Head, Retail Inventory, Category & Merchandising

Head, Retail Inventory, Category & Merchandising at Services Afri 9in Limited

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Oct 23, 2026, 9:00 AM

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Services Afri 9in Ltd is a diversified company operating across different sectors: currently major in Hospitality, Consumer Goods, and Oil & Gas. In the hospitality sector, the company operates a lounge, eatery, and unisex salon, providing quality services and a welcoming experience for its customers. In the consumer goods sector, the company engages in retail and wholesale trade through its supermarket & village market operations, supplying a wide range of products to meet customers' everyday needs. The company is also involved in the oil and gas sector. Services Afri 9in Ltd is committed to delivering quality products and services, maintaining high standards of professionalism, and ensuring customer satisfaction.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Head, Retail Inventory, Category & Merchandising

Location: KEV’S Supermarket / Consumer Goods Operations - Benin City, Edo

Employment Type: Full-time; structured probation and performance-based confirmation

Reports To: Chief Operating Officer / Operations Manager

Functional Interfaces: Finance, Data Analysis, Procurement, Store/Warehouse, Supermarket Operations, Marketing & Sales, HR and Security

Direct Reports: Inventory Control Officer; Store/Warehouse Officer; Merchandising/Shelf Supervisor; other assigned team members

Document Status: Controlled Recruitment and Role Document — Foundation Issue 1.0

The Opportunity

Afri-9 Group is seeking an experienced retail inventory professional to build a disciplined, data-driven system for product variety, stock availability, replenishment, category performance and merchandising across its supermarket, Village Market and related consumer-goods operations.

The successful candidate will ensure that the business holds the right products, brands, pack sizes and quantities while reducing stockouts, overstocking, expiry, shrinkage and cash trapped in slow-moving inventory.

Job Summary

This is a commercial inventory leadership role — not merely a storekeeping position.

