Manager - Sales - Agro Inputs - African Market

Manager - Sales - Agro Inputs - African Market & French Language

Job Description:

We are looking for an experienced Sales Manager to drive business growth across the French-speaking West African markets. The ideal candidate should have a strong background in the Agro Inputs industry, including agrochemicals, fertilizers, seeds, and agricultural machinery. This role requires expertise in distributor management, channel expansion, tender handling, sales planning, and market development while building long-term relationships with key customers and business partners. The candidate should be fluent in French and English and possess excellent knowledge of agricultural markets across West Africa.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Sales Strategy and Growth:

- Drive sales and revenue growth across assigned French-speaking West African countries.

- Develop and execute annual sales strategies aligned with business objectives.

- Identify new business opportunities and expand market presence.

- Achieve monthly, quarterly, and annual sales targets.

- Monitor market trends, competitor activities, and customer requirements to formulate effective sales plans.

- Introduce new products and expand existing product penetration in target markets.

2. Channel and Distributor Management:

- Develop, appoint, and manage distributors, dealers, wholesalers, and retail partners.

- Strengthen channel relationships to maximize product availability and market coverage.

- Evaluate distributor performance and implement improvement plans where necessary.

- Conduct regular business reviews with distributors to monitor sales performance and inventory levels.

- Ensure effective execution of sales and marketing initiatives through channel partners.

3. Product Portfolio Management:

- Handle sales and promotion of: Crop Protection Chemicals, Fertilizers, Seeds, Agricultural Machinery & Equipment, Farm Implements, Plant Nutrition Products, and Bio-stimulants and Specialty Agricultural Products.

- Provide product training and technical guidance to distributors, dealers, and customers.

4. Tender and Commercial Operations:

- Identify government, institutional, NGO, and private-sector tenders.

- Prepare techno-commercial proposals and quotations.

- Coordinate with internal stakeholders for documentation and compliance.

- Track tender submissions and ensure timely execution of awarded projects.

- Manage end-to-end tender lifecycle.

- Coordinate pricing strategies with internal commercial teams.

- Monitor profitability across products and regions.

- Ensure pricing competitiveness while maintaining business margins.

- Prepare quotations, commercial offers, and pricing proposals.

5. Supply Chain and Finance:

- Monitor inventory availability across distributors.

- Coordinate demand forecasting with supply chain and production teams.

- Ensure timely dispatches and order fulfillment.

- Minimize stock-outs and excess inventory.

- Maintain healthy inventory turnover.

- Ensure timely collections from distributors and customers.

- Monitor outstanding receivables and ageing reports.

- Coordinate with finance teams to resolve payment issues.

- Ensure compliance with company credit policies.

6. Team Leadership:

- Lead and mentor the regional sales team.

- Set sales targets and monitor team performance.

- Conduct regular coaching and performance reviews.

- Drive productivity and capability development.

- Build a high-performance sales culture.

7. Marketing and Market Intelligence:

- Develop market penetration strategies.

- Plan and execute promotional campaigns.

- Organize product demonstrations, farmer meetings, dealer meets, exhibitions, and trade fairs.

- Conduct market surveys and customer feedback programs.

- Build brand awareness across assigned territories.

- Coordinate with the marketing team for promotional materials and campaigns.

- Build strong relationships with distributors, institutional buyers, government agencies, and key stakeholders.

- Handle customer queries and resolve commercial issues.

- Ensure high customer satisfaction and long-term partnerships.

- Track competitor pricing, product launches, and channel strategies.

- Analyze market demand and seasonal trends.

- Prepare market intelligence reports.

- Recommend product improvements and business opportunities.

- Prepare weekly, monthly, and quarterly sales reports.

- Monitor sales forecasts and target achievement.

- Present business reviews to senior management.

- Maintain accurate sales pipeline and distributor performance reports.

Required Skills:

1. Functional Skills:

- International Sales, Export Sales, West African Market Experience, French Language Proficiency, Agrochemicals, Fertilizers, Seeds, Agricultural Machinery, and Channel Sales.

2. Educational Qualification:

- Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field.

- MBA in Marketing, International Business, or Agribusiness is preferred.

3. Experience and Requirements:

- 5-10 years of experience in international sales within the Agro Inputs industry.

- Strong exposure to French-speaking West African markets.

- Fluency in French and English (written and spoken) is mandatory.

- Proven experience in distributor network development and channel management.

- Strong understanding of agrochemicals, fertilizers, seeds, and agricultural machinery.

- Experience handling government and institutional tenders.

- Good commercial acumen with expertise in pricing, collections, and inventory planning.

- Willingness to travel extensively across international markets.

- Strong relationship-building, negotiation, and leadership capabilities.