Commercial Manager

Job Purpose

• To provide direct commercial
• support and insight to the finance and customer teams internally,
• as well principals and customers externally.
• To facilitate the development of
• commercial engagement with the rest of the business.
• To deliver enhanced customer and
• business profitability and assist in focused strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Contribution

• Participate in the formulation and implementation of the national
• customer/commercial strategy, based on a 2-to-5-year view of requirements.
• Ensure that assigned and agreed
• strategic targets are operationalized and achieved.
• Customer Pricing and Contract Management
• Calculate and provide accurate pricing information for the annual price negotiations.
• Together with the Customer team, review
• customer and principal pricing contracts and manage the annual pricing
• negotiations and formula-based adjustments and agree pricing with customers and
• principals.
• Ensure related profitability objectives
• are achieved.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and
• highlight opportunities for the business and its customers/principals relating
• to, among others, rate reductions and improved
• efficiencies.
• Provide continuous pricing support
• regarding profitability to ensure that costs are managed against targeted
• margins.
• Drive commercial conversations with and
• answer related queries from customers and principals.
• Ensure that the Finance Support Team is
• informed of the correct pricing for customers and principals.
• Manage and monitor the allocation of
• charges to customers and principals to ensure that they conform to the agreed
• rates.
• Draft new contracts and service level
• agreements in consultation with the Vector legal team and manage the process in
• consultation with the Customer and Financial teams to the point of formal sign
• off by the parties concerned.
• Monitor the contract terms of all
• existing customer and principal contracts including
• notice periods and schedule renewal discussions accordingly.
• Budgeting and Forecasting
• Compile and review results of the
• budgeting and sales forecasting processes, including volume and distribution
• revenue analysis.
• Provide insight and interpret the
• impact of key revenue drivers on profitability.
• Compile the monthly reports
• detailing customer and principal sales and performance.
• Conduct regular commercial strategy reviews and report to the Exco
• on:

• current and historical revenue performance
• market positioning and relevance
• competitor analysis and pricing
• growth strategy and opportunities
• margin improvement opportunities.

Complete annual “tail cutting” reviews focusing on

unprofitable customers and principals.

Profitability Analysis

• Provide meaningful profitability
• information and recommend ways to optimise customer, principal and business profitability.
• Support the customer team in the
• use of system tools regarding pricing and profitability.
• Provide support and regular feedback on performance to the customer, sales and account managers.

Billing

• Ensure accurate and complete monthly billings to principals and customers.
• Support the customer team in
• reviewing and signing off revenue.
• Recommend strategies for simplification and automation of revenue billings and customer communication.

Reporting

• Drive enhanced customer and
• business profitability and performance information designed to unlock margin opportunities and influence improved
• contributions.
• Identify opportunities for value
• added reporting to improve the quality and content of reporting and message management.
• Provide sustained support to
• customers and principals, particularly those who raise specific queries.
• Commercial Insight and

Technical Expertise

• Provide calculations, detailed
• analysis and associated recommendations emanating from any and all queries that arise as a result of
• changes in business operations, the economic climate or potentially might offer more
• profitable solutions.
• Provide expertise in management
• team meetings to internal clients and colleagues and recommend solutions based on insights and findings.
• Provide practical commercial
• expertise and insights to external customers and principals as part of regular engagement and ad hoc requests.

Staff Management

• Lead and develop staff within the
• context of the Labour Relations Act, Employment Equity Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Skills
• Development Act.
• Monitor staff performance and
• provide regular feedback.
• Manage staff activities, ensuring
• service levels are met and protocols are adhered to.
• Coach and support staff where
• necessary to achieve objectives.
• Manage staff leave and general
• time management issues in line with organisational deliverables and standards.
• Manage and deliver on succession
• plans to enable the development of a future generation of leaders and specialists and ensure optimal
• turnover and retention levels are maintained.
• Champion staff training and
• development through the utilisation of available training
• opportunities or contributing to the development of new training
• solutions in collaboration with national training specialists.
• Conduct regular performance
• appraisals with subordinates.
• Establish sound staff and labour
• organising and communication structures and systems.
• Lead the team towards meeting the
• strategy and targets through regular communication and utilisation of the full organisational talent
• management tool set.
• Develop and manage high
• performance multidisciplinary teams in order to solve problems within the commercial arena.
• Conduct regular meetings and
• ensure that records are kept and shared across the team and that action plans agreed to within team meetings are
• delivered upon.

KPI’s

• Timeliness and accuracy of
• pricing information.
• Achievement of profitability
• targets.
• Accuracy and relevance of
• profitability analysis.
• Value added reporting components.
• Quality of advice, insight and
• recommendations to customer team, customers and principals.
• Outcome of pricing negotiations.
• Timeliness and accuracy of
• reporting.

Key Relationships

Internal

• Customer team.
• Operations management.
• Sales team.
• Wider finance team.
• Procurement.
• IT Team.

External

• Legal representatives.
• Auditors.
• Existing and potential customers.
• Principals/Suppliers.