Purpose of the Job

The Local DDE Product Owner is responsible for leading the full deployment of the Distributor Data Exchange (DDE) solution in Kenya and for owning the product operationally after go live. The role ensures that KWAL distributors adopt the DMS/ERP and Field App solutions, comply with agreed data standards, and generate reliable, high quality data that drives Numeric Distribution growth, improved forecasting, distributor capability uplift, and stronger commercial performance. The role is explicitly accountable for ensuring a user centric and distributor centric solution, driving high adoption across distributor back office teams and field sales users. The Local DDE Product Owner acts as the in market face of the product, ensuring that distributor and field feedback continuously informs improvements to the solution and ways of working.

Key Responsibilities

Phase 1: Deployment

Deployment Planning & Coordination

• Lead Kenya’s DDE rollout plan, aligning scope, timelines, and readiness across KWAL, distributors, and regional teams.
• Coordinate closely with implementation partners on configuration, testing, and deployment activities.
• Ensure alignment with the regional DDE framework, standards, and deployment sequencing.

Distributor Onboarding & Training

• Assess distributor readiness and ensure foundational operating elements are in place (territories, segmentation, roles, basic processes).
• Lead distributor onboarding activities and manage expectations around new ways of working.
• Deliver training for distributor back office teams and sales reps on DMS/ERP and Field App usage.
• Act as the local DDE product expert during distributor kick offs, demos, and training sessions.

System Setup, Testing & Go Live

• Support functional configuration, data preparation, and user acceptance testing across selected distributors.
• Validate that system setups reflect Kenya’s commercial rules and distributor operating models.
• Lead distributor go live execution and ensure a smooth transition into daily operational use.
• Manage the hyper care period to stabilize the system, data flows, and user adoption

Phase 2: B. Day to Day (Post Go-Live)

Data Quality & Daily Operations

• Monitor daily distributor data flows, including sales out, stock, coverage, routes, and transactions.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues related to data completeness, accuracy, and timeliness.
• Ensure system configurations and master data remain current and fit for purpose.

System Ownership & User Support

• Act as the Kenya DDE “super user” and primary in market functional owner.
• Provide ongoing support and refresher training to distributor teams and KWAL stakeholders.
• Coordinate fixes, minor enhancements, and issue resolution with vendor and D&T teams.

Dashboard Validation & Insight Adoption

• Validate dashboards and reports to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
• Embed DDE insights into commercial routines, including coverage management, ND improvement, sales execution, and planning.
• Partner with Sales, RTC, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to operationalize DDE data in decision making.

KPI Tracking & Value Realisation

• Track key indicators such as Numeric Distribution growth, transaction capture, stock visibility, and distributor capability uplift.
• Identify performance gaps and work with distributors and internal teams to drive corrective actions.
• Ensure that value delivered through DDE is visible, measurable, and sustained.

Ongoing Stakeholder Engagement

• Maintain strong working relationships with KWAL leadership, distributor owners and managers, and cross functional teams.
• Act as the single point of contact for all Kenya DDE matters.
• Provide regular performance and progress updates to local and regional stakeholders.
• Lead ongoing change management communications and behavioural reinforcement.

Continuous Improvement

• Own structured feedback loops with distributors and internal users to identify usability gaps and enhancement needs.
• Translate recurring issues and improvement opportunities into clear enhancement requests and user stories.
• Channel enhancements into the regional/global DDE backlog.
• Represent Kenya in cross market DDE forums, sharing learnings and best practices.

Experience & Qualifications

Experience

• 3–5 years’ experience in Commercial, Route to Market / RTC, Sales Operations, or Distributor Management.
• Experience working with ERP, DMS, or SFA systems preferred.
• Strong understanding of distributor operations and sales execution models.

Skills & Capabilities

• Strong analytical skills and comfort working with operational data.
• Ability to translate business needs into practical system usage.
• Confident working with technical teams and external vendors.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

• Lead Kenya’s DDE rollout plan, aligning scope, timelines, and readiness across KWAL, distributors, and regional teams.
• Coordinate closely with implementation partners on configuration, testing, and deployment activities.
• Ensure alignment with the regional DDE framework, standards, and deployment sequencing.
• Assess distributor readiness and ensure foundational operating elements are in place (territories, segmentation, roles, basic processes).
• Lead distributor onboarding activities and manage expectations around new ways of working.
• Deliver training for distributor back office teams and sales reps on DMS/ERP and Field App usage.
• Act as the local DDE product expert during distributor kick offs, demos, and training sessions.
• Support functional configuration, data preparation, and user acceptance testing across selected distributors.
• Validate that system setups reflect Kenya’s commercial rules and distributor operating models.
• Lead distributor go live execution and ensure a smooth transition into daily operational use.
• Manage the hyper care period to stabilize the system, data flows, and user adoption
• Monitor daily distributor data flows, including sales out, stock, coverage, routes, and transactions.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues related to data completeness, accuracy, and timeliness.
• Ensure system configurations and master data remain current and fit for purpose.
• Act as the Kenya DDE “super user” and primary in market functional owner.
• Provide ongoing support and refresher training to distributor teams and KWAL stakeholders.
• Coordinate fixes, minor enhancements, and issue resolution with vendor and D&T teams.
• Validate dashboards and reports to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
• Embed DDE insights into commercial routines, including coverage management, ND improvement, sales execution, and planning.
• Partner with Sales, RTC, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to operationalize DDE data in decision making.
• Track key indicators such as Numeric Distribution growth, transaction capture, stock visibility, and distributor capability uplift.
• Identify performance gaps and work with distributors and internal teams to drive corrective actions.
• Ensure that value delivered through DDE is visible, measurable, and sustained.
• Maintain strong working relationships with KWAL leadership, distributor owners and managers, and cross functional teams.
• Act as the single point of contact for all Kenya DDE matters.
• Provide regular performance and progress updates to local and regional stakeholders.
• Lead ongoing change management communications and behavioural reinforcement.
• Own structured feedback loops with distributors and internal users to identify usability gaps and enhancement needs.
• Translate recurring issues and improvement opportunities into clear enhancement requests and user stories.
• Channel enhancements into the regional/global DDE backlog.
• Represent Kenya in cross market DDE forums, sharing learnings and best practices.

• Strong analytical skills and comfort working with operational data.
• Ability to translate business needs into practical system usage.
• Confident working with technical teams and external vendors.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

• 3–5 years’ experience in Commercial, Route to Market / RTC, Sales Operations, or Distributor Management.
• Experience working with ERP, DMS, or SFA systems preferred.
• Strong understanding of distributor operations and sales execution models.