Job responsibilities of a commercial director 2020

A commercial director is a person who, through his actions, mobilizes, controls and directs the company’s personnel to achieve maximum profit. Depending on the direction of activity of a production or trade organization, the requirements for the qualities and abilities of a candidate for this position and the functional responsibilities of the commercial director of the enterprise may differ slightly.

The role and main tasks of the commercial director

Despite the importance of this figure in the enterprise management system, his responsibilities and functions are not always clear. Most often, people from the purchasing department apply for this position. Who, if not a sales manager, knows the specifics of communication with clients, has experience in concluding contracts, and understands the peculiarities of his organization.

In general terms, the responsibilities of the commercial director of an LLC are as follows:

long-term and short-term profit planning;
effective management and control over the implementation of current tasks by the sales department;
providing information;
setting tasks for all departments of the enterprise;
control of division directors;
determination of the organization's marketing policy;
communication with key clients;
interaction with shareholders and partners;
control over the fulfillment of obligations and contracts of your enterprise related to business activities;
coordination of the work of departments.

Depending on the area of activity of a particular enterprise, the above list may be supplemented or reduced. In any case, an applicant for this position must have a certain set of qualities.

What role does the commercial director play?

Since this manager has a wide range of responsibilities and tasks, it is quite possible to assume that he plays one of the leading and significant roles in the company.
Without his participation, not a single important meeting of the company’s shareholders takes place, plans and prospects for the development of the organization are not discussed, a budget for the financial year is not formed, and only with his approval are contracts concluded with suppliers and companies providing services.

Due to the fact that a commercial director is a person with certain powers, it is important to pay attention to his personal characteristics when hiring, so that you do not have to deal with his use of his official position for personal purposes.

Characteristic qualities of the candidate

The responsibilities and peculiarities of the position occupied in the organization require from a specialist not only the ability to focus on results. The ability to make decisions in a difficult situation, conflict management skills, stress resistance and loyalty, responsibility and honesty, creativity and the ability to defend one’s own opinion must be possessed by a professional department head. These skills are especially needed by top managers of trading companies.

One of the important qualities is the presence of charisma and leadership abilities. The commercial director, whose responsibilities are specifically stated in the employment contract, must be able to captivate a team of employees and encourage people to work actively. Experienced personnel officers recommend hiring a professionally mature person, over 30 years of age, for this position. Such a specialist, making informed decisions, will be able to guide and train his subordinates and employees of related departments, leading them in the direction necessary for the company.

A candidate for this vacancy must have and understand the company’s own goals and objectives, among which the main one is regular profit making. A person must have a high level of responsibility and breadth of thinking, because his position is associated with coordinating the work of all leading departments and controlling the flow of cash receipts.

And, of course, this specialist simply cannot be not proactive, not communicative, irresponsible and not purposeful.

What should a candidate for the position be able to do?

General provisions

It's not an easy job. A commercial director must be able to perform a fairly wide range of responsibilities. In this regard, the applicant for this responsible position must have a range of knowledge and skills:

be able to regulate the movement of finished products both within the enterprise and outside it;
know the intricacies of budgeting;
have the ability to search for sales channels;
have basic knowledge regarding enterprise personnel management;
have negotiation skills;
be familiar with the development of advertising projects.

Responsibility for the finances and economics of the trading company

In many organizations, the responsibilities of the commercial director of an enterprise overlap with the functions of the financial director. Both of these specialists plan, direct and supervise the company's purchasing, marketing and financial activities. Any decisions and actions of a commercial director must have an economic justification and be aimed at making a profit both at the moment and in the future.

Being, in fact, the first deputy of the organization's chief executive, literally his “right hand, eyes and ears,” the head of the procurement department must work closely with management. The commercial director, whose responsibilities may vary slightly from company to company, reports directly to the business owner or general manager. The position of this top manager is relevant for companies that produce and sell any goods in large volumes.

At large-scale enterprises, the commercial director is entrusted with solving global issues related to the constant increase and improvement of financial performance, with the development of measures aimed at this.

Rules for drawing up job descriptions

The job description does not have a unified format - each organization approaches the creation of the document individually. Since any enterprise implies its own staffing structure, creating universal instructions is impossible. Employees holding the post of commercial director in different companies can perform different tasks, depending on the focus of the enterprise. However, their main functions will be similar.

