Background

Lets Write Africa’s Story Together! Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

An exciting and challenging opportunity has arisen within Old Mutual Life Assurance Company under the Retail Business.Career counseling service

Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced candidates to fill the vacant position of Area Manager – Retail Business (Role Size N).

Main Purpose of the Job

Reporting to the Head of Retail Sales, the Area Manager will be responsible for driving the implementation of the retail sales strategy and ensuring the achievement of business growth objectives.

The successful candidate will oversee the operations and performance of 5 to 8 branches, providing leadership, coaching, and support to branch teams to drive sales productivity, customer satisfaction, and operational excellence. The role requires strong experience in field sales, people management, and sales leadership, with a proven ability to deliver results in a highly competitive environment.

Key Result Areas and work descriptions:

• The role is responsible for developing and implementing the Retail Distribution business strategy in alignment with the overall organizational objectives. This includes driving sustainable growth, identifying strategic opportunities within the market, and ensuring that the distribution model supports business expansion and profitability.
• The position requires creating awareness of expense management and ensuring effective cost control within the Retail Sales teams. This involves monitoring operational expenses, promoting financial discipline, and ensuring that all business activities are conducted within approved budgets.
• The incumbent is responsible for coordinating legislative and regulatory compliance efforts across the Retail Business to ensure adherence to all internal policies, industry regulations, and legal requirements.
• The role requires the preparation and submission of accurate weekly and monthly performance reports to the Head of Retail Sales. These reports should provide insights into sales performance, operational challenges, compliance matters, and business growth opportunities.
• The position is responsible for identifying potential new markets and driving market expansion initiatives in collaboration with the Head of Retail Sales. This includes conducting market assessments, evaluating business opportunities, and establishing strategies to penetrate untapped markets.
• The role ensures disciplined execution of the distribution strategy by maintaining efficient and effective business processes across the Retail Sales function. This includes implementing operational standards, monitoring workflow efficiency, improving service delivery, and ensuring consistency in execution across all sales teams. The incumbent is expected to drive accountability and operational excellence within the distribution network.
• Manages and coordinates the organisation’s sales function to meet the organisation’s business requirements. Manages a large-sized team of advisors to develop, maintain, and leverage relationships with prospective and existing clients to stimulate and manage demand for financial products and services.

Responsibilities

Leadership and Direction

Communicate the local action plan; explain how this relates to the function’s strategy and action plan and to the broader organization’s mission and vision; motivate people to achieve local business goals.

Customer Relationship Management / Account Management

Develop and implement a relationship management plan for existing customer accounts to identify and build relationships with relevant decision-makers and influencers within the customer organization and to enable effective two-way flow of information and resolution of issues. Collect feedback from identified customers or customer segments to ensure their needs are met, providing themes, summary analyses, and recommendations for changes based on customer input.

Sell Customer Propositions

Identify the products or services that best meet the customer’s stated needs, use personal expertise to propose quantities and product configurations, explain the selection to the customer, and invite the customer to make a purchase at the standard price/terms and conditions of sale.

Sales Opportunities Creation

Identify potential customers by obtaining information, referrals, and recommendations from existing customers and other contacts and/or through participation in trade shows and conferences.

Performance Management

Develop and propose own performance objectives; take appropriate actions to ensure achievement of agreed objectives, using the organization’s performance management systems to improve personal performance. Or manage and report on team performance; set appropriate performance objectives for direct reports or project/account team members and hold people accountable for achieving them, taking appropriate corrective action where necessary to ensure the achievement of team/personal objectives.

Operations Management

Supervise others working within established operational systems.

Promoting Customer Focus

Collaborate internally and work as the customer champion in cross-functional teams to build strong external customer relationships.

Key Account Management

Maintain relationships with customers, such as small- to medium-sized companies, either personally or by supervising an account management team. Work within established systems to develop solutions, generate new opportunities, and ensure all customer demands are met.

Customer Relationship Development / Prospecting

Develop and implement a customer contact plan to communicate product launches and engage the potential customers in relevant sales campaigns to build new relationships. Act as first point of contact for customer queries and complaints and resolve them, referring complex issues to others and ensuring that the customer receives an appropriate response.

