Head of Commercial

Job Purpose

To lead our commercial organization in Kenya and deliver sustainable revenue, gross-margin and market-share growth across our OTC, prescription (Rx), nutrition and healthcare portfolio. The Head of Commercial has end-to-end responsibility for commercial strategy and execution across Sales, Marketing, Hospital Key Account Management, Trade / Channel Development and, where assigned, E-commerce. The role is accountable for translating portfolio and principal strategies into strong in-market execution, building high-performing teams, developing priority customers and channels, improving forecasting and commercial discipline, and ensuring that we become a preferred commercialization partner for healthcare brands in Kenya. The position requires substantial experience in both OTC and Rx commercialization and a strong understanding of the Kenyan pharmaceutical, pharmacy, medical and hospital markets.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy and P&L Leadership

Develop and execute the Kenya commercial strategy in line with our overall business objectives, portfolio priorities and principal commitments.

Own commercial performance across revenue, gross margin, market share, operating investment and other agreed P&L measures.

Translate annual objectives into channel, brand, customer and team plans with clear targets, accountabilities and timelines.

Identify growth gaps and lead corrective actions across pricing, distribution, demand generation, account development, portfolio mix and execution.

Sales Leadership and Field Force Effectiveness

Lead the national sales organization across pharmacy, medical and other approved healthcare channels, including Sales Managers and Medical Representatives.

Set sales targets, territory priorities, call strategies, customer segmentation and productivity expectations aligned with commercial objectives.

Establish disciplined sales-force management through regular field coaching, performance reviews, pipeline reviews and execution tracking.

Drive growth in active customers, product availability, order frequency, average order value, priority SKU penetration and productive coverage.

Ensure strong coordination between sales execution, collections, stock availability, customer service and commercial planning.

Marketing, Brand and Portfolio Leadership

Lead the Marketing function in developing brand strategies, annual brand plans, product-launch plans and demand-generation programmes for OTC, Rx and healthcare products.

Ensure marketing investment is prioritized behind the highest-value brands, customer segments and growth opportunities.

Review brand performance, market insights, campaign effectiveness and return on marketing investment, reallocating resources where necessary.

Ensure Sales and Marketing operate against one integrated commercial plan with clear product priorities, target audiences and execution standards.

Provide commercial input into new-product evaluations, portfolio rationalization, pricing and launch sequencing.

Hospital and Key Account Management

Lead the Hospital Key Account Management function and strategy for priority hospitals, hospital groups, clinics, institutions and strategic healthcare accounts.

Establish account segmentation, account plans, stakeholder maps, revenue targets and engagement strategies for high-value institutional customers.

Support negotiations on listings, contracts, tenders, pricing, supply arrangements and commercial terms within approved governance.

Build senior relationships with procurement, pharmacy, clinical and administrative decision-makers in strategic accounts.

Ensure strong follow-through on opportunities, service issues, collections and account-growth initiatives.

Trade Marketing and Channel Development

Lead trade and channel strategy across pharmacy chains, independent pharmacies, wholesalers, distributors and other priority outlets.

Develop channel-specific commercial plans covering assortment, pricing architecture, promotions, visibility, merchandising and customer activation.

Ensure trade investments are commercially justified, well executed and measured against agreed objectives.

Improve numeric and weighted distribution, product availability, shelf presence and priority SKU penetration in targeted outlets.

Monitor competitor pricing, promotions, trade terms and channel activity and respond with appropriate commercial actions.

E-commerce and Digital Commerce

Where E-commerce falls within the commercial remit, set online revenue, customer-acquisition, conversion and profitability objectives in coordination with Marketing.

Oversee the performance of our direct-to-consumer platforms and relevant online marketplaces, ensuring strong availability, pricing, content and promotional execution.

Integrate digital commerce into brand plans and channel strategies rather than managing it as a stand-alone activity.

Use digital sales and customer data to identify cross-channel opportunities, improve targeting and support portfolio decisions.

Pricing, Revenue Management and Commercial Investment

Establish disciplined pricing, discount, rebate and commercial-investment frameworks that protect brand positioning and gross margin.

Review customer and channel profitability and challenge commercial arrangements that do not meet agreed financial thresholds.

Approve or recommend pricing, promotions and investment proposals within delegated authority and ensure appropriate governance.

Work with Finance to track net revenue, gross margin, trade spend, marketing spend, collections and customer credit exposure.

Forecasting, Supply and Inventory Coordination

Own the commercial demand forecast and ensure it reflects customer plans, seasonality, promotional activity, launches and realistic market assumptions.

Work closely with Supply Chain to align demand, inventory, inbound supply and launch requirements while minimizing stock-outs, overstock and expiry risk.

Establish regular sales and operations planning routines and hold commercial teams accountable for forecast quality.

Prioritize constrained inventory based on strategic customer, product and profitability considerations.

