Head of Commercial

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:

The Head of Commercial Africa is responsible for driving commercial strategy, revenue growth, market expansion, and profitability. The role leads sales, pricing, bids, partnerships, and commercial operations. This is a highly strategic and execution-heavy executive role requiring strong multi-country African experience and the ability to lead complex solution selling, driving business value by developing and implementing new and reviewed operational strategies as well as to ensure that acceptable customer service standards are met. The suitable candidate must possess the ability to build and maintain external stakeholder relations and to increase the various solution lines visibility to enhance new and existing business opportunities and engage all the way to C-suite level.

What you'll do:

• Commercial Strategy & Execution
  
  • Deliver annual revenue, margin, pipeline, and cash targets
  • Able to structure complex, multi-solution commercial deals
  • Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual reports and forecasts
  • Managing financial performance and risk
  • Responsible for P&L
• Sales Leadership
  • Drive enterprise, industrial, and public sector sales
  • Lead major deal pursuits and key account strategies
  • Develop and execute integrated sales, relationship, and portfolio growth strategies that are aligned with the business plan to achieve targets and other agreed objectives
• Portfolio Integration
  • Develop cross-portfolio solution offerings (software + connectivity + energy)
  • Shape value propositions for each vertical
• Pricing, Bids & Governance and Risk
  • Commercial modelling, discount policies, tender governance
  • Chair deal review processes and ensure compliance
  • Demonstrate understanding of compliance in African markets
• Partnerships & Ecosystem
  • Grow OEM, SI, EPC, and channel partner ecosystems
  • Identify, establish and maintain key stakeholder relationships within the targeted industry segments to create opportunities for growth
  • Co-sell and co-market with global and regional partners
  • Engage with key partners and stakeholders - own strategic relationships
  • Ensure there is effectiveness of collaboration with internal stakeholders to ensure that business needs are being met
  • Build synergy across the various clusters
  • Ensure the visibility of the various solutions by implementing marketing activities and brand building activities
• Process Improvements Organisational effectiveness
  • Ensure there is ongoing evaluation of operations, with input provided as potential areas of improvement are identified to improve the efficiency of recommended improvements to systems and processes to meet defined professional standards
  • Ensure improvement for core processes
• People Leadership
  • Lead a multi-country commercial organisation
  • Build succession, capability, and a culture of high performance and output of teams
  • Coaching mindset
  • Ongoing support and advice to management teams

Your Expertise:

• 10+ years in senior commercial leadership in Africa
• 5+ years proven leadership and management skills, with the ability to motivate and inspire a team.
• Managed portfolio revenues across software + hardware + integrated solutions
• Led multi-country teams and enterprise/public sector sales
• Hands-on experience with pricing, bids, deal governance, contracts, and partner channels
• Strong executive-level negotiation and relationship-building capability
• Strong executive presence and cross-cultural engagement skills
• Ability to drive strategic alliances, OEM partnerships, SI relationships
• Preferable experience in the below sectors with industry and technical understanding:
  • Industrial software / automation / OT-IT platforms
  • Connectivity / RF / IoT / industrial networks
  • Energy infrastructure / power systems / engineering EPC
  • Digital transformation + engineered solutions
  • Industrial technology vendors, OEMs, or regional integrators
• Availability to travel as needed
• Experience partnering closely with senior level stakeholders at large enterprises/ organizations

Qualifications:

• Degree or Diploma in Engineering, Business, or equivalent qualification
• Post Graduate Diploma/Degree (MBA advantageous)
• Executive Leadership Development (advantageous)

Success Metrics:

• Commercial Outcomes
  
  • Gross margin management; disciplined discounting
  • Strong pipeline coverage (3–4×) and forecast accuracy
• Market Impact
  • Growth in target verticals (mining, manufacturing, energy, utilities, logistics, public sector)
  • Expansion of strategic accounts and wallet share
• Commercial Excellence
  • Improved win rates (especially multi-product deals)
  • High-quality, compliant bids and tenders
  • Cross-sell and integration of product lines
• People & Culture
  • Strengthened sales capability across all three product portfolios
  • Low regretted attrition; strong succession pipeline

Skills:

• Outstanding relationship building, gravitas, executive presence, and presentation skills to establish and maintain strong partner rapport and ongoing relationships
• Data driven mindset combined with strong analytical skills and strategic acumen to fully understand strategic objectives and how to achieve them.
• Strategic Thinking
• Market Insight
• Leadership
• Sound professional and commercial judgement
• Cross functional collaboration
• Stakeholder management
• Customer service orientation
• Strong communication and Interpersonal skills
• Microsoft Office