Commercial Manager Retail (Agriculture)

Introduction

An Agritalent client, a multinational fertilizer producer, seeks a highly strategic and commercially driven Commercial Manager – Retail to lead and optimise its retail commercial function across South Africa. This role is responsible for driving sustainable revenue growth, margin expansion, and market share through the effective integration of sales, category management, pricing, promotions, product portfolio optimisation, and customer engagement, with a strong focus on data-driven decision-making and commercial innovation.

Reporting to the General Manager, the successful candidate will lead the design and execution of the retail commercial strategy while ensuring alignment across sales and marketing in close collaboration with operations, supply chain, and finance. The role requires a balance of strategic leadership, financial acumen, innovation (including R&D and digital optimisation), and hands-on execution to deliver measurable commercial outcomes in a high-performance, customer-centric retail environment.

Duties & Responsibilities

 Develop and implement integrated retail and commercial strategies aligned to business objectives

 Shape and execute long-term growth and profitability strategies across all retail channels

 Drive sales performance, revenue growth, and margin optimisation across all retail and commercial segments

 Lead category management, pricing, promotional, and seasonal strategies to maximise profitability and market share

 Translate commercial strategy into executable plans across sales, marketing, and retail operations

 Monitor and manage retail P&L performance, including forecasting, budgeting, variance analysis, and cost optimisation

 Optimise depot inventory levels to ensure availability while minimising write-downs

 Manage order bank processes to ensure clean order pipelines, accurate fulfilment, and revenue realisation

 Analyse market trends, customer behaviour, and competitor activity to identify growth opportunities

 Drive product portfolio optimisation with focus on high-value and differentiated products across crop segments

 Develop dashboards, reporting tools, and KPI frameworks to support data-driven decision-making

 Build and maintain strong relationships with key customers, suppliers, and industry stakeholders

 Lead, coach, and develop high-performing sales and commercial teams

 Drive cross-functional alignment across sales, marketing, operations, supply chain, and finance

 Lead transformation initiatives, including process optimisation, system adoption, and digital enablement

 Drive digital optimisation strategy and enhance commercial systems including Sales and Precision Farming platforms

 Lead R&D initiatives focused on commercial opportunity identification, product innovation, and customer value creation

 Ensure consistent execution of strategic priorities across all regions and business units

Desired Experience & Qualification

 Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Business, Finance, Economics, or related field (MBA advantageous)

 Minimum of 5 years’ senior experience in a commercial, sales, or retail leadership role

 Proven track record in driving revenue growth, margin improvement, and commercial performance

 Strong experience in retail environments, including category management, pricing, promotions, and inventory alignment

 Solid understanding of P&L management, forecasting, and financial analysis

 Experience working with ERP, CRM, and analytics platforms (SAP advantageous)

 Strong leadership, communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills

 Ability to travel regionally as required

 Self-driven, results-oriented, and commercially focused