A maritime bunkering company with core business in Africa has an exciting vacancy for a Category Manager Paints & Anti-corrosion products focusing on the Africa market.
The successful incumbent will be our expert for paintings/anti-corrosion products with our customers and suppliers. You will be based in Cape Town, you will make frequent trips across Africa and work closely with our sales team located in our subsidiaries across Africa.
During your integration, you will benefit from a tailor-made path to become familiar with our activity, know-how and projects.
You will report to the General Manager of the Technical Business Unit
ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Expert Customer Liaison:
- Increase turnover and improve margins for paints and anti-corrosion products department
- Develop the portfolio of current customers and prospect new ones.
- Identify and develop new markets and product range niches
- Meet customers’ needs and offer suitable products while optimizing margins
- Monitor anti-corrosion business as a whole and report to the Business Unit manager
2. Expert Supplier Liaison:
- Develop confidence with suppliers to have the ranges that our customers need
- Implement a benchmark process with suppliers to check we have best-value-for-money ranges
- Support suppliers to improve the quality of their products and services
- Manage the contractual relationship with suppliers
3. Expert Sales team liaison
- Lead the sales teams based in our African subsidiaries.
- Provide the technical expertise they need.
- Support the teams for their sales prospects and customer relations.
- Set sales targets and support them to achieve expectations
ROLE REQUIREMENTS
- Reputable Technical expert on paints and anti-corrosion products and demonstratable record to drive negotiations with customers and suppliers.
- Minimum 5 years proven experience in their field of specialty.
Currently valid FROSIO/NACE AMPP certificate would be an advantage.
- Proven successful professional experiences in sub-Saharan African countries
- Entrepreneurial-minded and enjoy exploring new territories.
- Experience in managing cross-functional teams and working with teams located in different locations and countries
- Result-oriented, agile and reactive and deliver innovative solutions
- Excellent communication skills (spoken & written)
- Capacity to develop confidence and trust with your clients.
- Empathic, good listener and ability to understand customers’ expectations
- Analytical and synthesis skills
- Able to work with a great autonomy
- Fully computer literate. (MS Office including Excel, Power BI) with working exposure to CRM
- Exposure to the oil & gas and /or ship Chandling industry would be an advantage.
- You are fluent in English. French. Portuguese or Italian would be a distinct advantage