Key Responsibilities

• Improve shelf availability, product placement, planograms, pricing labels and merchandising discipline.
• Set minimum stock, maximum stock, reorder points, safety stock and supplier lead-time controls.
• Produce daily, weekly and monthly inventory, availability, category and gross-profit reports.
• Train and supervise inventory, store, warehouse, shelf and merchandising personnel.
• Lead cycle counts, physical stock counts, variance investigation and stock-record correction.
• Identify missing categories, brands, pack sizes and price levels based on customer demand and sales evidence.
• Classify fast-, medium-, slow- and non-moving products; control damage, expiry and dead stock.
• Create and maintain the supermarket SKU master, category structure and product-assortment plan.
• Role Purpose
• To establish and lead a reliable retail inventory, assortment, replenishment and merchandising system that ensures the right products are available in the right quantities, locations, conditions and price positions — while protecting cash flow, gross profit, stock integrity and customer confidence.
• Business Context
• This role is principally responsible for the Supermarket, Village Market and related consumer-goods operations, while supporting stock discipline and assortment planning across other approved retail and wholesale channels where required.
• Afri-9 Group currently operates in Oil and Gas, Hospitality, and Consumer Goods Retail and Wholesale.
• Required Outcomes
• Accurate Stock:
• System and physical stock records reconcile, with variances identified, investigated and closed.
• Right Assortment:
• The supermarket carries a commercially appropriate range of categories, brands, sizes and price points.
• High Availability:
• Priority fast-moving products remain available without excessive overstock.
• Healthy Working Capital:
• Cash is not unnecessarily trapped in slow-moving, duplicate or dead inventory.
• Strong Merchandising:
• Shelves are organised, priced, replenished and presented to support customer choice and sales.
• Management Visibility:
• Management receives timely, reliable inventory, category and profitability intelligence.
• Authority and Boundaries
• May stop or quarantine damaged, expired, unsafe, unrecorded or suspicious stock pending authorised review.
• May not independently select a supplier, approve a purchase, receive goods, alter stock records and reconcile the same transaction without documented independent checks.
• Must declare supplier relationships, gifts, commissions, rebates, conflicts of interest or personal benefits.
• May recommend product additions, reductions, substitutions, reorder levels, supplier schedules, shelf layouts and inventory controls.
• May not override approved prices, credit terms, procurement authority or financial controls.
• Operating Doctrine
• Right product. Right quantity. Right place. Right time. Right record. Right margin.
• The role operates under Publication ENIL-000. No inventory decision is complete until the source record, approval, physical movement, system update, verification and management reporting are reconciled.
• Principal Responsibilities
• SKU Master and Category Architecture
• Prevent duplicate, unclear, inactive or unauthorised product records.
• Create a category hierarchy that supports reporting, assortment planning, shelf allocation and profitability review.
• Build and maintain a controlled SKU master containing product description, barcode, brand, category, subcategory, pack size, unit of measure, supplier, cost, selling price, tax treatment, shelf life and status.
• Assortment and Product Variety:
• Recommend products to introduce, expand, reduce, substitute, suspend or discontinue based on evidence.
• Assess whether each category has appropriate economy, mainstream, premium, local, small-pack, family-pack and bulk-pack options.
• Identify missing products, customer-requested items, local preferences and commercially relevant brands.
• Demand Forecasting and Replenishment:
• Analyse sales history, seasonality, promotions, supplier lead times, stockouts and business plans.
• Prepare daily replenishment needs, weekly purchase recommendations and monthly inventory plans.
• Set minimum stock, maximum stock, reorder points, safety stock and reorder quantities for approved SKUs.
• Inventory Accuracy and Stock Counts
• Investigate every material variance, document root cause and track corrective action to closure.
• Reconcile opening stock, receipts, transfers, sales/issues, returns, damage, expiry and closing stock.
• Implement daily spot checks, scheduled cycle counts, monthly physical counts and independent verification.
• Receiving, Storage and Stock Movement
• Ensure all receipts, transfers, returns, issues and adjustments are recorded before or immediately when movement occurs.
• Establish FIFO/FEFO, storage, labelling, quarantine and stock-location controls.
• Confirm that goods received match approved purchase documents, quantities, brands, pack sizes, condition and shelf-life requirements.
• Commercial Control, Reporting & Performance
• Stock Health, Expiry and Shrinkage Control:
• Recommend markdown, bundle, transfer, return-to-supplier, disposal or write-off actions through approved authority.
• Classify inventory by movement and value using appropriate methods such as ABC, FSN and ageing analysis.
• Track near-expiry, expired, damaged, rejected, obsolete, missing and non-moving stock.
• Merchandising and Shelf Availability:
• Develop practical shelf layouts and planograms based on category logic, customer behaviour, product movement and commercial priorities.
• Ensure shelves carry correct products, visible prices, clean labels, appropriate facings and timely replenishment.
• Coordinate promotional displays with Marketing & Sales only after stock, price, timing and replenishment readiness are confirmed.
• Supplier and Procurement Interface:
• Identify supplier concentration, recurring shortages, substitution risk and opportunities for improved commercial terms.
• Prepare evidence-based purchase recommendations without bypassing procurement or approval controls.
• Maintain supplier lead-time, fill-rate, minimum-order, delivery-quality and price-change intelligence.
• Data, Reporting and Management Insight:
• Submit daily stock and exception updates, weekly replenishment and category reports, and monthly inventory-management accounts.
• Provide management with clear decisions required, risks, corrective actions and forecasted stock needs.
• Report availability, stockouts, inventory turnover, days on hand, ageing, expiry, shrinkage, category sales and gross profit.
• Team Leadership and Capability:
• Coach underperforming employees and escalate persistent integrity, competence or conduct failures through approved procedures.
• Set clear responsibilities, shift routines, count schedules, sign-off controls and performance standards.
• Train inventory, warehouse, store, shelf and supermarket personnel on receiving, counting, recording, replenishment and merchandising.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Expiry / damage value