Budgeting

Track budgets and report variances to more senior colleagues.

Organizational Capability Building

Provide coaching to team members to develop their skills.

Qualifications and Experience

Strong experience in field sales, people management, and sales leadership, with a proven ability to deliver results in a highly competitive environment.

Skills

Building Trust, Change Management, Client Needs Assessments, Commercial Acumen, Consultative Selling, Customer-Focused, Customer Service, Customer Understanding, Direct Selling, Executing Plans, Identifying Customer Needs, Identifying Sales Opportunities, Sales Software, Strengthening Customer Relationships, Upselling

Competencies

• Builds Networks
• Business Insight
• Collaborates
• Communicates Effectively
• Customer Focus
• Drives Results
• Ensures Accountability
• Interpersonal Savvy

• Developing and implementing the Retail Distribution business strategy in alignment with the overall organizational objectives.
• Driving sustainable growth, identifying strategic opportunities within the market, and ensuring that the distribution model supports business expansion and profitability.
• Creating awareness of expense management and ensuring effective cost control within the Retail Sales teams.
• Monitoring operational expenses, promoting financial discipline, and ensuring that all business activities are conducted within approved budgets.
• Coordinating legislative and regulatory compliance efforts across the Retail Business to ensure adherence to all internal policies, industry regulations, and legal requirements.
• Preparing and submitting accurate weekly and monthly performance reports to the Head of Retail Sales.
• Identifying potential new markets and driving market expansion initiatives in collaboration with the Head of Retail Sales.
• Conducting market assessments, evaluating business opportunities, and establishing strategies to penetrate untapped markets.
• Ensuring disciplined execution of the distribution strategy by maintaining efficient and effective business processes across the Retail Sales function.
• Implementing operational standards, monitoring workflow efficiency, improving service delivery, and ensuring consistency in execution across all sales teams.
• Driving accountability and operational excellence within the distribution network.
• Managing and coordinating the organisation’s sales function to meet the organisation’s business requirements.
• Managing a large-sized team of advisors to develop, maintain, and leverage relationships with prospective and existing clients to stimulate and manage demand for financial products and services.
• Communicating the local action plan; explaining how this relates to the function’s strategy and action plan and to the broader organization’s mission and vision; motivating people to achieve local business goals.
• Developing and implementing a relationship management plan for existing customer accounts.
• Collecting feedback from identified customers or customer segments to ensure their needs are met.
• Identifying the products or services that best meet the customer’s stated needs.
• Proposing quantities and product configurations.
• Explaining the selection to the customer.
• Inviting the customer to make a purchase at the standard price/terms and conditions of sale.
• Identifying potential customers by obtaining information, referrals, and recommendations.
• Participating in trade shows and conferences.
• Developing and proposing own performance objectives.
• Taking appropriate actions to ensure achievement of agreed objectives.
• Managing and reporting on team performance.
• Setting appropriate performance objectives for direct reports or project/account team members.
• Holding people accountable for achieving objectives.
• Taking appropriate corrective action where necessary.
• Supervising others working within established operational systems.
• Collaborating internally and working as the customer champion in cross-functional teams.
• Maintaining relationships with customers.
• Developing solutions.
• Generating new opportunities.
• Ensuring all customer demands are met.
• Developing and implementing a customer contact plan.
• Communicating product launches.
• Engaging potential customers in relevant sales campaigns.
• Acting as first point of contact for customer queries and complaints.
• Resolving customer queries and complaints.
• Referring complex issues to others.
• Ensuring that the customer receives an appropriate response.
• Tracking budgets.
• Reporting variances to more senior colleagues.
• Providing coaching to team members to develop their skills.

• Building Trust
• Change Management
• Client Needs Assessments
• Commercial Acumen
• Consultative Selling
• Customer-Focused
• Customer Service
• Customer Understanding
• Direct Selling
• Executing Plans
• Identifying Customer Needs
• Identifying Sales Opportunities
• Sales Software
• Strengthening Customer Relationships
• Upselling

• Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management (BAFM): Business Management
• Strong experience in field sales
• People management experience
• Sales leadership experience
• Proven ability to deliver results in a highly competitive environment