Vacancy: Country Manager West and Central Africa at GEA Group

GEA is one of the largest suppliers for the food and beverage processing industry and a wide range of other process industries. Approximately 18,000 employees in more than 50 countries contribute significantly to GEA’s success – come and join them!

Country Manager West and Central Africa

Job Type: Full Time
Qualification: MBA/MSc/MA
Experience: 10 years
Location: Lagos
Job Field: Engineering / Technical

Responsibilities / Tasks

Lead, manage and develop the country organization
Point of contact for divisions and/or business units that have not yet gained a foothold in the respective markets
Handle site-related issues and maintain good relations with public authorities
Support the development and implementation of a group-wide division strategy and enrich these with local insights from customers, markets and local knowledge. Ensure implementation of these plans to drive the business results of GEA
Responsible for the sales & service activities in the country. Coordinate customers to ensure maximum synergies for GEA are achieved in cross selling
Lead the country management and sales team and build a state-of-the art country sales and service organization.
Detail the country/sales strategy in alignment with the regional strategy, perform budgeting and execute sales & service activities in the country
Develop the country set-up according to a pre-defined archetype model, help designing the go-to-market strategy and ensure a OneGEA approach to all customers within the country
Conduct national market analyses, develop the country market and identify new growth opportunities, incl. expansion of applications
Identify national key accounts to maximize volume and cross-selling of GEA portfolio and negotiating larger key contracts
Ensure compliance with corporate policies and local laws
Build and sustain excellent relationships with customers in a wide spectrum of industries and liaise with various stakeholders to maximize market access

Your Profile / Qualifications

Master’s degree in Engineering or Business Management and / or technical discipline
MBA strongly preferred
Internationally experienced expert in sales and service and general management with a special focus on country sales
Minimum of 10 years relevant work experience
Advanced understanding in business development and experience in managing complex Change Processes
Strong track record in steering an international and a country sales & service organization with a focus on adding sales growth
Familiarity of working in a manufacturing and engineering company with experience of selling not only complex products but also associated value added services
Strong sales acumen and the successful application of best practices in regional business development
Preferably experience with and knowledge about legal procedure for restructuring processes of a specific country and sound knowledge of legal requirements pertaining to labor law, Health & Safety legislation and Commercial regulations
English, local language and preferably further languages
Analytical abilities, problem-solving skills and ability to think strategically
Excellent communication and public speaking skills
An entrepreneurial mindset with outstanding organizational and leadership skills
Entrepreneurial skills (general manager orientation with a clear drive to strong customer orientation and understanding)
Leadership competencies (ability to lead & develop internationally and/or culturally diverse teams, strong top line and target orientation with a strong people orientation
Intercultural experience & skills
Interpersonal skills (power of persuasion, conviction and well-argued reasoning, proven to maintain & build up relationships and networks with relevant decision makers and stakeholders, strong communicator on all levels of the organization)