Business Development Manager
No salary listed
Senior
Bachelor's
Johannesburg, South Africa
In PersonTravel across Africa as required.
Sales & Account ManagementSales Operations
About the job
Requirements
- Strong business development, sales, and route-to-market understanding.
- Distributor management and capability-building experience.
- Strong analytical capability and ability to translate complex data into practical actions.
- Financial acumen, including distributor profit and loss, cost-to-serve, return on investment, and investment effectiveness.
- Project and change management capability across multiple markets and stakeholders.
- Strong stakeholder influence and collaboration across markets, distributors, and functions.
- Ability to operate with structure and discipline in complex, diverse market environments.
- Ownership, accountability, and follow-through on agreed business development priorities.
- Clear communication, business presentation, and problem-solving skills.
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Commerce, Marketing, Engineering, or a related analytical field.
- At least five years’ experience in sales, business development, sales operations, distributor management, or route-to-market roles, preferably within fast-moving consumer goods or beverage alcohol.
- Experience working with distributors, sales teams, and/or commercial partners across multiple markets or complex environments.
- Strong Excel, reporting, and analytical skills.
- Experience in project management, change management, and cross-functional stakeholder engagement.
- Willingness to travel across Africa as required.
Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain an efficient, commercially viable route-to-market strategy across Africa, focusing on business development, distributor capability, and profitable market expansion.
- Initiate, design, and implement distributor and market development programmes with sales teams, distributors, and key stakeholders to improve universe coverage, sales force effectiveness, operational discipline, reporting quality, and distributor financial performance.
- Analyse market structures, distributor models, route-to-market performance, trade investment efficiency, and distributor profit-and-loss dynamics, and recommend changes to capture growth opportunities across African markets.
- Define, maintain, and continuously improve market universe mapping across priority channels, customers, geographies, and outlet segments.
- Identify coverage gaps, white-space opportunities, and market development priorities by market, distributor, and channel.
- Develop tools, templates, and reporting routines to track reach, frequency, numeric distribution, and quality of coverage.
- Design and manage a structured distributor assessment programme covering operating standards, infrastructure, sales force capability, reporting discipline, and key performance indicator performance.
- Benchmark distributors against agreed standards and identify capability gaps, risks, and development needs.
- Coordinate capability-building actions, induction, and training programmes for distributor teams in partnership with sales, capability, and market teams.
- Regularly review distributor, sub-distributor, and sales organisation structures to ensure they remain effective, efficient, and aligned to market development needs.
- Analyse route-to-market performance, cost-to-serve, coverage, service levels, and channel opportunities to recommend optimal models.
- Develop route-to-market recommendations and implementation plans in collaboration with sales leadership, markets, and distributors.
- Improve sales reporting, master data quality, and performance visibility across markets, distributors, and channels.
- Support adoption and effective use of sales automation, Power BI, and reporting tools where available.
- Translate sales, distributor, and market data into clear insights, actions, and follow-up routines.
- Act as a key business development partner to markets, sales teams, distributors, and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Define standards, principles, and practical tools for effective distributor management and market development.
- Drive alignment, accountability, and follow-through on agreed market and distributor development priorities.
- Partner with Trade Marketing to ensure route-to-market structures, distributor capability, and market coverage support activation priorities, visibility objectives, and commercial growth plans.
- Design and govern distributor, customer, and sales force incentive frameworks that support profitable growth objectives.
- Establish principles, measurement methodologies, and governance standards for incentive programmes.
- Assess incentive-framework effectiveness and recommend structural improvements to drive commercial performance, ensuring investment is linked to measurable outcomes.
- Partner with Trade Marketing and Sales teams to ensure incentive programmes are consistently executed and evaluated against agreed objectives and mechanics, and are simple, scalable, aligned to business priorities, and subject to execution standards with return-on-investment expectations.
- Develop and maintain distributor profit-and-loss review routines to understand profitability, margin drivers, cost-to-serve, and reinvestment capacity.
- Identify financial risks, efficiency opportunities, and commercial actions required to improve distributor sustainability and market investment capability.
- Prepare scorecards, dashboards, and recommendations to support management decisions on distributor development, investment, and route-to-market priorities.
- Initiate, plan, and manage distributor development projects that improve operational efficiency, execution capability, data quality, infrastructure, and commercial performance.
- Work with markets and distributors to define project scope, milestones, owners, investment requirements, and expected business impact.
- Track implementation, resolve barriers, and report progress against agreed distributor development roadmaps.
Desired Qualifications
- Familiarity with business intelligence, sales automation, or sales force automation tools is advantageous.
- Experience within fast-moving consumer goods or beverage alcohol is preferred.
About the company
Pernod Ricard is a major player in the alcohol and spirits industry, owning a global portfolio of brands such as Absolut Vodka, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Chivas Regal, Beefeater Gin, Perrier-Jouët Champagne, and more. The company produces and sells a wide range of beverages—from vodka and whiskey to wine and champagne—and distributes them in over 160 countries. Its products work by combining traditional craftsmanship with scalable production and global marketing to position premium drinks for celebrations and everyday gatherings. Pernod Ricard differentiates itself through its extensive, multi-category brand lineup, strong international distribution, and a commitment to sustainability and responsible drinking, along with a focus on digital marketing and premium experiences. The company’s goal is to create conviviality—bringing people together to enjoy good times responsibly while continuing to grow its brands and uphold sustainable practices.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Paris, France
Founded
1975
Get referred to Pernod Ricard, créateurs de convivialité
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- FY2026 delivered about €500 million efficiencies, halfway to the €1 billion target.
- Ready-to-drink sales grew 26% in Q3 FY2026, showing younger-consumer traction.
- Pernod cut cost targets and now expects the plan finished in FY2028.
What critics are saying
- FY2026 U.S. sales fell 14%, and Reuters says no U.S. growth until FY2029.
- China sales fell 19%, crushing Martell and slowing recovery across premium cognac.
- If U.S., China, and Delhi stay impaired, Pernod loses the growth engine funding premium brands.
What makes Pernod Ricard, créateurs de convivialité unique
- Absolut, Jameson, Martell, and Chivas give Pernod Ricard unmatched global prestige coverage.
- The 2026 Gold and Crystal units sharpen execution across premium and value brands.
- India is now Pernod's second-largest market, diversifying dependence beyond the U.S. and China.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
- Paid Vacation
- Flexible Work Hours
- Hybrid Work Options
- Remote Work Options
- Wellness Program
- Mental Health Support
- Employee Discounts
- Training Programs
- Professional Development Budget
- Sabbatical Leave
- Paid Sick Leave
- Relocation Assistance