Corporate Partnerships & Gifting Manager

Job description

We are looking for a commercially driven, highly connected Corporate Partnerships & Gifting Manager to build our corporate gifting business across Zambia.

This is not a traditional FMCG sales role. You will help large organizations use premium, single-origin Zambian chocolate as a meaningful way to appreciate employees, customers, clients and stakeholders—while creating positive local economic and community impact.

You will be responsible for identifying corporate opportunities, building senior relationships, developing private-label chocolate programs, winning large accounts and turning one-off gifting occasions into recurring corporate partnerships. This role is located in Lusaka Zambia and reports to the managing director.

The Opportunity

Our ambition is to become the preferred premium local gifting partner for leading Zambian organizations.

You will sell a business solution, not simply chocolate. The successful candidate will develop relationships across: Procurement and Supply Chain, Marketing and Brand, Corporate Affairs, CSR and Sustainability, HR and Employee Experience, Customer Experience and Relationship Management, Executive Offices and Administration & Corporate Event and Experiential Agencies

Key Responsibilities

1. Corporate Account Development

• Identify and target high-value corporate prospects across Zambia.
• Build and maintain a structured pipeline of prospective accounts.
• Develop relationships with decision-makers and influencers within target organizations.
• Secure meetings, presentations, tastings and product demonstrations.
• Understand each company’s gifting needs, budgets, procurement processes and decision-making structure.
• Convert prospects into long-term corporate accounts.

2. Private-Label Gifting

• Present private-label chocolate solutions tailored to corporate clients.
• Develop proposals for branded chocolate bars, gift sets and corporate gifting programs.
• Work with clients to understand branding, packaging and quantity requirements.
• Coordinate internally to ensure proposals can be delivered commercially and operationally.
• Develop innovative gifting concepts for different corporate occasions.

3. Build Recurring Corporate Revenue

Move beyond one-off orders by identifying the full annual gifting calendar of each account, including: Christmas and end-of-year gifting, Employee recognition, Customer appreciation, Conferences and events, Product launches, Corporate anniversaries, Staff milestones, VIP and stakeholder visits, Client onboarding & Awards and celebrations

The objective is to turn individual orders into annual corporate gifting partnerships.

4. Strategic Partnerships

Develop relationships with organizations that can introduce multiple corporate customers, including: Event management companies, Advertising and PR agencies, Hotels and conference venues, Corporate concierge and gifting companies, Business associations, Procurement networks, Industry associations & Corporate event planners

5. Networking & Market Development

Actively represent the company at relevant: Business conferences, Procurement events, Corporate networking events, Chamber of Commerce activities, Manufacturing and mining events, CSR and sustainability forums, HR events, Marketing and brand events & Business breakfasts and executive networking functions. The role requires a strong presence in Zambia’s corporate community.

6. Sales Management & Reporting

• Maintain accurate CRM and pipeline records.
• Prepare quotations, proposals and account plans.
• Track opportunities from first contact through purchase order and repeat business.
• Forecast corporate sales.
• Monitor revenue, margins and account profitability.
• Provide regular reports on pipeline, wins, losses and market opportunities.
• Develop a clear target-account strategy for Zambia.

Key Performance Indicators

Success will be measured by:

• Number and value of new corporate accounts acquired
• Corporate sales revenue
• Number of private-label accounts
• Average corporate account value
• Repeat-order rate
• Annual recurring corporate revenue
• Number of strategic partnerships established
• Qualified corporate opportunities in the sales pipeline
• Conversion rate from qualified opportunity to customer

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for someone who is commercially ambitious, well connected and exceptionally good at building relationships. You should be / have:

• A Bachelor or Master’s degree with 4 years of work experience
• A confident B2B relationship seller
• Comfortable engaging senior executives and corporate decision-makers
• Well connected within Zambia’s business community
• Strong at networking and opening doors
• Consultative rather than transactional in your sales approach
• Commercially astute and comfortable negotiating
• Highly organized and disciplined with follow-up
• An excellent communicator and presenter
• Comfortable developing proposals and managing complex sales processes
• Persistent, energetic and self-motivated
• Passionate about Zambian-made products and local economic impact

Preferred Experience

We are particularly interested in candidates with experience in one or more of the following:

• Corporate gifting or promotional products
• B2B sales
• Corporate account management
• Banking or financial-services relationship management
• Telecommunications or enterprise sales
• Hotels and hospitality
• Corporate events
• Advertising, PR or experiential marketing
• Procurement or supplier management
• FMCG key-account sales
• Corporate affairs or business development

Experience selling to large Zambian corporates is highly desirable. A strong network may be as valuable as formal qualifications.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to build a new and strategically important corporate business channel
• Performance-based earning potential
• Significant autonomy and responsibility
• Access to senior corporate decision-makers
• The opportunity to represent a premium Zambian product
• The chance to connect corporate gifting with meaningful local community impact
• A role with the potential to grow into a senior commercial leadership position

How to Apply

Please submit: Your CV and a short cover letter explaining why you are suited to building corporate partnerships with examples of significant B2B or corporate accounts you have developed, where applicable as well as details of your current or previous corporate sales responsibilities. Please email your application to info@savannachocolate.com

IN YOUR APPLICATION, TELL US:

Which 8 Zambian organizations would you approach first, who would you approach within each organization, and why? This question is deliberately included because we are looking for someone who understands how to access the corporate market, not simply someone who can sellWe are looking for a commercially driven, highly connected Corporate Partnerships & Gifting Manager to build our corporate gifting business across Zambia.

