Commercial Director

The Diageo is seeking a Commercial Director.

Job Description

Diageo is a global organisation with over 28,000 talented people and a presence in 180 countries. Across our 21 markets, our brand portfolio represents our biggest strength and our biggest passion. Be it our global giants, local stars, or premium brands, we use our vision, creativity, and courage to drive the growth of our products worldwide. We invent strong brands for today and for the future, upholding the quality of our products and taking personal accountability for both the history and for the future of our brands.

Africa businesses account for over 10% of Global Diageo revenue, with a workforce of more than 6,000 employees. We create wealth both directly through our operations and indirectly through our broader value chains where we support development and growth in partnership with businesses and communities.

We are committed to delivering a sustainable performance and our vision is to be the destination of choice for Diageo investment. We are building a track record of attracting, retaining, developing, and exporting best-in-class diverse talent for Diageo and unleash people to deliver great performance. We are a force for good in communities and care about the planet with focus on water, farming, and education among others, which are the most critical components for our communities.

Market Complexity

SWC covers more than 14 countries across Southern, Central and West Africa. It has statutory presence in 7 countries including two listed companies (Ghana and Seychelles) and one JV (Angola) and oversees manufacturing in four countries. It also manages partnerships to manufacture and distribute the Diageo portfolio across around 35 countries in Sub Saharan Africa. It manages a full TBA portfolio: beer, RTD’s (Ready-To-Drinks), local spirits, international spirits and top end luxury spirits.

The countries’ economies vary significantly and present different levels of opportunity and challenge for business growth as well as language diversity. There is a high level of volatility across the countries and fierce competition within the beer and spirits portfolio given Africa has the largest vibrant and growing LPA -34 consumer base.

In Diageo Africa context, the margin profile is attractive, with a higher focus on spirits and outsourcing of beer manufacturing. Our extensive and exciting brand portfolio serves consumers across diverse demographics and delivers against consumers’ in-culture premiumisation experiences.

Our extensive and exciting brand portfolio serves consumers across diverse demographics and occasions and delivers against consumers’ in-culture premiumisation experiences. It is also well-positioned to tap into future trends.

Distributor and creative partnerships are critical for driving growth for this remit as well as strategic choices to be made on portfolio, production, logistics and route to market.

Given its scale and margin profile, SWC is critical for the success of Diageo in Africa. and there is also significant scope of business expansion – new territories, new categories and new routes to market.

The West and Central form part of SWC and will drive growth through strategic and creative partnerships. The structure of these partnerships will vary depending on the market’s opportunity and strategic choices regarding portfolio, production, logistics, and route to market.

The role is highly commercial and requires an understanding of end-to-end business and competitors. It manages an in-house team of national account managers, sales effectiveness, route to consumer, brand ambassadors, and third-party partners across Central Africa.

Purpose of Role

The role is accountable for world-class commercial execution and growing best-in-class commercial capabilities for accelerated growth, including financial growth goals (NSV, Margin, OP, Cash and Market Share) within our Central Africa business.

Top Accountabilities

• Defines the short to long term commercial strategy that will drive sustainable growth for Diageo.
• Ensures commercial execution standards are robust and that revenue growth management and measurement evaluations are embedded in the organisation.
• Leverages consumer, customer and competitor data and insights to drive robust planning and execution strategies.
• Builds and maintains key customer and distributor partnerships to deliver growth.
• Manages all commercial investments, including the governance of distributor, customer and partner investments.
• Ensures world-class commercial processes are in place and drive sound governance and controls.
• Continuously review the organisation to ensure it is fit to deliver on its growth ambitions.
• Ensures plans are in place to drive an inclusive culture and engaged workforce within commercial.
• Build and coach diverse teams and inspire the business to continue to be better to deliver high performance.
• Lead a digital transformation mindset to drive explosive growth, fit-for-purpose digital solutions and E- Commerce.

Qualifications, Experience, and Leadership

• 7+ years of experience in Senior commercial roles within multinational in consumer goods companies.
• Track record of managing customers and distributors with different levels of sophistication.
• Formal business qualification is required.

Strategic thinking – A strategic and visionary leader able to make bold strategic choices that deliver for the short and long term.

Commercial acumen – An understanding of the business end to end and management of P&L.

Performance driven – Has an acute focus on performance and results, is highly accountable and determined to win.

Agile – Demonstrates pace and urgency, responding quickly to emerging threats and opportunities.

Analytical skills – able to use data and insight to provoke and inspire a different future.

Influencing – can navigate a matrix organisation and build as well as leverage brilliant relationships internally and externally with customers, distributors, amongst others.

Personally resilient – able to maintain emotional balance in the face of pressure and high-performance expectation.

Externally focused – Great external radar and constant evaluation for macro and micro economic, consumer and competitor trends.

Invest in Talent and culture – Track record of leading large teams and ability to build and nurture high performing and engaged culture.

Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and listened to, is a crucial part of this. We believe the most inclusive and diverse culture makes for a better business and a better world. We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realise its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base.

Join us, and you’ll be part of an organisation that embraces diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you’ll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You’ll be part of — and help build — an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mindsets, and more. And you’ll help us champion inclusion and diversity across our entire business: with our employees, our suppliers, across our brands, and within the communities in which we operate.