The standard document consists of five parts:

General provisions.
Job responsibilities.
Rights.
Responsibility.
Working conditions.

Leaders of organizations have the right to add additional items to this list and expand existing ones.

The job description is created in a single copy, which is intended for the incoming employee. If the enterprise has several commercial directors, then the instructions are copied and provided to each of them. In order for a document to gain legal force, it must bear the following signatures:

commercial director;
the employee who is responsible for familiarizing with the instructions;
head of the enterprise.

The familiarization visa is located under the signature of the author of the instructions. It begins with the words “I have read the instructions.”

Commercial director: responsibilities and functions in a trading company

The main job of this employee in this case is to promote the brand and products of the enterprise on the market in order to make a profit. To achieve these goals, work is organized in several directions:

determination and construction of marketing policy;
control over accounts receivable;
formation of procurement and sales plans, supervision of their implementation;
selection and training of a sales team;
creation of a motivation system and certification of managers;
sales process inspection;
monitoring customer requests.

The responsibilities of the commercial director of a trading company additionally include planning and managing assortment policy, knowledge of logistics and the basics of product distribution, interaction with key clients that are important for the enterprise, and participation in negotiations that are important for the organization.

Analysis of sales across the entire assortment line, profit and turnover for each position, seasonality and stability of income, functions of a leading merchandise specialist - all this is in charge of the commercial director. Job responsibilities may vary slightly depending on the specific profile of the company, but the main activity is aimed at consolidating the company’s position in the market and increasing income.

Sample job description for commercial director

General provisions

This document controls the parameters affecting the scope of activity of the commercial director, namely: job functions and tasks, conditions of professional activity, rights and powers of the employee, his responsibility.
The hiring and subsequent dismissal of a director is carried out by issuing an order or instruction on behalf of the general director of the institution. This process takes place within the framework of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Control over the activities of the commercial director is exercised by the general director.
In the absence of an employee, his tasks will be taken over by a person with the required classification, skills and knowledge in the required field. The role of such employee is the sales director. The appointment of a temporary deputy occurs in accordance with the procedures adopted in the institution.
A candidate who meets a certain set of requirements is accepted for the post of director of commerce: higher professional education (economics or engineering-economic field), work experience in a managerial position of at least five years.

The Commercial Director should be familiar with the following information:

legislation of the Russian Federation;
profile of the organization and directions of its activities;
basics of business planning;
rules for concluding and executing contracts (in the economic or financial sphere).

When fulfilling his work obligations, the Director of Commercial Affairs is guided by the following documents:

Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
articles of association;
documents controlling internal regulations;
orders and instructions of the general director;
this instruction.

Job responsibilities of the commercial director

The tasks performed by the Director of Commerce include:

control of the supply of the enterprise with all necessary material resources, as well as activities for the maintenance, movement and distribution of objects to be sold;
coordinating the development and execution of long-term or current plans for logistics and sales of goods or financial plans;
audit of the creation of regulatory documentation that monitors the supply of the enterprise with the necessary resources, the development of quality standards, methods of placement of goods and inventory standards;
providing recommendations and consulting to managers and specialists in financial planning, marketing and sales of goods. Coordinating the work of subordinates;
control of timely execution of estimated financial statements, calculations and reports on the implementation of plans for material and technical services, distribution of goods and other financial activities;
tracking the organization's progress, controlling expenses;
conducting negotiations on behalf of the company with counterparties on business and financial agreements, concluding business and financial agreements, monitoring the implementation of contractual obligations;
representation of the company at advertising events promoting the promotion of products.

Rights

The Commercial Director is vested with the following powers and rights:

representation of the organization in interaction with government services, third-party institutions and organizations on commercial issues;
distribution of job responsibilities for subordinate employees.
a request from officially designated parts of the enterprise to collect information and certificates that are necessary to fulfill the professional obligations of the director of commerce;
taking direct part in writing orders, instructions, estimates, plans and other papers that are necessary to fulfill the tasks of the enterprise;
submitting proposals for improvement of work that affect the responsibilities provided for in this instruction for consideration by the general director;
the requirement from the company's managers to provide appropriate resources and prepare the established documentation that is required by the commercial director for the crime to direct responsibilities.

