Manager - Regional Sales - Hirna ( Internal/External)

At Safaricom Ethiopia, we are a purpose-led technology company dedicated to transforming lives through digital connectivity and inclusive financial services. In under four years, we have grown to serve over 10 million customers, with our network now reaching 55% of Ethiopia’s population - a testament to our bold vision and trusted partnerships.

Guided by core values such as customer obsession, innovation, integrity, and get it done together, we are building a workplace that is dynamic, inclusive, and empowering. We believe our greatest strength lies in our people. That’s why, for two consecutive years, we have proudly get earned the Top Employer Award - in recognition for our unwavering commitment to fostering a supportive, innovative, and inclusive environment to people.

Join Safaricom Ethiopia and be part of a team that is shaping the digital future of Ethiopia. Here, your work has meaning, your voice matters, and your growth is our priority. Together, we are transforming lives for a digital future.

Role purpose:

Reporting to the EHOD National Sales, effectively manages Safaricom Ethiopia business in the assigned region or cluster to drive customer acquisition, revenue growth, distribution effectiveness, M-PESA payment adoption, merchant and agent productivity, product/service availability, SME/SoHo growth and customer experience. The role independently leads regional sales execution through supervisors, distributors, merchants, agents, sub-agents, SSOs and partners.

Key accountabilities

Regional sales and revenue management

• Manage assigned cluster or region to deliver sales, acquisition, distribution, M-PESA usage, revenue and customer growth targets.

• Develop and implement market penetration strategies that increase customer acquisition, product uptake, M-PESA transactions and active usage.

• Ensure achievement of monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual sales and usage targets.

• Monitor revenue, acquisition, product penetration, customer churn, NPS and performance indicators and drive corrective actions.

Distributor, merchant, agent and channel management

• Manage distributors, merchants, agents, sub-agents, SSOs and field sales teams to ensure availability of Safaricom products and services.

• Liaise with partner management teams to ensure stock and float availability.

• Conduct regular visits to distributors, routes, merchants and agents to assess coverage, availability, branding, pricing and service standards.

• Identify underperforming distributors, merchants, agents and routes and implement improvement actions.

• M-PESA growth and payment adoption

• Distributor, merchant, agent and channel management

• Manage distributors, merchants, agents, sub-agents, SSOs and field sales teams to ensure availability of Safaricom products and services.

• Liaise with partner management teams to ensure stock and float availability.

• Conduct regular visits to distributors, routes, merchants and agents to assess coverage, availability, branding, pricing and service standards.

• Identify underperforming distributors, merchants, agents and routes and implement improvement actions.

  Team leadership and field execution

• Chair weekly meetings with acquisition and distribution TDR supervisors.

• Lead, coach, equip and monitor supervisors, TDRs, distributor staff, merchants, agents and field teams to ensure target delivery and quality execution.

• Ensure contracted sales force delivers expected training standards to merchants and agent assistants.

• Support deployment and compliance with merchandising standards, RED/PICOS, branding, pricing and customer experience requirements.

  Governance, compliance and market intelligence

• Escalate non-conformities for necessary action.

• Ensure closure of unsatisfactory merchants, agents or sub-agents and return of Safaricom property within stipulated guidelines.

• Ensure merchants and agents are branded according to company standards and sell at recommended prices.

• Provide consumer education through trade activities and gather market intelligence to support commercial decisions.

Key performance indicator:

• Float Availability & Merchant Management

• Airtime Availability & Retail Penetration

• M-PESA Merchant Acquisition - number of active merchants onboarded and transacting within the assigned cluster
• M-PESA Transaction Growth - monthly growth in transaction count, transaction value, and active payment users
• M-PESA Float Availability - consistent merchant and agent float availability to support payment transactions and customer usage
• M-PESA Agent and Merchant Productivity - transaction activity per merchant, agent, and active trade outlet
• M-PESA Customer Education and Adoption - customer awareness, payment activation, and repeat usage across priority trade locations

• Visibility and Advocacy

• Revenue

• RED

• Device Sales

• NPS

• Daily Active agents/ site

• Agent productivity

• RGEs

• SME Acquisition - Mobile Voice & Data Connections, Fixed Broadband Connections

• Enterprise and Partner Net Promoter Score

• Revenue Achievement

• Product Penetration

• Customer Churn <2>

Core competencies, knowledge and experience:

Business Competencies:

Creativity and Innovation

• Demonstrated creativity and innovation in developing and implementing sales strategies to drive customer acquisition and increase sales revenue.

• Drive acquisition through local initiatives that will ensure achievement of acquisition targets.

Business Know how

• Strong business know-how, with a deep understanding of the local market dynamics, customer preferences, and competitor landscape.

Working with Change

• Proven ability to work in a changing environment, adapting strategies and processes to meet evolving market conditions.

Project and Program Management

Project and program management skills, with the ability to successfully oversee and execute multiple sales initiatives simultaneously.

Functional Competencies:

• Monitoring and coaching skills experience

• Proactive, confident, and energetic and able to work under pressure.

• Monitoring and coaching skills experience

• Proactively develop self and others

• Knowledge of the local language is desirable.

• Territory and distributors management skills

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with stakeholders at all levels.

• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a high-performing sales team.

Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data, analyze market trends, and make data-driven business decisions.

Must have technical / professional qualifications:

Desired

• A bachelor's degree in business, sales, marketing, or a related field.

• Proven experience in commercial management and business development roles.

• Knowledge of the telecommunications industry, including products, services, and customer behavior.

• An MBA degree is preferable in Business Studies.

• At least 5 years’ experience in sales, trade execution, FMCG, telecom, mobile money or commercial environment, of which at least 1 - 2 years should be in a sales managerial role.

• Proactive, confident, energetic, and able to work under pressure.

How to Apply. If you feel that you are up to the challenge and possess the necessary qualification and experience, kindly proceed to create/ update your candidate profile on the recruitment portal and then Click on the apply button. Remember to attach your resume.