Head of Sales
Payments | Johannesburg, Cape Town or Stellenbosch (travel within South Africa)
Our client is a payments solutions business on a mission to help entrepreneurs participate and prosper in the digital economy. They solve critical payments challenges for South African businesses and individuals, enabling quick, low-cost transactions that form the financial lifeline of the economy.
This is not a traditional Head of Sales role. The successful candidate will formulate and execute the customer growth strategy in a unique market space, lead a high-performing sales force of independent thinkers, analyse the competitor landscape and market trends, and drive long-term growth through data-driven insights and cross-functional collaboration.
The role is focused on the informal and mass-market trade, not enterprise or corporate sales. The three main areas of responsibility are:
Hands-on presence in the market with traders, agents and channel partners.
Commercial and functional strategy.
Pulling the sales channels together into one clear commercial plan.
Based in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Stellenbosch, with travel within South Africa.
Key responsibilities
Formulate and execute customer growth strategy for the informal and mass-market trade, informed by market trends, customer preferences and competitor activity.
Lead, develop and manage a high-performing, distributed sales team across provinces; set priorities and inspire the team to hit strategic goals.
Spend meaningful time in the market and build influential relationships with key customers, suppliers and channel partners at all levels.
Pull sales channels together into one commercial plan and improve the sales sector management system.
Set clear performance metrics, track sales performance and implement corrective measures so targets are met or exceeded.
Participate in sales sector assessment planning and the preparation of incentive plans.
Work with the Decision Analytics team to create data-driven recommendations from large data sets.
Lead end-to-end project management on top business priorities: identify opportunities, scope projects and drive cross-functional implementation.
Analyse the competitive landscape and keep sales strategy ahead of the market.
Foster a supportive, inclusive team where people can share ideas and take calculated risks.
Requirements
Bachelor’s degree in business administration, sales or a related field.
Proven track record leading a high-performing sales team.
Experience running distributed sales channels in mass-market South Africa, selling into the informal sector across provinces.
Strong background in FMCG trade, informal telco distribution, mass-market retail banking or informal fintech.
Hands-on market presence, not desk-based enterprise sales.
Proven customer relationship management and relationship-building at all levels.
Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills, with proficiency in data analysis tools and reporting.
Expertise in setting performance metrics and tracking sales performance.
Strategic thinking, strong project management and organisational skills.
Knowledge of customer financial drivers and business needs.
Entrepreneurial mindset with strong business acumen and ethics.
Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present and influence at all levels.
Based in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Stellenbosch, with travel across South Africa.