Head of Customer Development South Africa

Life tastes better with ice cream

With 19.000 expert ice cream colleagues and iconic brands like Wall’s, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s, loved in 76 countries, we are the world’s largest Ice Cream company leading the industry.

We create iconic ice cream brands that are part of everyday life, bringing moments of joy to millions of people around the world. Everybody loves ice cream. And as the world’s biggest pure‑play ice cream company, we have the scale and ambition to make a real difference.

What truly sets us apart is how we work.

We move fast and keep things simple. We turn ideas into action, trust people to take ownership, and work as one team to win together with integrity. Our culture is high‑performance, collaborative and focused on getting things done.

We’re curious and ready for what’s next. We embrace digital, use data to make better decisions, and keep learning, including how AI can help us work smarter and serve consumers better.

Job Title

Head of Customer Development

Scope

South Africa

Location

61 Katherine Street, Johannesburg

Terms

Permanent Contract

Life tastes better with ice cream

With 19.000 expert ice cream colleagues and iconic brands like Wall’s, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s, loved in 76 countries, we are the world’s largest Ice Cream company leading the industry. We create iconic ice cream brands that are part of everyday life, bringing moments of joy to millions of people around the world. Everybody loves ice cream. And as the world’s biggest pure-play ice cream company, we have the scale and ambition to make a real difference.

What truly sets us apart is how we work. We move fast and keep things simple. We turn ideas into action, trust people to take ownership, and work as one team to win together with integrity. Our culture is high-performance, collaborative and focused on getting things done. We’re curious and ready for what’s next. We embrace digital, use data to make better decisions, and keep learning, including how AI can help us work smarter and serve consumers better.

The role

The Head of Customer Development – South Africa is accountable for driving sustainable revenue growth, market expansion, and best-in-class commercial execution across all channels. This role leads the full Customer Development agenda including Modern Trade, Traditional Trade, Impulse, Out of Home (OOH), Foodservice and emerging channels, while shaping long-term growth strategy, route-to-market optimisation, and high-impact customer partnerships. The role requires a senior FMCG commercial leader who is both strategic and highly operational, with proven capability in scaling businesses, unlocking new channels, driving profitable growth, and leading large, diverse sales organisations through change and expansion.

What you'll be responsible for

1. Commercial Strategy & Growth Leadership

• Develop and lead the South Africa Customer Development strategy aligned to the country and regional growth ambitions.
• Translate enterprise strategy into channel-specific growth plans and execution priorities.
• Identify white space opportunities across geographies, channels, formats and customer segments.
• Lead market expansion initiatives including new town rollouts, distributor footprint growth, and emerging trade models.

1. Revenue Delivery & Financial Performance

• Own total net revenue, volume, trade investment effectiveness, and commercial profitability.
• Drive disciplined forecasting, demand planning inputs, and performance tracking.
• Optimise trade spend to maximise ROI and sustainable growth.

1. Channel & Customer Excellence

• Lead all channels including:
• Modern Trade (Key Accounts & Chains)
• Traditional Trade / General Trade
• Impulse & Convenience
• Out of Home / Foodservice
• Build strong senior-level customer relationships and lead Joint Business Planning.
• Drive execution excellence in-store including availability, visibility, cold chain execution and merchandising standards.

1. Route-to-Market & Distribution Optimisation

• Design and continuously improve route-to-market models to support growth and expansion.
• Strengthen distributor performance, capabilities, and compliance.
• Ensure effective cold chain execution and last mile delivery for frozen and impulse-led categories.

1. Capability Building & Sales Force Effectiveness

• Build a high-performing national sales organisation aligned to WL2C leadership standards.
• Drive capability uplift in selling skills, commercial acumen, data-driven execution and performance management.
• Implement best practice sales tools, KPIs, incentive structures, and operating rhythms.

1. Change Leadership & Business Transformation

• Lead commercial transformation initiatives to support a newly established and growing organisation.
• Drive agility, accountability, and performance culture across Customer Development.
• Champion cross-functional collaboration with Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance and HR.

1. Market Intelligence & Competitive Leadership

• Continuously track market trends, competitor activity, and customer dynamics.
• Translate insights into proactive commercial strategies and growth opportunities.

We're looking for someone who

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Commerce or related field; MBA or commercial postgraduate qualification advantageous.
• 12–15+ years FMCG commercial experience, with at least 5–7 years in senior Sales/Customer Development leadership roles.
• Proven leadership of multi-channel FMCG sales organisations in South Africa.
• Strong experience in snacking, impulse, beverages, frozen, or fast-moving consumer categories preferred.

Demonstrated track record of

• Driving strong revenue growth and market expansion
• Leading route-to-market and distributor models
• Managing large trade investment budgets
• Building high-performing sales teams
• Deep understanding of the South African retail landscape including Modern Trade, Traditional Trade, and informal markets.
• Cold chain or complex distribution environment experience strongly advantageous.

Leadership Qualities

Purpose & Service

• Leads with a clear growth ambition while serving customers, consumers, and teams with integrity and accountability.
• Acts as a role model for ethical leadership and long-term value creation.

Personal Mastery

• Displays resilience, self-awareness, and composure in high-pressure, fast-moving commercial environments.
• Continuously develops self and others, embracing learning and adaptability.

Consumer & Customer Centricity

• Places consumers and customers at the heart of all commercial decisions.
• Builds deep partnerships that drive shared growth and long-term value.

Business Acumen

• Demonstrates strong commercial judgement, financial literacy, and strategic thinking.
• Balances short-term delivery with long-term enterprise value creation.

Agility & Execution Excellence

• Moves with speed and clarity in ambiguous and evolving market conditions.
• Drives disciplined execution while enabling teams to adapt and innovate.

Talent Catalyst

• Builds strong leadership benches and future-ready commercial capabilities.
• Creates a performance culture where people are empowered, coached and stretched.

Inclusivity & Collaboration

• Champions diversity and inclusion across the commercial organization.
• Works seamlessly across functions to deliver end-to-end business results.

Growth & Change Leadership

• Leads transformation and expansion with energy, courage, and accountability.
• Turns market challenges into scalable growth opportunities.

• What you'll get
• Alongside meaningful work and strong development, we offer a reward package that typically includes

• Market-competitive pay and performance related rewards
• Flexible ways of working
• Support for health, wellbeing and life outside of work
• Time off to rest and recharge
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Specific benefits vary by location

#TMICC

Why join us?

This is a place for people who are passionate about ice cream and are growth obsessed - both for the business and for themselves. People who act like an owner and drive our business end-to-end. People who are driven by success to deliver more than we ever thought we could!

You’ll thrive here if you value an inclusive culture, with low ego and hierarchy - and if you’re excited to continuously learn and challenge how we work, using digital, data, and new thinking to push us forward.

• Roles with real accountability and visible impact
• Free to move fast, experiment and challenge how things are done
• Continuous learning and development as the business grows
• Reward linked to performance and contribution.

Your career here is shaped by what you deliver, as you work across functions and markets and grow with the business.

Ready to build the future of Ice Cream?

If this sounds like the place where you'd thrive, we'd love to hear from you. Apply online and share your CV. We'll review your application and be in touch with the next steps.

If you are an individual with a disability and require assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please let your Talent Acquisition Partner know.

Additional information

The Magnum Ice Cream Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can do their best work regardless of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic. We encourage people with all backgrounds to apply including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and Māori and Pacific Peoples.