Sales – Zone Manager SSA needed at Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa

Responsibilities / Accountabilities

• Ensure orders are placed based on distributor commitment including credit coverage – orders vs. allocation / pre-configured, vehicle (PCV) requirements.
• Coordinate with supply and distribution departments to align wholesale requirements through a monthly review process
• Facilitate and support the annual planning process for retail and fleet sales
• Main point of contact for all retail and fleet activities
• Build long-term strategic enhancements to current processes with distributor partners, establishing strategic tie-ups with key business partners, growing conquest business across key retail segments and the development of go-to-market approach.
• Maintain healthy and profitable sales penetration in-line with distributor’s business plan target
• Monitor distributors CVP scores and ensure having the right action plan in place.
• Monitor Retail/fleet/CV pipeline and forecast on monthly, quarterly and yearly basis
• Provide up to date market intelligence about competitor activities, competitor sales
  activities and market opportunities
• Develop and ensure comprehensive understanding of Retail/fleet/CV customers purchasing behavior and trade management cycle for each market.
• Execute plans/programs (variable and fixed marketing, etc.) to achieve or exceed budgeted vehicle sales and market share for the assigned markets and maximize profits
• Execute vehicle and project launch plans based on defined deliverables in cooperation with the distributor.
• Develop and execute local retail-dedicated events and marketing actions.
• Ensure assigned distributors deliver on monthly sales commitments in line with annual sales objective (ASO)
• Ensure that the assigned distributors are reporting sales on a daily basis.
• Cascade updates on product/technical changes along with any developments

PERFORMANCE MEASURES/ SUCCESS CRITERIA

• Sales volume and mix
• Market Share
• Wholesales volumes
• Profitability by market

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and ABILITIES (KSA)

• Fluency in English 
• Presentation skills – written and verbal; able to walk people of various levels of an organization through complex data utilizing efficient and effective methods, as determined most appropriate for the audience and contents (i.e., Excel tables vs graphs vs PowerPoint decks)
• Relationship building – able to read and connect with key business partners (internal and external) and establish collaborative partnerships
• Strong business analytical acumen: able to read, interpret, and action data into business plans that provide a compelling case for change

 QUALIFICATIONS and EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s in business from a reputable university. MBA is an added advantage
• Automotive industry experience
• Business plan development and implementation experience
• Retail automotive experience is a plus