General Manager – Central Region x1
Job Overview
- Position: General Manager – Central Region
- Company: HEINEKEN Beverages
- Industry: FMCG / Beverage / Sales & Marketing
- Level: Senior Executive Leadership
This role is responsible for leading regional sales operations, driving business strategy, managing high-performance teams, strengthening customer relationships, and delivering regional growth across multiple beverage categories.
Job Description
The General Manager for the Central Region is the overall accountable leader for the region and is responsible for achieving strategic, commercial, operational, and financial objectives.
The role focuses on:
- Regional strategy execution
- Sales growth
- Revenue and profitability
- Customer relationship management
- Team leadership
- Governance and compliance
- Route-to-market effectiveness
This is a senior leadership role suited to a highly experienced FMCG sales and marketing professional.
Key Responsibilities
Regional Strategy and Business Performance
- Develop and implement regional business strategy.
- Align regional objectives with company performance goals.
- Deliver volume, revenue, profitability, and growth targets.
- Execute business plans effectively and on time.
- Manage regional budgets and expenses.
Sales and Customer Management
- Lead sales teams to achieve targets.
- Strengthen relationships with:
- Distributors
- Retailers
- Hospitality partners
- Build customer pipelines and improve forecasting.
- Analyse market trends and customer feedback.
- Drive sales growth across:
- Beer
- Wine
- Spirits
- RTDs (Ready-to-Drink products)
Team Leadership and Talent Management
- Build and maintain high-performance teams.
- Coach and develop sales teams.
- Manage performance and address underperformance.
- Develop future leaders and talent pipelines.
- Promote company values and organisational culture.
Operational and Governance Management
- Ensure compliance with governance, audit, and risk requirements.
- Improve systems, processes, and productivity.
- Ensure contracts and SLAs meet governance standards.
- Implement recovery and improvement plans where needed.
Stakeholder and Relationship Management
- Build strategic relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Collaborate with Trade Marketing and Corporate Affairs teams.
- Support sustainability and responsible alcohol initiatives.
Route-to-Market and Negotiation
- Strengthen route-to-market capabilities.
- Understand buyer behaviour and omnichannel sales environments.
- Negotiate strategic partnerships and commercial agreements.
Minimum Requirements
Education
Applicants should have:
- A tertiary qualification in:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Retail
- Strong understanding of:
- Financial concepts
- Profitability analysis
- A postgraduate qualification would be advantageous.
Experience
Applicants should have:
- Minimum 10 years’ Sales and Marketing experience.
- FMCG industry experience.
- Strong commercial leadership experience.
Required Skills
Commercial and Technical Skills
- Sales strategy
- FMCG sales management
- Budget and profitability management
- Customer relationship management
- Negotiation and influencing
- Forecasting and account planning
- Route-to-market strategy
- Trade relationship management
- Project management
Leadership Skills
- Team leadership
- Coaching and mentoring
- Change management
- Decision-making
- Strategic thinking
- Communication and presentation skills
Personal Competencies
- Empathy
- Collaboration
- Flexibility
- Curiosity
- Innovation
- Self-drive
- Problem-solving ability
Ideal Candidate Profile
This role would suit someone who:
- Has extensive FMCG commercial leadership experience.
- Can lead large regional sales teams.
- Understands multi-channel distribution environments.
- Has strong negotiation and stakeholder management abilities.
- Can drive both operational excellence and business growth.
About the Employer
HEINEKEN Beverages is a leading beverage company operating across beer, cider, wine, spirits, and ready-to-drink categories.
Strong CV Areas for This Role
To strengthen your application, highlight:
- Regional sales leadership
- FMCG experience
- Sales growth achievements
- Budget and P&L management
- Customer relationship management
- Distributor and retail partnerships
- Team leadership and coaching
- Strategic planning
- Route-to-market management
- Negotiation and commercial agreements