Assistant Sales Manager

We're retained to find an exceptional Assistant Sales Manager for Muthokinju Paints & Cement, based in Kiangombe, Nairobi.

About Muthokinju Paints & Cement

Muthokinju Paints & Cement is a Kenyan distributor of construction and finishing materials, serving customers across retail and project environments.

Its portfolio spans paints, cement, waterproofing and other building-material accessories , supporting customers through different stages of construction, improvement and renovation.

The business operates in a fast-moving environment where branch teams balance sales targets, customer orders, product knowledge, dispatch, inventory and service every day. As Muthokinju continues to grow, maintaining strong operational control and consistent sales execution across its branch network becomes increasingly important.

About the Role

Your mandate is straightforward: help make sure branches are ready to perform, people are supported and sales execution stays on track.Muthokinju is strengthening the management layer between its branches and Cluster Managers. As Assistant Sales Manager, you will be close to the day-to-day action, following branch performance, supporting teams, spotting gaps and making sure issues are dealt with before they become bigger problems.This is a highly operational role. You will spend less time developing high-level strategy and more time making sure the strategy is actually happening across the branches you support.

One moment you may be reviewing sales performance and understanding why a branch is behind target. The next, you could be helping resolve an inventory or customer dispatch issue, coaching a team member, checking branch readiness or coordinating with finance and logistics.You will need to be comfortable moving between people, numbers and operations without losing sight of the commercial goal.If you enjoy being close to the business, solving problems quickly and helping teams perform better, you will have plenty to work with here.

What you will be responsible for

Keep branches commercially on track

You will stay close to branch performance and make sure sales priorities turn into daily action.

• Monitor sales performance and identify where branches or individuals are falling behind
• Use performance information to understand gaps between plan and actual results
• Work with branch teams to agree practical actions that improve performance
• Follow up consistently rather than waiting until the end of the reporting period to identify problems
• Keep commercial performance at the centre of conversations with the teams you support

Lead people and strengthen branch execution

A large part of your job will be making sure people have what they need to succeed.

• Support Branch Managers and sales teams to deliver consistently against expectations
• Keep an eye on staffing, attendance, branch readiness and the tools teams need to perform
• Coach team members through performance gaps and reinforce accountability
• Build relationships with a workforce made up of different personalities, working styles and generations
• Create an environment where people feel listened to while remaining clear about what is expected of them
• Step in quickly when people or operational issues begin affecting sales performance

Turn numbers into action

You do not need to be a data scientist, but you do need to be comfortable making sense of numbers.

• Review dashboards, sales reports and other performance information regularly
• Identify trends, gaps and areas requiring immediate attention
• Ask the right questions when performance is not matching expectations
• Translate performance information into clear actions for branch teams
• Prepare and communicate updates during performance reviews with Cluster Managers
• Use data to decide where your attention will have the greatest impact

Stay close to the day-to-day operation

You will understand what is really happening because you will spend time where the work happens.

• Maintain regular contact with the branches under your responsibility
• Spend significant time visiting branches and observing operations firsthand
• Understand how inventory, customer dispatch, product availability and processes such as paint tinting affect the customer experience
• Troubleshoot operational issues before they become barriers to sales
• Adapt quickly when customer demand, workload or branch priorities change

This is not a desk-based management role. Being visible and accessible to the teams will matter.

Connect the dots across the business

Many branch problems cannot be solved by the sales team alone.

• Work closely with finance, logistics, supply teams and other internal stakeholders
• Follow issues through to resolution instead of simply escalating them
• Help branches navigate cross-functional challenges affecting customers or sales
• Keep Cluster Managers informed about recurring issues, risks and performance gaps
• Make sure the different moving parts of the operation stay connected

How you show up

You are someone who:

• Is energetic, adaptable and comfortable in a fast-moving environment
• Leads from the front and is willing to get into the detail when needed
• Can manage several priorities without becoming rigid or overwhelmed
• Listens first, understands the situation and then acts
• Holds people accountable without losing the human side of leadership
• Takes ownership and follows through rather than assuming someone else will handle the problem

You do not need to arrive knowing every product or every process.

You do need the curiosity to learn quickly, the confidence to ask questions and the agility to keep moving while you build that understanding.

Your strong foundation

Experience

You will bring:

• Progressive experience in sales, sales operations or commercial team leadership
• Experience managing people and being accountable for team performance
• Exposure to a fast-moving, target-driven environment where daily execution matters
• Experience working across multiple locations, territories or field-based teams would be valuable
• Exposure to construction, building materials or technical products is an advantage; strong candidates from environments such as FMCG or telecommunications may also fit

What matters most is that you have managed people, sales performance and operational complexity together, rather than only carrying an individual sales target.

Execution

You:

• Can demonstrate how you have improved the performance of a team, territory or business unit
• Know how to identify a performance problem and work through its root cause
• Are comfortable balancing coaching, follow-up, reporting and operational problem-solving
• Can work effectively without needing a detailed playbook for every situation
• Know when to solve something yourself, when to involve another team and when to escalate
• Follow actions through until they are completed

Communication

You:

• Can build credibility with frontline teams, managers and senior stakeholders
• Communicate expectations clearly and respectfully
• Are comfortable having direct conversations about performance
• Can present sales and operational information in a simple, useful way
• Work well across functions and can bring different teams together around a problem
• Adjust your communication style depending on the person and situation in front of you

Tools

You are comfortable using technology as part of how you manage performance.

That could include dashboards, spreadsheets, reporting platforms, sales systems or other digital tools used to track branch and individual performance.

What matters is not a particular system. It is your ability to look at information, understand what it is telling you and decide what needs to happen next.

This role is not for you if…

• You prefer developing strategy and leaving day-to-day execution to someone else
• You want a largely office-based management role with limited field involvement
• You avoid difficult performance conversations or struggle to hold people accountable
• You need highly predictable days and detailed instructions before taking action
• You are uncomfortable working with numbers, dashboards and performance reports
• You find fast-changing operational environments frustrating rather than energising

What’s in it for you

This is a chance to step into a newly created role that sits close to the commercial heartbeat of Muthokinju.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Influence how sales execution happens across a growing branch network
• Build leadership experience across people, commercial performance and operations
• Work closely with Cluster Managers while owning meaningful day-to-day decisions
• Develop a much deeper understanding of the construction and building-materials business
• See the impact of your work directly through stronger teams, smoother operations and better branch performance
• Build experience that can prepare you for broader sales and operational leadership responsibilities

If you enjoy walking into a busy environment, figuring out what is getting in the way of performance and helping people get things moving again, this role will put you right at the centre of it.

To apply-Email CV to akinyi@qaziworks.com

Get in touch to discuss the role in confidence, or apply below to register your interest.