Principal and Partner Commercial Management

Act as the senior commercial counterpart for our principals and brand partners once products enter commercialization.

Translate contractual commitments and joint business plans into clear sales, marketing, channel and launch deliverables.

Lead regular business reviews covering revenue, market development, investments, forecasts, stock, risks and corrective actions.

Build principal confidence through transparent reporting, disciplined execution and proactive identification of growth opportunities.

Organization Leadership and Commercial Excellence

Build a high-performing, accountable commercial organization with clear roles, targets, decision rights and performance standards.

Coach and develop Sales, Marketing, Hospital KAM, Trade and E-commerce leaders and establish succession and capability-development plans.

Implement dashboards, CRM discipline, customer segmentation, performance reviews and commercial operating rhythms that support data-based decisions.

Promote strong cross-functional collaboration with Business Development, Finance, Supply Chain, Regulatory and Quality teams.

Ensure all commercial activities, product communications and customer engagements comply with company policies, approved product information and applicable healthcare requirements.

Key Performance Indicators

Revenue growth: Achievement of monthly, quarterly and annual net revenue targets and sustainable growth versus prior periods and plan.

Gross margin: Delivery of agreed gross-margin targets through portfolio mix, pricing discipline and effective management of commercial investment.

Market share and distribution: Growth in market share where reliable data exists, together with product availability and distribution across targeted channels and accounts.

Sales-force performance: Target achievement, productive coverage, active-customer growth, priority SKU penetration and field-force productivity.

Hospital / key accounts: Revenue growth, listings, tenders, account penetration, retention and strategic development of hospital and institutional accounts.

Brand performance: Achievement of brand-plan objectives, launch performance, demand generation and return on marketing investment.

Trade execution: Quality and ROI of trade programmes, promotional execution, visibility, assortment and distribution improvement.

Forecast accuracy: Accuracy and bias of the commercial demand forecast and quality of sales and operations planning inputs.

Working capital support: Commercial contribution to collections, credit discipline, stock health, expiry-risk reduction and inventory efficiency.

E-commerce performance: Online revenue growth, conversion, customer acquisition and profitability where E-commerce is within the role’s scope.

Principal delivery: Achievement of agreed joint business-plan commitments, launch milestones, reporting standards and principal satisfaction.

Team effectiveness: Delivery of team objectives, talent development, succession readiness and adoption of agreed commercial processes and tools.

Qualifications and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy, Life Sciences, Business Administration, Marketing, Commerce or a related field; an MBA or other relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.

At least ten years of progressive commercial experience within pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare or healthcare distribution, including significant senior leadership responsibility.

Demonstrated commercial experience across both OTC and prescription (Rx) portfolios is required, together with strong knowledge of the Kenyan pharmaceutical, pharmacy, medical and hospital markets.

Proven experience leading multi-functional commercial teams across Sales and Marketing; experience with Hospital KAM and Trade / Channel teams is strongly preferred.

Experience within a pharmaceutical or healthcare distributor is strongly preferred, particularly in an environment managing multiple international principals or brands.

Demonstrated P&L ownership and strong capability in revenue planning, pricing, gross-margin management, budgeting, forecasting and commercial-investment decisions.

Proven record of delivering sales and brand growth, launches, key-account development and principal business plans; practical understanding of digital and e-commerce channels is an advantage.

Core Competencies

Commercial and Technical

Kenya commercial strategy and P&L leadership

OTC and Rx commercialization

Sales-force leadership and effectiveness

Brand and portfolio management

Hospital and key-account management

Trade marketing and channel development

Pricing, forecasting and revenue management

Principal and distributor management

Behavioural

Commercial leadership

Strategic thinking with execution discipline

People leadership and coaching

Customer and market orientation

Influence and negotiation

Financial judgement

Cross-functional collaboration

Ownership, integrity and accountability

Key Working Relationships

Internal

Chief Executive Officer / General Manager

Head of Business Development

Sales Managers and Medical Representatives

Marketing Brand Manager

Hospital KAM and Trade teams

E-commerce / Digital team as applicable

Finance, Supply Chain, Regulatory and Quality

External

Pharmaceutical and healthcare principals / brand partners

Pharmacy chains, independent pharmacies and wholesalers

Hospitals, clinics and institutional customers

Healthcare professionals and key opinion leaders

Commercial and procurement decision-makers

Agencies, digital partners and trade-service providers

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy, Life Sciences, Business Administration, Marketing, Commerce or a related field; an MBA or other relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.

End Date 13th Nov 2026

go to method of application »

Minimum qualifications

BA/BSc/HND , MBA/MSc/MA , Postgraduate Diploma

How to apply

Use the link(s) below to apply on company website.

Head of Commercial

Marketing Brand Manager

https://www.myjobmag.co.ke/apply-now/1382318

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