Sales Manager - West Africa

Our client is a fast-growing FMCG coffee business with products sold across more than 45 markets worldwide, including a growing footprint in Africa. The company is now investing in West Africa, with Nigeria as the anchor market, and is building out the team and route-to-market for both its B2C and B2B coffee business in the region.Our client is looking for a senior, well-connected coffee and FMCG sales professional to lead the development of its West African market, with primary focus on B2C and additional support on B2B activity. This is a hands-on, market-building role for someone who can advise the company on how to enter and grow in Nigeria and the wider region – including identifying and securing the right distributors – and who is comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy in a market where the company does not yet have a local office.Title will be aligned to the candidate’s seniority and experience, and may be:• Sales Manager• Sales Director• Business Development Manager (BDM)Key Responsibilities • Develop and execute the go-to-market strategy for the company’s B2C coffee business across Nigeria and West Africa.• Identify, evaluate and onboard key distributors and channel partners in Nigeria and the wider region.• Provide hands-on advisory support to the company leadership on market entry, route-to-market and commercial structure for the region.• Support and contribute to B2B sales activity alongside the core B2C focus.• Build and manage relationships with retailers, distributors and trade partners across the coffee and broader FMCG landscape.• Travel periodically to Nairobi to engage with the company’s existing business and sales teams, share market learnings and help guide the development of the East Africa business.• Act as a trusted, on-the-ground advisor as the company scales its presence in the region, with the expectation of building and managing a team as the business grows.Requirements• At least 10 years of experience in the coffee industry and/or broader FMCG sales and marketing, with strong B2C focus.• Deep, well-established network within the coffee industry in Nigeria/West Africa – able to advise on key distributors and the right way to enter the market.• Proven sales and relationship-building track record; able to open doors and close deals.• Previous experience managing a team is preferred, given this role is expected to grow into a people-management position.• Comfortable working independently/remotely without a local office infrastructure, while staying connected to a small regional team based in Nairobi.• Fluent English speaker.• Honest, hard-working, relationship-driven, and willing to travel as needed.• Local Nigerian candidates strongly preferred; Lagos-based preferred but not essential.• No specific educational background required – industry experience and network matter most.

Our client is a fast-growing FMCG coffee business with products sold across more than 45 markets worldwide, including a growing footprint in Africa. The company is now investing in West Africa, with Nigeria as the anchor market, and is building out the team and route-to-market for both its B2C and B2B coffee business in the region.

Our client is looking for a senior, well-connected coffee and FMCG sales professional to lead the development of its West African market, with primary focus on B2C and additional support on B2B activity. This is a hands-on, market-building role for someone who can advise the company on how to enter and grow in Nigeria and the wider region – including identifying and securing the right distributors – and who is comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy in a market where the company does not yet have a local office.

Title will be aligned to the candidate’s seniority and experience, and may be:

• Sales Manager

• Sales Director

• Business Development Manager (BDM)

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the go-to-market strategy for the company’s B2C coffee business across Nigeria and West Africa.

• Identify, evaluate and onboard key distributors and channel partners in Nigeria and the wider region.

• Provide hands-on advisory support to the company leadership on market entry, route-to-market and commercial structure for the region.

• Support and contribute to B2B sales activity alongside the core B2C focus.

• Build and manage relationships with retailers, distributors and trade partners across the coffee and broader FMCG landscape.

• Travel periodically to Nairobi to engage with the company’s existing business and sales teams, share market learnings and help guide the development of the East Africa business.

• Act as a trusted, on-the-ground advisor as the company scales its presence in the region, with the expectation of building and managing a team as the business grows.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience in the coffee industry and/or broader FMCG sales and marketing, with strong B2C focus.

• Deep, well-established network within the coffee industry in Nigeria/West Africa – able to advise on key distributors and the right way to enter the market.

• Proven sales and relationship-building track record; able to open doors and close deals.

• Previous experience managing a team is preferred, given this role is expected to grow into a people-management position.

• Comfortable working independently/remotely without a local office infrastructure, while staying connected to a small regional team based in Nairobi.

• Fluent English speaker.

• Honest, hard-working, relationship-driven, and willing to travel as needed.

• Local Nigerian candidates strongly preferred; Lagos-based preferred but not essential.

• No specific educational background required – industry experience and network matter most.

Avomind is a go to firm to hire commercial, strategy and analytics & insights talent globally.Our global network - serviced from Berlin, London, Barcelona, Miami, Jakarta and Singapore is built up of partnerships with >200 leading academic institutions; 25 leading MBA programs and 45 tech institutions.We provide our clients with unlimited access to our network and offer custom recruitment; embedded hiring and talent branding services.Speed is our care value - do expect a first project input within 24 hours. 75% of the hired candidates are part of the 1st week’s batch, that we would deliver on a project.

Avomind is a go to firm to hire commercial, strategy and analytics & insights talent globally.

Our global network - serviced from Berlin, London, Barcelona, Miami, Jakarta and Singapore is built up of partnerships with >200 leading academic institutions; 25 leading MBA programs and 45 tech institutions.

We provide our clients with unlimited access to our network and offer custom recruitment; embedded hiring and talent branding services.

Speed is our care value - do expect a first project input within 24 hours. 75% of the hired candidates are part of the 1st week’s batch, that we would deliver on a project.