Responsibility

In the process of fulfilling his professional duties, the commercial director faces responsibility for:

failure to perform or incorrect performance of official duties assigned to the employee, exceeding professional authority, violation of labor discipline and refusal to comply with the duties listed in the employment contract and indicated in this instruction;
damage or loss of property that was transferred for use or reporting, improper use of working hours, ignoring the internal rules of the company, violating confidentiality conditions, non-compliance with safety regulations, creating unsanitary conditions at work, ignoring fire safety rules;
full financial responsibility in accordance with the concluded agreement on full financial responsibility for taking account of material assets.

Working conditions

The commercial director undertakes to follow the local regulations of the institution that regulate the conditions of his work.
If necessary, the commercial director may be sent on business trips.

Who is subordinate?

Implementing the general strategy of his enterprise, the commercial director, whose responsibilities are specified in the employment contract, coordinates and directs the work of several departments. Among them:

actually, the commercial department;
marketers;
sales managers;
purchase department;
logisticians.

The commercial director, whose job responsibilities require monitoring and directing the activities of these departments, provides them with relevant information for productive work. This top manager is also a kind of mentor for new employees.

Rights of a commercial director

The advantage of the deputy first manager is his right to represent the interests of the company at meetings with clients and negotiate. The top manager of this position has the right to demand and receive from ordinary employees and heads of related departments information and documents related to the commercial activities of the company. The commercial director has the privilege to take part in the preparation and drafting of instructions and orders, contracts and estimates aimed at generating income for the enterprise. When issuing orders, the commercial director is competent to endorse and sign company documents related to trade issues.

By checking the activities of his own department, he, as a manager, has the opportunity to stimulate and punish his subordinates in order to increase the efficiency of their activities, developing and applying various motivation systems.

A person in this position has the right to make proposals to the general director to bring managers and employees of related departments to disciplinary and financial liability (based on the results of inspections).

What are the job responsibilities of a commercial director?

It’s best to start with the main part, for which the job description of a commercial director is usually drawn up - with a description of responsibilities. When determining them, one must proceed from the role that this employee plays in the structure of the enterprise. After all, a commercial director can be:

In fact, just the head of the sales department. In this case, he is entrusted with the responsibilities of ensuring sales of the products produced by the company, searching for new markets and working with clients.
Head of departments involved in both sales and marketing of the enterprise. For such a situation, sales responsibilities are supplemented by those related to the production and placement of advertising, creating brands for the company, leading market research, etc.
The head of not only the sales and marketing departments, but also the purchasing unit. With this role of the commercial director, he is also responsible for managing the logistics processes in which the company participates and working with suppliers.
Finally, the commercial director can be directly the first deputy general director. In this case, he is actually assigned responsibilities for the complete management of the enterprise. Moreover, if the general director is absent from the workplace (on vacation, on a business trip, etc.), the commercial director in this case performs his duties in full. This role is more typical for the executive director, however, in companies where the emphasis is on commercial activities, the first deputy and second person in the organization may be the commercial director.

Regardless of what the role of a commercial director is in a particular company, there are general responsibilities that are typical for any such position. These primarily include:

Personnel management. One of the main tasks of a commercial director is to create an effective team of specialists capable of solving the problems facing the company. It is he who must exercise leadership and influence the personnel of those departments that directly carry out the commercial activities of the enterprise.
Management of the commercial activities of the enterprise (at least sales). At the same time, no one, as a rule, requires a commercial director to personally communicate with every client or customer and conclude every transaction, but he is obliged to set general guidelines and directions for commercial activity.
Monitoring financial and economic indicators achieved by the company. The overall success of the enterprise depends on how effectively financial resources are used. Therefore, the commercial director should at least be aware.
Participation in the development of the enterprise budget and monitoring its implementation.

This list is far from complete; in each specific company, the commercial director may be assigned other responsibilities.

Top priority tasks

A necessary part of the work of a commercial director is to improve staffing through employee training. He organizes and sometimes conducts lectures and training events himself, and explains the strategy and mission of the enterprise.

