Sales Manager – Laos

Job Description

Sales Manager – Laos

Job Title	Sales Manager, Laos
Department	Cambodia & Laos
Contract type	Full-time employment
Reports to	Country Manager – Cambodia & Laos
Workstation	Based in Vientiane, Laos
Compensation	Negotiable, based on experience
Responsible for:	Overall sales operation management, including product introduction, medical detailing, customers and distributor relationship building and management.

Company Description

Golden Choice Co., Ltd is a private Vietnamese company established in 2013 with the sole purpose to distribute pharmaceuticals and medical devices in Vietnam. Golden Choice is DKT International strategic partner in family planning, HIV prevention and safe abortion product lines. Under the trademark licensing agreement with DKT International, Golden Choice Co., Ltd has the right to exclusively distribute DKT branded condoms and contraceptive pills, MVA, IUDs and other products across Vietnam.

DKT International (hereafter referred as DKT or DKT Vietnam), a global not-for-private profit organization based in Washington-DC, USA, is one of the world’s largest private providers of family planning, HIV prevention and safe abortion products and services. DKT combines private-sector marketing techniques, cutting-edge technologies, and creative advertising to ensure women and men have the knowledge, products and services they need when required. DKT has offices in 24 countries and covers over 90 markets.

DKT Vietnam, also in charge of the expansion into Cambodia and Laos, and Golden Choice work together to find innovative, impactful and adventurous ways to increase awareness/education as well as access to and availability of high quality, safe and affordable contraceptives to improve Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laos people’s sexual and reproductive health.

Our Vision and Mission

Golden Choice and DKT Vietnam will build on this core to become the leading aggregator of sexual and reproductive health products and technologies in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. We are creating a world where women are empowered to live their lives to the fullest. This aspiration is captured in the company’s Vision & Mission statements below:

Mission

DKT provides couples with affordable and safe options for family planning, safe abortion, and HIV prevention through dynamic social marketing.

Vision

A world where all children are wanted, the sex is great, and people are free.

We work to:

Increase the availability and affordability of a full spectrum of modern birth control methods.

Strengthen the supply chain to increase availability of contraception and improve method mix variety to cater for different needs of people and markets.

Increase knowledge and understanding as well as inspire new contraceptive users through clever branding, advertising and educational campaigns.

Position Summary

Golden Choice is looking for dynamic, committed, and success-driven candidates for the position of Sales Manager to successfully support our operations in Lao. Candidate must possess strong leadership, relationship and market knowledge qualities to support Country Manager (Cambodia & Laos) start and run this interesting project.

The Sales Manager will assist the country manager and act as key link between our company and our distributor (VIENGTHONG PHARMA: VTP) and partners and will aim at meeting and exceeding sale objectives.

Job Responsibilities

The Sales Manager’s main responsibilities and roles include, not limited to, the following:

• Recruit and train sales team for distribution of Family Planning products in OTC and ETC channels in Laos market.
• Manage daily sales operation to achieve sales target. The Sales Manager are expected to perform sales duty in area where Medical Representative are weak.
• Regular field visit (route ride) with the distributor sales team, and DKT Medical Representatives to identify challenge and opportunity for improvement in either sales operation or marketing program.
• Work closely with DKT’s marketing team to suggest trade promotion program that drive sales-out to clinics/hospital, pharmacies, and convenience stores (CVS).
• Suggest trade marketing programs, if any, to drive off-take from Pharmacies and CVS. Implement the trade promotion program effectively and provide feedback for improvement.
• Develop close working relationship with distributor sales team and suggest incentive scheme for distributor sales team that drive sales out and check for initiative that drive off-take (in particular, incentive scheme to Pharmacy staffs for recommending DKT products…)
• Gather and report sales results in comparison to KPIs set.
• Take necessary actions to resolve DKT operational issues/service complaints.
• Act as front-line DKT representative with the distributor’s sales team to facilitate ad hoc operational issue resolution, escalating to senior management as appropriate.
• Participate in the event and conference sponsored by DKT or distributor, to develop network for listing DKT products in clinics/hospitals.
• Other tasks assign by Country Manager in charge of Laos.

Key Relationships:

• Internal:

• • Cooperate and coordinate with DKT’s Marketing Executive based in Lao for planning and execution of trade promotion program.

• External:
  • Distributors and its customers
  • Hospitals/Clinics/pharmacies
  • Obgyn, nurses, midwives’ association
  • Trainers/professors/universities
  • Ministry of Health and other government bodies
  • Implementing partners (NGOs), tech partners etc.
  • End user/consumer

Qualifications and Skills Required

Education and experience:

• A Laos national with reasonable command of English – able to communicate with Country Manager and DKT team (speaking, listening and writing in English)
• Bachelor/master’s degree in medical science stream, such as pharmacy, nursing, biology, medicine. Other degrees with the commerce stream (ie: Marketing, Business Administration) are also encouraged to apply.
• 5 – 10 years of proven work experience as Area Sales Manager or Regional Sales Manager of Fast-Moving Consumer Good (FMCG) company or within the pharmaceutical industry with increased responsibility, scope of work.
• Be able to train and develop sales team. Highly skilled in selling skills.
• Knowledgeable in sales and medical detaining of pharmaceutical/medical devices.
• Prior experience launching products, Go-to-market strategy, and growing sales of contraceptive products in Lao would be an advantage.
• Bring along a good network of contacts within our sectors/field (ie: pharmacies/pharmacists within traditional and modern trade, doctors/nurses/midwives, trainers/universities, government and NGO partners, etc.) that may be crucial to the advancement of our social mission.
• Relevant experience/knowledge in product development planning, regulatory affairs, pharma business environment and practices and laws affecting pharma/medical devices marketing and sales.
• Good knowledge of MS Office, in particular Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
• Candidate is expected to hold a driving license and own his own vehicle (car preferably).

Soft Skills:

• Must observe our values: treat people well; Entrepreneurialism; Results Oriented; Anti-bureaucracy; Deep Trust and Fun.
• Strategic and critical thinker – willing to think (quick) out of the box and turn ideas into actions. Analytical!
• Innovator – always looking for better results; very curious. Quick thinker!
• Networker – excited about meeting new people, and searching for opportunities to collaborate.
• Good listener – hear what the market, customers, consumer need and wish are key to a success business.
• A well-organized leader – Self-motivated, attentive to detail, unafraid of making decisions and ability to work effectively with limited supervision.
• Risk taker – trying new ideas and learning from mistake are encouraged. That’s how we learn.
• Hands-on – proactive, active and a doer – excited about getting your hands dirty.
• Owner – strong sense of accountability to drive business toward sustainable growth.
• Flexible – able to work under tight deadlines
• Communicator – Good command of English and Lao speaking and writing skills and ability to effectively engage/negotiate/ (speak in public) with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Positive team-player – a positive attitude, adding value to your colleagues, partners, customers and our business as a whole.

How to apply

Send your resume/CV and a one-page cover letter detailing how your experience and achievements to date would add value and make a difference to DKT and Golden Choice mission and vision to recruitment@dktmekong.org

Strong candidates may be interviewed before the closing date.