Sales Lead - Nutrition & Anesthesia (Cape Town)

This is where your work makes a difference.

At Baxter, we believe every person—regardless of who they are or where they are from—deserves a chance to live a healthy life. It was our founding belief in 1931 and continues to be our guiding principle. We are redefining healthcare delivery to make a greater impact today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Our Baxter colleagues are united by our Mission to Save and Sustain Lives. Together, our community is driven by a culture of courage, trust, and collaboration. Every individual is empowered to take ownership and make a meaningful impact. We strive for efficient and effective operations, and we hold each other accountable for delivering exceptional results.

Here, you will find more than just a job—you will find purpose and pride. 

Summary

Sales Lead manages the sales function within the Clinical Nutrition and Anesthesia Business Unit to achieve sustainable growth across existing customers and to generate new business in line with agreed objectives. Leads, develops, and motivates the sales team, ensuring clear direction, strong performance management, and capability building to drive consistent results. Contributes to the definition and execution of the sales strategy, while representing Baxter in the market and fostering a high-performance, customer-centric culture that drives team success.

Essential duties and responsibilities

• Prepare, implement, and continuously review sales operating plans for the Clinical Nutrition and Anesthesia Business Units, identifying revenue growth and volume opportunities aligned with overall Business Unit strategies.

• Deliver all sales, financial, and customer targets across both portfolios, in line with business and personal objectives, while effectively managing the sales team on a day-to-day basis.

• Define, track, and manage sales team KPIs, ensuring clear performance expectations, regular monitoring, data-driven evaluations, and accountability for results across the region.

• Coach, develop, motivate, and lead the sales team to drive high performance against defined KPIs, building capability and fostering a high-performance culture while acting as a role model aligned with company values.

• Lead and manage the account planning process, with a strong focus on key accounts, hospital groups, and wholesale partners, ensuring strategic alignment, sustainable growth, and retention.

• Oversee and manage relationships with wholesalers and hospital groups, ensuring optimal product availability, contract execution, pricing alignment, and long-term partnership development.

• Continuously identify and implement initiatives to improve sales force effectiveness and efficiency, leveraging tools, insights, and structured performance management systems.

• Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with key accounts, hospital groups, wholesalers, and new customers, ensuring they are fully informed about Baxter Clinical Nutrition and Anesthesia products, therapies, and solutions.

• Ensure customer needs are fully understood and addressed, delivering high levels of satisfaction and strengthening long-term partnerships.

• Take full ownership of customer issues, ensuring timely resolution and transparent communication across all stakeholders to enhance customer loyalty and revenue growth.

• Capture, maintain, and analyze relevant sales and customer data to support forecasting, pipeline management, and informed decision-making.

• Promote Baxter Healthcare Clinical Nutrition and Anesthesia products, therapies, and services to key decision-makers and influencers across hospitals, procurement bodies, and distribution partners.

• Collaborate closely with Marketing, Sales Support, Customer Service, and Supply Chain teams to ensure integrated execution, customer satisfaction, and achievement of shared targets.

• Travel approximately 70% of the time within the region (KZN, Eastern Cape, Free State) to engage directly with key accounts, hospital groups, wholesalers, and the sales team, providing in-field coaching and driving business growth.

Education/Experience/Skills required

• Minimum Bachelor’s in Nutrition; candidates with Dietetics, Nursing, or related medical science backgrounds are strongly preferred.

• Minimum 5–7 years of sales experience, including at least 2 years in a people management role.

• Demonstrates a results-oriented approach.

• High resilience and adaptability in dynamic environments.

• Resourceful with strong problem-solving ability.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Analytical, with a data-driven decision-making style.

• Acts with integrity and serves as a positive role model.

• Strong focus on customer needs and experience.

• Fluent English is a must.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Baxter is an equal opportunity employer. Baxter evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, disability/handicap status or any other legally protected characteristic.

Reasonable Accommodations

Baxter is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities globally. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please click on the link here and let us know the nature of your request along with your contact information.

Recruitment Fraud Notice

Baxter has discovered incidents of employment scams, where fraudulent parties pose as Baxter employees, recruiters, or other agents, and engage with online job seekers in an attempt to steal personal and/or financial information. To learn how you can protect yourself, review our Recruitment Fraud Notice.