This is not a traditional FMCG sales role. You will help large organizations use premium, single-origin Zambian chocolate as a meaningful way to appreciate employees, customers, clients and stakeholders—while creating positive local economic and community impact.

You will be responsible for identifying corporate opportunities, building senior relationships, developing private-label chocolate programs, winning large accounts and turning one-off gifting occasions into recurring corporate partnerships. This role is located in Lusaka Zambia and reports to the managing director.

The Opportunity

Our ambition is to become the preferred premium local gifting partner for leading Zambian organizations.

You will sell a business solution, not simply chocolate. The successful candidate will develop relationships across: Procurement and Supply Chain, Marketing and Brand, Corporate Affairs, CSR and Sustainability, HR and Employee Experience, Customer Experience and Relationship Management, Executive Offices and Administration & Corporate Event and Experiential Agencies

Key Responsibilities

1. Corporate Account Development

• Identify and target high-value corporate prospects across Zambia.
• Build and maintain a structured pipeline of prospective accounts.
• Develop relationships with decision-makers and influencers within target organizations.
• Secure meetings, presentations, tastings and product demonstrations.
• Understand each company’s gifting needs, budgets, procurement processes and decision-making structure.
• Convert prospects into long-term corporate accounts.

2. Private-Label Gifting

• Present private-label chocolate solutions tailored to corporate clients.
• Develop proposals for branded chocolate bars, gift sets and corporate gifting programs.
• Work with clients to understand branding, packaging and quantity requirements.
• Coordinate internally to ensure proposals can be delivered commercially and operationally.
• Develop innovative gifting concepts for different corporate occasions.

3. Build Recurring Corporate Revenue

Move beyond one-off orders by identifying the full annual gifting calendar of each account, including: Christmas and end-of-year gifting, Employee recognition, Customer appreciation, Conferences and events, Product launches, Corporate anniversaries, Staff milestones, VIP and stakeholder visits, Client onboarding & Awards and celebrations

The objective is to turn individual orders into annual corporate gifting partnerships.

4. Strategic Partnerships

Develop relationships with organizations that can introduce multiple corporate customers, including: Event management companies, Advertising and PR agencies, Hotels and conference venues, Corporate concierge and gifting companies, Business associations, Procurement networks, Industry associations & Corporate event planners

5. Networking & Market Development

Actively represent the company at relevant: Business conferences, Procurement events, Corporate networking events, Chamber of Commerce activities, Manufacturing and mining events, CSR and sustainability forums, HR events, Marketing and brand events & Business breakfasts and executive networking functions. The role requires a strong presence in Zambia’s corporate community.

6. Sales Management & Reporting

• Maintain accurate CRM and pipeline records.
• Prepare quotations, proposals and account plans.
• Track opportunities from first contact through purchase order and repeat business.
• Forecast corporate sales.
• Monitor revenue, margins and account profitability.
• Provide regular reports on pipeline, wins, losses and market opportunities.
• Develop a clear target-account strategy for Zambia.

Key Performance Indicators

Success will be measured by:

• Number and value of new corporate accounts acquired
• Corporate sales revenue
• Number of private-label accounts
• Average corporate account value
• Repeat-order rate
• Annual recurring corporate revenue
• Number of strategic partnerships established
• Qualified corporate opportunities in the sales pipeline
• Conversion rate from qualified opportunity to customer

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for someone who is commercially ambitious, well connected and exceptionally good at building relationships. You should be / have:

• A Bachelor or Master’s degree with 4 years of work experience
• A confident B2B relationship seller
• Comfortable engaging senior executives and corporate decision-makers
• Well connected within Zambia’s business community
• Strong at networking and opening doors
• Consultative rather than transactional in your sales approach
• Commercially astute and comfortable negotiating
• Highly organized and disciplined with follow-up
• An excellent communicator and presenter
• Comfortable developing proposals and managing complex sales processes
• Persistent, energetic and self-motivated
• Passionate about Zambian-made products and local economic impact

Preferred Experience

We are particularly interested in candidates with experience in one or more of the following:

• Corporate gifting or promotional products
• B2B sales
• Corporate account management
• Banking or financial-services relationship management
• Telecommunications or enterprise sales
• Hotels and hospitality
• Corporate events
• Advertising, PR or experiential marketing
• Procurement or supplier management
• FMCG key-account sales
• Corporate affairs or business development

Experience selling to large Zambian corporates is highly desirable. A strong network may be as valuable as formal qualifications.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to build a new and strategically important corporate business channel
• Performance-based earning potential
• Significant autonomy and responsibility
• Access to senior corporate decision-makers
• The opportunity to represent a premium Zambian product
• The chance to connect corporate gifting with meaningful local community impact
• A role with the potential to grow into a senior commercial leadership position

How to Apply

Please submit: Your CV and a short cover letter explaining why you are suited to building corporate partnerships with examples of significant B2B or corporate accounts you have developed, where applicable as well as details of your current or previous corporate sales responsibilities. Please email your application to info@savannachocolate.com

IN YOUR APPLICATION, TELL US:

Which 8 Zambian organizations would you approach first, who would you approach within each organization, and why? This question is deliberately included because we are looking for someone who understands how to access the corporate market, not simply someone who can sell.