Legal Age Drinkers to choose our brands. All channels are important in distribution and availing our products to consumers. Trade partnerships are crucial in ensuring that service to consumers exceeds their expectations.

Leadership Responsibilities:
Manage, lead, coach and motivate +- 30 salespeople in the region, across various channels. The role has direct accountability for a multi-channel region, including RTM, Key Accounts, Off Trade and On Trade. This role has significant people leadership responsibility as the DSM is directly responsible for coaching, developing and leading a team of Regional Sales Managers who in turn each have a team. The DSM is also responsible for interpreting and bringing to life the sales and marketing strategies and the UBL purpose in a simple and powerful way. The DSM must ensure execution excellence at store level across all channels, ensuring priority brand activity per segment is delivered excellently all the while building the capability of the team, to deliver the plan. Working with other senior functional leaders (marketing, finance, supply chain, OTC, distribution) is critical to the success of the role. The DSM should also constantly monitor and evaluate the distributors and their team’s performance taking corrective action where necessary. The DSM should develop and propose clear actions and plans for improvements and growth in their respective divisions.

Role Responsibilities
Distributor & Trade Management
• Implement process and systems to drive customer profitability and achievement of long-term business sustainability for the CD’s.
• Constantly monitor and evaluate distributors and their performance.
Have a thorough understanding of distributor requirements and operational standards and enforce their implementation across the region.
• Transform distributor management capability through developing and implementing relevant Distributor management programs (BPMs)
Ensure that the team develop and maintain an efficient distribution network to ensure the comprehensive availability of company products and services across the division to achieve or exceed sales targets.
• Provide distributors and customers in the division with information about new or improved products and offerings in order to drive sales.
Develop strong relationships with key customers across channels.
• To understand each element of the outlets and UBL business plans and strategy for their implementation.
• Ensure that all coolers in the region are tracked & deployment / redeployment done as per policy, up-to-date contracts, proper maintenance and withdrawal in case of misuse.

Contact & Coverage
• Generate insights, from relevant facts driving to excellence in planning, decision making and performance measurement, taking corrective action as required.
• Maintain and develop the outlet universe through correct classification, making resource changes to best service the market needs.
Ensure optimal route to market to deliver improved distribution and market share gains.
• Embed the omni-channel / E-commerce (Diageo One, DTEU etc.), by delivering as par set targets on each and get the sales team, distributors, and distributor teams in the division to embrace the new ways of working and execute them properly.
Ensure that the sales team and all the distributors in the division are always tooled right to deliver the UBL business ambitions.
• Daily Route Coverage & VSM Management at all CD points in the division – Robust morning clinics, right route plans, 100% Journey Planning, 100% JPA and route frequencies to cover all outlets in the territory with the correct frequency by the VSMs & self.
Distributor universe growth, 100% coverage, 100% effective coverage, a minimum of 80% CD strike rate, growth in CD distribution points and achievement of call frequency targets.
• Ensure that the team TRAX 100% of the targeted retail universe. – Monthly.
• Deliver the monthly, quarterly and annual Divisional SFE & RtC targets entailing growth of universe, JP of entire universe, JPA, Call Rate, TRAX Usage, coverage of universe, effective coverage, strike rate & growth of distribution points.

People & Capability Development.
• Recruit, develop, retain, lead and motivate the Sales team to ensure superb execution of company plans.
• Motivate the sales organization behind a clear, simple and powerful trade strategy, engendering strong and supportive trade relationships at senior and industry level.
• Provide overall people management support including on boarding, performance management and talent management, coaching for both individual and team development.
Develop and coach the sales team and ensure that they are well motivated and engaged to stay and contribute effectively to the organization.
• Support the development of selling skills within the UBL sales team (DWWS etc.), external merchandiser or VSM sales crews and retailer staff to achieve QDVPP standards.
• Ensure the delivery of the VSM Academy in the division.

Trade Marketing, Promotions & Activities
• Drive the highest standards of execution throughout the division.
• Develop brand-building & promotional activities for both retail & stockists outlets to implement in the division.
• Run centrally planned TBA & brand led promotional activities in outlets as per brief to deliver the called-out targets.
• Ensure that all assets like coolers and any other UBL collateral and other forms of POS are captured in the system (DMS) and by outlet.

Other Duties
• Deliver the Divisional Sales plan & market share, achieving monthly, quarterly and annual sales, NSV & market share targets.
• Actively contribute to the overall strategy and decision-making process.
• Lead the commercial strategy for the region, leading the direct sales team, the third-party sales support team and relevant cross-functional teams.
• Drive the highest standards of execution throughout the division.
• Establish and ensure that all sales administration procedures relation to the division are properly implemented to support the sales teams in their efforts to accomplish the sales targets.
• Conduct regular market visits to check route coverage, competitor activity, and continuously search for new opportunities in order to increase sales in the region.
• Maintain P&L responsibility for the division and manage costs to ensure a profitable business.
• Develop sales plans and budgets to achieve and exceed the annual sales objectives for the division.
• Monitor and control the sales budget to ensure optimum utilization of resources in the division.
• Ensure compliance with safety requirements at the work environment.

Experience / skills required:
Qualifications
• Commercial degree. Business qualification ideal.
• High cognitive ability

Experience
• +7 years of cross functional experience, mostly commercial.
• Route To Market experience
• Exposure across different channels and different levels of customer sophistication (e.g., Key Accounts and Field Sales)
• Success in highly demanding sales organizations (FMCG) and in alcoholic beverages
• Leadership of large teams operating in complex, multi-channeled settings
• Senior Line management of large organizations, especially in field sales
• Strong knowledge & demonstrated delivery in challenging trading environments, understanding of channel, pricing, negotiations and strategy development.
• Negotiation and conflict resolution with powerful Customers

Skills
Inspirational leadership; people management and recruitment/selection; coaching; networking and influencing; communication; selling skills; planning; negotiating; training and development; performance management; systems; problem solving.

Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo’s purpose of “celebrating life every day everywhere”. This purpose is, in itself, inclusive in nature, as it values everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity. We view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps our business to grow and our values, purpose and standards set the conditions for us to respect the unique contribution each person brings.

Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected Consumer Products Company in the world. To achieve these, we need the world’s very best people.

We’re looking for people with creativity, boldness, and a sense of purpose to take Diageo and our timeless, pioneering brands to the next level.