National Key Account Manager
Business Development ~ Key Account ~ Sales
Gauteng – South Africa
Our client in the pharmaceutical industry is seeking an experienced and commercially driven National Key Accounts Manager to lead strategic key account management across major retail pharmacy groups and healthcare wholesalers. This role is responsible for developing and executing national account strategies, driving commercial growth, strengthening customer partnerships, and delivering sustainable sales and profitability within a highly competitive healthcare environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and execute strategic national key account plans aligned with commercial and business objectives.
- Drive sales growth, revenue, gross margin, and market share across retail pharmacy groups and healthcare wholesalers.
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with key decision-makers, buyers, wholesalers, and internal stakeholders.
- Lead commercial negotiations, contract implementation, trading terms, pricing, rebates, and customer agreements.
- Manage customer investment, trade spend budgets, and commercial performance to maximise profitability.
- Analyse sales performance, market trends, competitor activity, and customer insights to identify growth opportunities.
- Monitor inventory levels, forecast demand, and collaborate with Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, and Sales teams to ensure product availability.
- Provide regular commercial reporting, performance tracking, forecasting, and business reviews to support strategic decision-making.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or an equivalent qualification.
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in Sales or Key Account Management, including at least 2 years in a management role.
- Proven experience managing strategic national accounts within the FMCG, Pharmacy, Healthcare, or Wholesale sectors.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen with experience managing sales growth, profitability, and customer investments.
- Demonstrated experience negotiating commercial agreements, pricing structures, rebates, and trading terms.
- Strong analytical capability with experience interpreting sales data, market trends, and business intelligence.
- Exposure to Business Intelligence tools (e.g. MicroStrategy or similar) advantageous.
- Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
The ideal candidate is commercially astute, analytical, and results-driven, with the ability to build long-term strategic partnerships and influence key business decisions. Strong negotiation skills, financial acumen, customer focus, and the ability to thrive in a high-performance commercial environment are essential for success in this role. If you are passionate about building strategic customer partnerships and driving commercial success within the pharmaceutical industry, apply now using the link below.