Head of Sales Middle East

About This Role

Lead the regional sales agenda for a portfolio of leading multinational FMCG brands with significant untapped growth potential across the GCC and wider Middle East.

This is a rare opportunity for a commercially astute sales leader to take ownership of a high-impact regional mandate, managing multiple international brands across diverse categories while shaping growth strategy. Leading a team of 4 Sales Managers, you will play a pivotal role in driving revenue, strengthening distributor ecosystems, expanding route-to-market capabilities, and unlocking market share across Modern Trade, General Trade, Discount Retail, E-commerce, and Pharmacy channels.

For ambitious senior sales professionals, this role offers the scale, complexity, and visibility to make a measurable commercial impact across multi-country operations

The Role

Reporting to the Commercial Director, the Head of Sales will be responsible for leading the overall regional sales strategy, commercial performance, distributor management, and executional excellence across the Middle East. This role requires a strategic yet hands-on leader capable of balancing high-level commercial planning with operational execution.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Strategy & Regional Leadership

Develop and lead the overall regional sales strategy across all categories, channels, and Middle East markets to deliver sustainable revenue growth, profitability, and market share expansion in alignment with company objectives and principal expectations.

Commercial Planning & Revenue Ownership

Own and deliver commercial performance by leading annual sales planning, budgeting, forecasting, and target setting while ensuring clear strategic direction across geographies, categories, and route-to-market channels.

Business Growth & Market Expansion

Drive business growth by expanding market presence, strengthening distribution networks, identifying new channel opportunities, and optimizing sales performance across Modern Trade, General Trade, Discount Retail, E-commerce, and Pharmacy channels.

Distributor Management Excellence

Lead and optimize distributor relationships across all operating markets by setting clear KPIs, ensuring accountability, improving execution standards, and driving consistent commercial performance.

Route-to-Market Optimization

Build and execute best-in-class route-to-market strategies that improve market coverage, channel efficiency, customer penetration, and overall sales productivity across diverse regional markets.

Key Account Leadership

Develop and lead key account management strategies to strengthen strategic partnerships, maximize commercial opportunities, and deliver sustainable revenue growth across priority customers and retail groups.

Cross-Functional Commercial Alignment

Collaborate closely with Marketing, Supply Chain, and cross-functional teams to align pricing, promotions, category strategies, inventory planning, and demand forecasting with broader commercial objectives.

Trade Execution & Market Excellence

Ensure executional excellence across all markets by driving strong in-market visibility, product availability, promotional compliance, and share-of-shelf performance through regular market visits and performance reviews.

Market Intelligence & Competitive Strategy

Monitor competitor activity, pricing strategies, consumer trends, and market developments to identify commercial risks and opportunities while translating insights into actionable sales strategies.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

Lead, mentor, and develop 4 Sales Managers while building a high-performance regional sales culture focused on accountability, capability enhancement, and commercial excellence.

Performance Reporting & Executive Stakeholder Management

Present sales performance, business forecasts, strategic opportunities, and operational priorities to senior leadership while ensuring strong governance, data-driven decision-making, and commercial transparency.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business Administration, Sales, or a related field
• 10–15+ years of FMCG sales experience, preferably within non-food categories
• Minimum 5 years in a senior sales leadership role managing regional or multi-country operations
• Strong experience managing markets across the GCC / Middle East (especially Saudi Arabia)
• Proven success managing multinational brands and multi-channel sales environments
• Deep understanding of Modern Trade, General Trade, E-commerce, Discount Retail, and Pharmacy channels
• Strong commercial, financial, and analytical acumen
• Fluent in Arabic and English