Modern Trade Project Manager

Department: Sales / Modern Trade
Location: Kenya – National Coverage
Reports to: Head of Sales

Team: Team Leaders and Merchandisers
Industry: Consumer Electronics

1. Job Purpose

The Modern Trade Project Manager will be responsible for driving sales performance, retail execution, visibility, and operational excellence for the brand across Tier 1 and Tier 2 supermarket chains in Kenya.

The role will lead a field team comprising Team Leaders and Merchandisers, ensuring effective execution of the brand's commercial strategy across the assigned modern trade network. The Project Manager will serve as the key link between the brand, supermarket partners, distributors, and the field execution team.

The role is accountable for ensuring that the right products are available, visible, correctly priced, well displayed, and effectively promoted across stores while delivering agreed sales and execution KPIs.

2. Key Responsibilities

A. Team Leadership & People Management

• Lead, coach and manage a national team of Team Leaders and Merchandisers.
  

• Set clear individual and team targets aligned to overall modern trade objectives.
  

• Allocate manpower and territories effectively across supermarket chains and stores.
  

• Conduct regular field visits and performance reviews with Team Leaders.
  

• Monitor attendance, productivity, discipline, grooming and compliance of the field team.
  

• Develop Team Leaders through coaching, training and performance management.
  

• Ensure merchandisers have the necessary product, brand and sales knowledge to execute effectively.
  

• Build a high-performance culture focused on accountability, ownership and continuous improvement.
  

• Identify staffing gaps and work with HR/management to ensure appropriate recruitment and deployment.
  

B. Modern Trade Account & Store Management

Manage execution across key Tier 1 and Tier 2 supermarket chains, potentially including:

• Carrefour
  

• Naivas
  

• Quickmart
  

• Chandarana Foodplus
  

• Cleanshelf
  

• Eastmatt
  

• Other relevant national and regional supermarket chains
  

Responsibilities include:

• Maintain strong working relationships with supermarket store managers, department heads and relevant commercial contacts.
  

• Understand individual retailer requirements, store formats and operating procedures.
  

• Coordinate brand activities, launches, promotions and campaigns within retail accounts.
  

• Ensure compliance with retailer requirements and agreed brand standards.
  

• Escalate and resolve store-level issues affecting sales or execution.
  

• Identify opportunities for additional displays, visibility, promotions and distribution.
  

C. Sales & Commercial Performance

• Drive achievement of monthly, quarterly and annual modern trade sales targets.
  

• Monitor sales performance by retailer, store, product/SKU and region.
  

• Track sell-in and sell-out performance where data is available.
  

• Identify underperforming stores, products and categories and implement corrective actions.
  

• Work closely with sales/distribution teams to maintain healthy stock levels.
  

• Support new product launches and ensure rapid distribution and visibility.
  

• Monitor promotional performance and recommend improvements.
  

• Identify opportunities to increase market share, basket size and product penetration.
  

D. Merchandising & Retail Execution

Ensure consistent execution of the brand's standards across all assigned stores:

• Product availability and assortment.
  

• Planogram and shelf positioning compliance.
  

• Pricing and promotional compliance.
  

• Point-of-sale material deployment.
  

• Product display quality and visibility.
  

• Demonstration/display unit availability where applicable.
  

• Competitor activity monitoring.
  

• Stock rotation and shelf replenishment.
  

• Out-of-stock monitoring and resolution.
  

• New product placement.
  

• Promotional and campaign execution.
  

The Project Manager should ensure that execution standards are measurable and consistently audited across the network.

E. Field Operations & Performance Management

• Develop daily, weekly and monthly field execution plans.
  

• Manage store coverage and merchandiser routing.
  

• Establish store visit priorities based on sales potential and business requirements.
  

• Monitor field team productivity through appropriate reporting tools.
  

• Review Team Leader reports and validate execution through regular store visits.
  

• Conduct field audits and mystery checks where required.
  

• Ensure timely submission of sales, stock, visibility and competitor reports.
  

• Use field data to identify trends, gaps and opportunities.
  

• Implement corrective action plans for stores or teams below standard.
  

F. Reporting & Analytics

Prepare and present regular performance reports covering:

• Sales achievement versus target.
  

• Sales by retailer, region, store and SKU.
  

• Stock availability and out-of-stock rates.
  

• Store coverage.
  

• Merchandiser productivity.
  

• Visibility and planogram compliance.
  

• Promotional execution.
  

• New product distribution.
  

• Competitor pricing and activity.
  

• Key issues, opportunities and recommended actions.
  

Translate field data into clear commercial insights and actionable recommendations for management.

G. Stakeholder Management

Work closely with:

• Head of Sales / Commercial Director.
  

• Key Account Managers.
  

• Distributors and distribution partners.
  

• Supply chain and logistics teams.
  

• Marketing and trade marketing teams.
  

• Finance.
  

• HR.
  

• Supermarket management and store teams.
  

• External merchandising/service agencies where applicable.
  

Ensure effective communication between commercial strategy and field execution.

3. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The role will be measured against a combination of commercial and execution KPIs, including:

Commercial

• % achievement of sales target.
  

• Sales growth versus prior period.
  

• Sell-out growth.
  

• Sales contribution by retailer/store.
  

• SKU/category performance.
  

• Distribution and product penetration.