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FMCG Commercial and Trade Marketing Expert

GIZ Rwanda

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working in Rwanda for more than 40 years.

Rwanda is a country with a turbulent and, at times, tragic history, and the impact of the 1994 genocide is still felt today. Nevertheless, Rwanda has achieved progress at a number of levels since 2000. Stability, security, steady economic growth and low corruption are some of the key successes. The country is also regarded as a pioneer in Africa in environmental protection, digitalisation and gender equality.

Despite these encouraging developments, however, Rwanda is still a very poor country that continues to rely on international support. This support is in virtually all sectors and is coordinated by the Rwandan Government. As a reliable partner in an efficient task-sharing system, GIZ works in three priority areas on behalf of the German Government:

  • Economic development and employment
  • Governance and democracy
  • Digitalisation
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https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/332.html

sequa gGmbH is a globally operating non-profit development organisation. Since 1991 sequa has carried out programmes and projects of international cooperation in close collaboration with the German private sector. sequa offers know-how and long-term experience in capacity development for chambers and associations (BMOs), vocational education and training, private sector development and trade promotion. The organisation is based in Bonn, Germany. sequa employs more than 100 persons (2025) and reported a turnover of EUR 56 m in 2024.

We are offering a project-based assignment as 

FMCG Commercial and Trade Marketing Expert (m/f/d)

Location:Musanze/Kigali, Rwanda

Assignment Period:08/26 - 12/06

Working time scope:20 working days 

Project:SME Support Scheme targeting growth-oriented SMEs in Rwanda

Job Code: RW-1132 - Hollanda FMCG/Trade Marketing Expert

The Project

Within the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition", implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, sequa implements the SME Support Scheme, which targets growth-oriented SMEs in Rwanda. The project aims to facilitate business growth and decent job creation by increasing the competitiveness, productivity, and market readiness of Rwandan SMEs.

The SME Support Scheme supports selected medium-sized enterprises, including Hollanda Fairfoods Ltd, with growth and job creation potential. Hollanda Fairfoods is a Rwanda-based agro-processing company in Musanze producing premium kettle-cooked potato crisps under the Winnaz brand.

The scope of this assignment is to strengthen Hollanda Fairfoods' commercial and trade marketing capacity for the launch of new snacks while protecting and building on the Winnaz core business. The expert will assess current gaps, develop portfolio-level commercial KPIs and a time-bound execution strategy aligned with the company's brand architecture, and propose a practical trade marketing team structure within the commercial department. 

Your Tasks / Responsibilities

  • Review current sales channels, customer/distributor structure, retail execution, export channels, pricing, trade terms, product portfolio, team roles, sales data, and commercial KPIs;
  • Assess gaps in the commercial and trade marketing department, including team competencies, account coverage, distributor management, customer pipeline tracking, retail visibility, and launch execution routines;
  • Clarify the commercial role, target consumer, channel priority, positioning, and relationship of each brand within the overall brand architecture, and identify overlaps or gaps that may weaken execution;
  • Develop, together with the team, a practical 12-month portfolio-wide commercial execution strategy with defined priorities, activities, responsible persons, milestones, budget assumptions, and implementation timeframe for all brands;
  • Develop a commercial KPI framework and simple management dashboard covering sales value/volume, numeric and weighted distribution, key-account performance, distributor performance, stock and returns, retail execution, trade spend, promotions, and new-product launch progress;
  • Design a practical trade marketing operating model within the commercial department, including proposed structure, roles and responsibilities, reporting lines, required competencies, interfaces with sales/marketing/production/finance, meeting routines, and a phased staffing and implementation roadmap;
  • Prepare priority trade marketing and route-to-market tools, including account plans, distributor scorecards, outlet segmentation, retail execution standards, launch calendar, point-of-sale priorities, promotion tracking, and sales follow-up templates;
  • Train the commercial team on the portfolio strategy, KPI dashboard, trade marketing tools, roles, reporting routines, and performance review meetings; provide limited coaching during the first implementation cycle and submit a final report with remaining risks and next steps.

Your Qualifications / Skills

  • Education/training: University degree or advanced professional qualification in marketing, business administration, sales, commercial management, economics, communications, or a related field;
  • Professional training: FMCG sales, trade marketing, category management, route-to-market, key-account management, distributor management, or brand/product launch training is a strong asset;
  • Languages: Excellent working proficiency in English and Kinyarwanda is required;
  • Other skills: Strong facilitation, coaching, data analysis, presentation, and report-writing skills; ability to build simple commercial tools that a growing SME team can use consistently.

Your Working Experience

  • General professional experience: At least 8 years of professional experience in FMCG sales, trade marketing, commercial management, brand activation, distributor management, or market development;
  • Specific professional experience: At least 5 years of hands-on experience developing and executing multi-brand commercial strategies, brand architecture, commercial KPI frameworks, route-to-market plans, retail execution systems, distributor/key-account management tools, and trade marketing campaigns;
  • Sector experience: Demonstrated experience in snack foods, beverages, packaged foods, agro-processing, retail, wholesale, or regional FMCG distribution is strongly preferred;
  • Regional/other experience: Professional experience in Rwanda or East Africa and familiarity with supermarkets, wholesalers, distributors, and regional export channels.

Please send us a cover letter, your CV in the EuropeAid format, relevant resumes, and your daily fee expectation in EUR/RWF. If you apply as a firm, please send your company profile and financial proposal. Additionally, please share two examples of assignments you implemented that are similar, including the product category, your role, the commercial tools developed, the staff trained, and the implementation results.

In the case of comparable qualifications, disabled persons are given preference. 

Please send us your application by no later than 21.07.2026 to applications.rwanda@sequa.de with the Subject line "RW-1132 - Hollanda FMCG/Trade Marketing Expert".

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