Regional Manager (East Africa) Job Vacancy

Job Title: Regional Manager Oregon®    

Our client is listed on the NYSE, designs, manufactures and markets replacement parts and equipment for consumers and professionals in the forestry, lawn, garden farm and concrete cutting markets under various brand names Oregon®, Carlton®, ICS®… The global turnover is close to $ one billion. 

Mission:

To assist the Regional Manager selling the complete OREGON® product line to distributors active in a two-step distribution system (Distributors & Dealers) for an assigned geographic area to meet and exceed annual sales & profit targets.
 

To generate, enforce and manage long-term empowering commercial partnerships with each distributor aiming at developing sales and fine tuning their market strategies.                     

Key Areas of Responsibility:

• Achieving sales targets and business goals, implementing and monitoring sales volume & revenues, against forecasts. 

Identifying problems and providing solutions: 

• Suggest procedures to re-allocate resources to improve  the overall performance of the sales team: engage and recommend termination of distributors; optimize the coordination & management of customer feedback, recommend credit and credit evaluation;
• Review inventory movement by customer, assist with optimization inventory turnover and acceptable margins for customers.

Wherever appropriate, improving distributors performances and/or recommend alternative business strategies:

• Supporting, monitoring and accompanying each distributor on a permanent basis (visits, meetings, fairs, developing sales plans, activities and campaigns, etc);
• Contributing to creating sales support means (features and benefits, competitive product comparisons, sales training material,) in joint effort with the marketing team;
• Focussing on providing sales as well as product market intelligence and business minded values to your distributor’s sales forces in each country.
• Understand market needs and trends and do appropriate recommendations (« old-fashion » model vs e-Commerce online selling…)
• Acting as “product management” coach and business/sales mentor in order to provide proactive help and support in reaching sales objectives and competitive leadership;
• Identifying and reporting potential counterfeit products sold in its area.
• Coaching/training sales representatives on technical aspects, marketing campaigns, sales promotions, sales techniques, procedures and standards; and, coordinate the “product trainings” (sales training product oriented) together with the technical service team.

Benchmarking Customer’s force in their market:

• Identifying specific and general needs of customer base (Dealers & major accounts / country); analyse their evolution and trends and collect all pertinent information enabling better targeting of Blount Europe products and commercial policies.
• Maintaining an appropriate information system on all distributors and industry related activities affecting the assigned area.
• Providing market & product intelligence as well as commercial support
• Assisting the Distributor in reinforcing the existing network in those territories where Blount Europe is already active and expand it in order to increase market share. Seek potential new dealers where appropriate and develop activities based on priorities and sales potentials.
• Ranking & analysing the competitors’ outline in each territory, sort Blount Europe products’ position inside each dealer’s product portfolio; as well as the overall settings of dealers and competitors’ dealers in each country in territory.

Managing & Reporting business performance to Management regarding the existing & potential distribution channels

• Maintaining/farming major countries, develop countries with low performing distributors;
• Recommending new sales and/or marketing opportunities to Marketing Management Data gathering, analysing and publishing regular periodic sales report about territory and proposing, recommending action to the management;
• Contributing to the organization of dealers meetings.

Education & Experience:

• Ideally, university degree (Technical or Business)  or equivalent gained by experience
• Proven successful several years experience in a “B2B” Commercial / Field Sales or Field Marketing position – in an equivalent or similar market environment is needed.
• Preference will be given to candidates demonstrating “hands-on” Sales & Business Development experience directly in East African Countries; dealing with Importers/Distributors & Dealers Network; covering product range such as (per example): Equipment’s, Tools, Accessories, Services & Spare Parts from (semi-)professional sectors such as : Forestry, Garden, Agriculture, Machinery, Construction, Mining, etc…
• Experience of selling a branded product in a competitive environment required.
• Practical experience or high potential of Business Acumens.
• The candidate should be ready to extensively travel essentially throughout Europe and Africa- +/- 50% of time.

Languages & IT Skills:

• English and Swahili as a working language, any other language as a benefit.
• Standard skills: Office suite.

Behaviour & Competencies:

• Familiar with overall market vision when dealing with Sales & Business matters (“Global solution” sales person.)
• Multicultural born flexibility, able to adapt her/himself in new countries and various business contexts. Autonomous, able to work independently (remotely).
• Able to understand markets needs and trends and to anticipate markets changes.
• Demonstrating excellent communication skills with all stakeholders; including real listening skills ability and corporate reporting.
• Assertive, proactive and driven by initiative – including valuing quality feedback and regular reporting to appropriate stakeholder.
• Team player, favouring company culture as well as multicultural flexibility.
• Business integrity with strong initiative skills and ability to challenge at all levels.
• Demonstrated skills in continuous learning, flexibility, customer focus, quality commitment.

To apply, send your application to jobs@jantakenya.com with the subject line – Regional Manager East Africa – Oregon, attaching your CV by 15th December 2013. 

We will only contact shortlisted candidates.