• Initial Standard*: Baseline then reduce
• Management Intent: Loss prevention and stock-health discipline
• Reporting: Monthly
• Out-of-stock rate
• Reporting: Weekly
• Management Intent: Lost availability across active priority range
• Initial Standard*: $le$ 5%
• Slow / dead stock value
• Management Intent: Working-capital efficiency
• Reporting: Monthly
• Initial Standard*: Baseline then reduce
• Stock variance / shrinkage
• Management Intent: Physical and control integrity
• Initial Standard*: Within approved tolerance
• Reporting: Daily / Monthly
• Supplier fill rate
• Reporting: Monthly
• Initial Standard*: Baseline then improve
• Management Intent: Supplier delivery reliability
• Stock-record accuracy
• Reporting: Weekly / Monthly
• Management Intent: Reliability of system versus physical stock
• Initial Standard*: $ge$ 98%
• Initial standards are subject to confirmation after the baseline inventory and assortment audit. Management may issue tighter targets by category or location.
• Priority SKU availability
• Initial Standard*: $ge$ 95%
• Management Intent: Availability of agreed fast-moving products
• Reporting: Daily / Weekly
• Category gross profit
• Management Intent: Commercial quality of assortment and pricing
• Initial Standard*: Target by category
• Reporting: Monthly
• Inventory turnover / days on hand
• Initial Standard*: By category target
• Reporting: Monthly
• Management Intent: Speed and balance of stock investment
• Report timeliness
• Management Intent: Management information discipline
• Initial Standard*: 100% on time
• Reporting: Daily / Weekly / Monthly
• Reporting Cadence
• Daily
• Stockouts, critical replenishment, receiving exceptions, damage/expiry, material variances, and actions required.
• Weekly
• Availability, purchase recommendations, category movement, supplier performance, cycle-count results, and merchandising gaps.
• Monthly
• Inventory valuation, turnover, ageing, shrinkage, expiry, category sales/gross profit, working capital, and management recommendations.
• Education and Experience
• Minimum five years of relevant supermarket, FMCG, wholesale, distribution or modern-retail inventory experience.
• Bachelor’s degree or HND in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Accounting, Logistics, Statistics, Retail Management or a related discipline.
• Experience with POS, ERP or inventory-management systems and advanced spreadsheet analysis.
• At least two to three years in a supervisory, inventory-control, category, replenishment or merchandising leadership role.
• Practical experience managing large SKU ranges and conducting stock counts, reconciliations and replenishment planning.
• Relevant professional certification in procurement, supply chain, inventory or retail management is an advantage, not a substitute for practical competence.
• Candidate Profile:
• Strong command of Excel, POS/ERP inventory systems, demand forecasting, replenishment and retail mathematics.
• Minimum five years of practical supermarket, FMCG, wholesale or modern-retail inventory experience, including supervisory responsibility.
• Demonstrable success improving stock accuracy, product availability, inventory turnover or category performance.
• High integrity, analytical discipline, commercial judgement and ability to train operational teams.
• Required Technical Competence:
• Inventory Control:
• Stock movement, cycle counts, physical counts, variance investigation, and reconciliation.
• Retail Mathematics:
• Margin, markup, turnover, days on hand, stock cover, reorder points, and ageing.
• Category Management:
• Assortment breadth/depth, pricing ladders, product lifecycle, and category performance.
• Forecasting:
• Demand analysis, seasonality, promotions, lead times, and replenishment quantities.
• Systems & Excel:
• Strong spreadsheet modelling, lookups, pivots, dashboards, and POS/ERP data analysis.
• Merchandising:
• Planograms, shelf availability, facings, pricing labels, stock rotation, and presentation.
• Behavioural Competencies:
• Analytical discipline: converts data into clear priorities and management decisions.
• Integrity and independence: does not manipulate counts, records, suppliers or findings.
• Communication: explains inventory issues simply to operational and executive stakeholders.
• Commercial judgement: balances availability, margin, customer choice and working capital.
• Leadership: sets standards, trains teams and follows through on corrective actions.
• Resilience and execution: works effectively in a fast-moving, multi-unit operating environment.
• Appointment and Performance Conditions:
• Appointment is subject to satisfactory verification of identity, qualifications, employment history, references and integrity checks.
• The employee must sign confidentiality, conflict-of-interest, asset-custody and controlled-system acknowledgements.
• The initial period will include a structured baseline inventory and assortment audit and a documented improvement programme.
• The role may require work outside standard hours during physical counts, month-end closure, major deliveries or system implementation.
• Confirmation is performance-based and subject to approved probation terms, measurable KPIs, conduct and reporting quality.
• Non-Negotiable Conduct:
• No sharing of confidential sales, cost, supplier, customer or inventory information.
• No unauthorised purchase commitment, price override, stock release, write-off or disposal.
• No personal supplier arrangements, kickbacks, undisclosed commissions, gifts or conflicts of interest.
• No retaliation against employees who report genuine inventory, fraud, safety or control concerns. is subject to written offer and contract; no verbal discussion constitutes employment.
• No falsification, forced balancing, backdating, concealment or unauthorised stock adjustment.

Salary: N280,000 - N350,000 per month.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV, one-page cover note, salary expectation, availability date and a short example of a food-production or multi-kitchen improvement you personally led to:

[email protected]

using "Application – Head, Retail Inventory, Category & Merchandising" as the subject of the mail.

Recruitment Selection Process

The selection process will ordinarily include CV screening, practical menu and food-cost analysis, multi-kitchen walk-through, operational assessment, panel interview, reference checks and management approval. Final appointment is subject to a written offer and contract; no verbal discussion constitutes employment.

Note

Call,/ WhatsApp: 09135333766.

Shortlisted candidates will complete a practical multi-kitchen walk-through, menu and food-cost exercise, operations assessment, panel interview and reference checks. Afri-9 Group reserves the right to verify employment, qualification, integrity and performance claims.

Application Deadline:

5th November, 2026.

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Edo State