In a company specializing in trade, he negotiates with partners who supply products.

Since without advertising “only a mint can make money,” the commercial director needs to organize the right marketing policy, devoting a sufficient amount of time to this area.

One of the primary tasks of a commercial director is to carry out measures to reduce the costs of the enterprise. This need arises after the company achieves a high level of profit indicators.

Introduction

In order to understand what a typical manager is like, I recommend reading my articles “Who is a fitness club director” and “How to become a fitness club director.” From them you can find out what qualities a person applying for the position of director must have, as well as what career path he must take to get to this position. Depending on the structure of the company, there may be several such positions, and one of them is the position of commercial director. Since our task is to become familiar with his profession, the best we can do is to take a document such as the job description of a commercial director and study it for the duties, rights and responsibilities of this specialist.

Which companies do not need the position of commercial director?

Large enterprises that are practically monopolists in their field can easily do without this personnel position. Their services or goods do not require advertising or promotion due to their specificity. The commercial director, whose responsibilities are to globally promote the company’s brand in a competitive market, is completely unnecessary in this case.

For a small enterprise, ordinary sales managers may well be enough. This applies to both production and companies engaged exclusively in trading operations.

Where to find an effective and efficient employee?

Unfortunately, commercial managers are not trained in educational institutions. Moreover, education is not the main factor and indicator of high professionalism. The main thing is not having a diploma, but having the necessary qualities, skills and competencies. In addition to professional knowledge of computer programs, the applicant for the position must have experience in promoting various products, know the psychology of buyers, and understand the structure and specifics of the sales mechanism.

Sometimes a specialist who comes from the ranks of ordinary managers can bring more benefit to the company than an employee hired from outside. The main thing is that the candidate has management skills and shows results in increasing profits. After all, a commercial director is not a performer, but an organizer and leader.

How to find a job

To determine the quality of work of the commercial director and the conscientiousness of the performance of duties, inspections are periodically carried out. The following persons or bodies may be involved in this:

daily control is carried out directly by the general director of the organization, who interacts quite closely with the commercial director on almost all issues related to management;
At least once every two years, a special certification commission checks all documentation, as well as the results of the commercial director’s activities.

In both the first and second cases, the work of this specialist is assessed according to certain indicators: the quality of task completion, as well as the completeness and accuracy of reporting.

Of course, for many applicants a position such as commercial director is quite desirable. Vacancies in this area are constantly available, as companies strive to find the most professional and valuable employees. But not everyone will be accepted for such a position.

A prerequisite for employment will be a higher education in economics or marketing. In addition, the cumulative experience in management positions must be at least 5 years. Thus, if you have just graduated from university or have no previous management experience, then you are unlikely to be able to immediately become a commercial director.

If you want to get into a prestigious organization that provides decent wages and working conditions, then you should not look for vacancies on the Internet or in newspapers. The best option is to send your resume directly to the companies where you would like to work.

We suggest you read: Where to start registering a house

In 80% of cases, large organizations prefer to appoint their own employees who have sufficient work experience and are well familiar with the structure and specifics of the enterprise to the position of commercial director. Therefore, if you do not immediately manage to get a high position, this is not a reason to give up.

An interesting fact is that a number of enterprises do not see the need for a commercial director. We are talking mainly about monopolistic organizations for which selling products does not pose a particular problem. Also, this position is not necessary when the responsibilities for organizing supplies and sales are already distributed among individuals or departments.

Each area of activity forms the specifics of the work of a commercial director.

know the rules for acceptance, storage and certification of products;
navigate the market for specialized products and the competitive environment;
be able to apply basic methods of analysis and trade forecasting (SWOT, margin analysis and other techniques);
understand the specifics of organizing product sales.

The responsibilities of a commercial director working in the catering industry are a little broader: this is the organization of the full cycle of work, from equipping catering establishments to selling finished products; ability to calculate the opening of new facilities and expansion of sales channels for products and services.

have a good understanding of construction and engineering services;
understand the principles of development of the construction market, be able to analyze its current state;
understand the specifics of preparing documentation for participation in competitions and tenders, as well as for concluding contracts.

know the basics of production technology and certification of goods;
possess information about production capacities and economics of production.