Decision Support Manager Sales

To act as a meaningful business partner to the commercial function (Divisional/Regional Sales Managers and Commercial Director) for UBL and the Great Lakes business (Rwanda, Burundi, EDRC). The role holder provides financial and commercial input to investment decisions, driving analytical work on pricing that transforms revenue management and creates sustainable value for the business, distributors, and retailers. As part of a small team, this role requires high self-sufficiency and direct accountability for delivering commercial initiatives

Reports To: Commercial Finance & Revenue Growth Manager

• Engage Managers and Senior Managers to ensure financial implications are fully understood in decision-making.
• Create rich partnerships with commercial teams through engagement and support with financial requests
• Manage growth, engagement, and performance reviews of direct reports, shaping high performance through coaching and commercial acumen.
• Support the Finance Director and Head of Commercial Finance with ad-hoc analysis.
• Own the development and rollout of financial processes focused on excellence in pricing strategy, discipline, and optimization.
• Provide thought leadership and pricing expertise to build and run next-generation revenue management analytics and tools.
• Develop a deep understanding of customer segments and channel management to initiate and implement channel commercial policies.
• Create and own value chains for beer and spirits, ensuring price proposals align with business strategy
• Provide financial scenarios and recommendations based on volume sensitivities and external considerations.
• Conduct pre- and post-investment appraisals of the effectiveness of Sales drivers and marketing/customer initiatives.
• Generate and submit the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) with a focus on volumes and Net Sales Value (NSV).
• Provide insights on financial performance and track customer profitability for Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs)
• Support data-driven decisions by providing impactful analytics and visualizing insights derived from business data.
• Analyse complex data and channel trends to identify opportunities and drive data automation and visibility.
• Effectively communicate analytics findings to stakeholders through digestible documentation and presentations
• Drive the execution of business strategy developed in MBPs and special commercial projects.
• Maintain strict controls and monitoring of spend to ensure full compliance with the Statement of Authority (SOA) and commercial finance policies.
• Review and approve business cases with implications on price or topline strategy.

• Graduate of a finance related discipline
• Qualified accountant (either professionally qualified or qualified by experience)
• MBA is an added advantage
• Over 5 years’ experience in an FMCG environment in a similar role
• Proven ability to persuade, influence and build credibility cross the functions.
• Ability to work autonomously and engage cross-functionally.
• Commercially aware and articulate
• Analytical and logical
• Ability to manage projects, priorities and work to deadlines.
• Flexible and able to adapt readily to a changing environment.
• Excellent Microsoft Excel and Financial Modelling skills
• Business Planning skills
• Financial analysis and insights
• Accounting
• Financial Control
• Financial processes