Head Of Central Sales Team and E-Commerce

Virgin Active South Africa · Cape Town, Western Cape

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Your Purpose...

  • Is to "change people's lives for the better through wellness";
  • We deliver social wellness experiences that enable people to meet their personal wellness goals, through holistic physical, mental nutritional and social wellbeing.
  • Responsible for leading Virgin Active's central and digital sales channels to deliver sustainable member growth, commercial value and a seamless sales journey.
  • The purpose of this role is to own CST performance, online conversion, assisted digital journeys and e-commerce optimisation, ensuring that online and CST contribution grows materially while quality of sale, speed-to-lead and member experience remain high.
  • The role acts as the commercial bridge between marketing demand generation, website / digital journey optimisation, lead management, club conversion support and final sales outcomes.

Your Duties and Responsibilities...

  • Develop, Implement, and continuously evolve the national Central Sales Team CST and E-commerce strategy aligned with Virgin Active's commercial objectives
  • Own delivery of CST and e-commerce sales targets across units, revenue, conversion, commercial and membership yield and net member movement.
  • Lead the operating rhythm of CST, including lead allocation, contact strategy, appointment conversion, online follow-up, assisted digital conversion and campaign response.
  • Own digital funnel performance from lead capture to online or club conversion, including speed-to-lead, abandonment points, online conversion and handover quality into clubs.
  • Partner with Marketing Acquisition and the Global Website Transformation team to improve lead quality, landing-page performance, website conversion, self-service capability and digital commercial outcomes.
  • Partner with the CRM programme to ensure systems, pipeline visibility, reporting, automation and customer journeys support a more effective digital and central sales model.
  • Design and implement CST and online operating standards, scripts, conversion disciplines and reporting routines.
  • Lead and develop a high-performing central sales team, ensuring clear performance expectations, pipeline discipline, coaching, workforce planning, and measurable commercial outcomes.
  • Translate CST and e-commerce activity club-level execution through Regional Heads of Sales, Area Sales Managers, and club teams to ensure clear lead ownership, effective handover and alignment between central and field channels.
  • Own campaign performance review for central and digital channels, including learnings, ROI, funnel conversion and recommendation of improvements.
  • Provide clear monthly and quarterly reporting on CST and online contribution, risks, opportunities, resourcing and channel economics.

Our Minimum Requirements...

We can't live without…

  • Formal Matric qualification.
  • Relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Sales, Commerce, Marketing, Digital or a related field.
  • 7+ years' leadership experience in telesales, contact centre sales, digital commerce, lead management or a similar commercial environment.
  • Strong understanding of online conversion, funnel management, CRM processes, lead-response disciplines and e-commerce performance drivers.
  • Proven track record of leading teams against conversion, revenue and service outcomes.
  • Commercially strong, highly analytical and comfortable using performance data to drive action.
  • Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across sales, marketing, product, digital and operations.
  • Excellent communication, coaching and presentation capability.
  • High digital fluency and comfort with new technology, systems, reporting tools and automation.

Core Interpersonal Skills

  • Emotional Intelligence- proven ability to anticipate the needs of others before they are voiced
  • Active Listening- Able to genuinely hear concerns with the ability to defuse tense situations and ensuring members and staff feel heard and valued
  • Cultural Awareness and Fluency- understand international norms, etiquette and diverse backgrounds to provide a welcoming environment for our international and VIP members
  • Empathy – be able to understand, or and be aware of, someone else's feelings especially during stressful situations, such as travel delays or billing disputes

Operational & leadership Skills Required

  • Attention to Detail, noticing the small things
  • Resilience and Composure, be able to remain calm and optimistic under extreme pressure, during peak or periods or system failures
  • Problem solving and conflict resolution – be able to turn challenges into opportunities by thinking and acting quickly to resolve issues before they impact a member's experience
  • Adaptability: be flexible to handle unpredictable shifts in processers, resource changes, last minute VIP guest arrivals, or sudden changes in event plans.
  • Relatability – the capacity to connect with diverse stakeholders across all backgrounds
  • Situational Awareness – constantly monitoring the environment to identify members who need support or help
  • Curiosity- the ability to seek out and transform standard transactions into personalised stories and memorable experiences
  • Time Management – the ability to efficiently meet stringent deadlines while maintaining a relaxed and unhurried demeanor for guests.
  • Digital Fluency – must be proficient in new age technology and systems

Closing Date 11 August 2026

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