Business Development Manager - Supply Side | South Africa

Business Development Manager - Supply Side Sales

Reporting Manager: Category Manager
Location: Remote in South Africa
Budget: R550k - R600k p/a

About the Role

As a Supplier Business Development Manager reporting to the Supplier Category Manager, you’ll play a critical role in growing and managing our supplier base for the B2B diamond marketplace. This role is for a driven, strategic professional who excels in building supplier relationships, optimising their performance, and aligning their products with market needs. You’ll act as a revenue co-pilot for suppliers, working closely with them from onboarding through sustained success. Your work will ensure that our platform offers the best quality, selection, and value for buyers, creating a dynamic and profitable environment for both suppliers and our business.

What You’ll Do

In this role, you’ll identify, onboard, and support high-potential suppliers while maximising their sales growth and ensuring quality and inventory alignment with customer demand. You will act as both a consultant and a coach, guiding suppliers to optimise their product offerings, pricing, and availability. Your insights and proactive support will be instrumental in helping suppliers grow on our platform, creating value and a seamless experience for buyers.

Responsibilities

• Supplier Acquisition and Onboarding: Identify and onboard high-quality suppliers that align with category standards. Communicate marketplace value propositions clearly and drive their engagement with our platform.

• Account Management and Supplier Support: Build strong, consultative relationships with suppliers to ensure alignment with business goals. Act as a primary point of contact for their growth, success, and troubleshooting needs. Work hand in hand with tech and customer support teams to ensure every interaction is seamless. 

• Performance Analysis and Reporting: Use data to assess supplier performance, identify growth opportunities, and provide actionable feedback on selection, pricing, and quality metrics.

• Sales Enablement and Revenue Growth: Drive suppliers to meet revenue targets by optimising product assortment, pricing, and inventory levels. Promote express stock initiatives to ensure fast delivery options.

• Quality and Compliance Oversight: Work closely with suppliers to maintain high-quality standards, minimising return rates and customer complaints through proactive quality assurance.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with category management, product, and operations teams to align on category objectives, drive buyer engagement, and support product marketing initiatives.

• Supplier Training and Development: Develop training resources and guides to help suppliers understand best practices for product listing optimization, quality control, and category-specific performance metrics.

• Growth Strategy Implementation: Implement growth initiatives based on category OKRs, aiming for increased active suppliers and improved supplier performance on key metrics (availability, sold-out rates, and express sales).

Key Objectives (OKRs)

1. Supplier Activation and Engagement: Achieve and maintain 95% active suppliers, consistently engaging with suppliers to foster long-term marketplace participation.

2. Revenue and Growth: Drive incremental supplier sales through proactive support, strategic product alignment, and seasonal optimisation.

3. Product Quality and Availability: Ensure 98% of listed products are active and in stock, with a sold-out rate below 0.50%.

4. Express Revenue: Target a sell-through rate (STR) of 75% on express products and increase express stock availability.

Your Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

• 4+ years of experience in account management, sales, business development, or a related role, ideally within B2B marketplaces or e-commerce.

• Strong Communication Skills: Exceptional relationship-building and communication abilities, with a consultative approach to supplier management.

• Data-Driven Mindset: Proficiency in using data and analytics to guide decisions and performance improvements.

• Customer-Centric & Quality-Oriented: A commitment to ensuring the highest quality standards and a positive customer experience through strong supplier support.

• Self-Starter with Growth Focus: Highly motivated to achieve targets, with a proactive approach to problem-solving and supplier growth.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in B2B marketplaces, luxury retail, or tech-enabled marketplaces.

• Familiarity with supply chain processes and inventory management.

• Proven success in driving revenue growth and optimising supplier performance.

What You’ll Get

• World-class sales training and techniques.

• Fast-paced and multinational working environment.

• The opportunity to be part of a hyper-growth scale-up.

• Flexibility with remote working.

• Generous holiday allowance.

• Highly competitive base salary.

• Lucrative bonus structure.

• Medical aid through Discovery.

If you’re ready to take on a dynamic role with opportunities to shape supplier success in a fast-growing marketplace, we’d love to hear from you! This position is perfect for someone who enjoys both the strategic and relational aspects of supplier development, with a passion for driving measurable impact.