Head of Key Account Management Industry
PETIT LANCY, SWITZERLAND, CH, 12 – 1213
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Thanks to a unique combination of being family-owned, with a long-term horizon, best-in-class leadership, an engaged workforce and demanding corporate governance, Sonepar has built an undisputed leadership position in business-to-business electrical product distribution, systems and services.
This strategy has delivered consistent above market growth rates of 8-9 % CAGR, creating opportunities for associates, suppliers and customers to grow. What keeps us number one is our people. We are enriched by the skills and competencies of our associates. We are the place where you can thrive.
Sonepar has reached 26,4 b € sales in 2021, operating in more than 40 countries on five continents and employing 45.000 associates. Sonepar is the global leader at the heart of a € 350 billion market which, due to the growing electrification, fast-changing product technologies, and the need for new services, has considerable further potential.
Sonepar serves 3 main markets : the Building Industry (67%), Industrial (23 %) and Utilities (10 %)
We are “Powered by Difference”. We are in the middle of our digital transformation. We’re playing a key role in the energy transition. With no compromises on ethics and compliance
People are essential to our business. We champion difference and diversity. Over-the-counter, online and face-to-face, we value relationships with customers, suppliers and every one of our Sonepar associates. Today, Sonepar is the world number one in sales of energy-efficient products, a leading pioneer of energy transition, making sustainability a priority.
It is our ambition to accelerate our shareholder value creation through a sustained growth of up to 10 % which would make Sonepar a 50 B€ business in the next decade. The Industry division is a key pillar of growth with the aim to develop further our Industrial Customer base by offering complete portfolio, proposing sustainable solutions and delivering the best services.
JOB purpose
The Head of Key Account Management Industry leads and oversees activities of the entire key account management department. He expands and maintains relationships with strategically important and large consumers. Assigned to the highest-value key consumers, the Head of Key Account Management is responsible for the coordination of the assigned strategic account targets.
The Head of Key Account Management represents the whole spectrum of the business’s products and services to the assigned consumers. He also leads key account planning and ensures that all assigned consumer accounts within the department are catered for and that their needs and expectations are met by the business.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership/Supervisory Role: The Head of Key Account Management leads the department through the implementation of a consumer based mode of operation, deals in the achievement of excellence and insight in order to surpass consumer expectations, proactively leads the business’s strategic account planning processes and develops performance objectives, sales targets, and critical milestones for weekly/monthly/annual periods.
The Head of Key Account Management:
- leads the department in assessing, clarifying, and validating stakeholders needs on a regular basis
- develops solutions that best address customer needs while simultaneously coordinating the involvement of the necessary business personnel inclusive of support, service, and resource management in order to meet key account performance objectives and the consumers’ expectations
- is accountable for the achievement of the department’s assigned targets for profitable sales volume and achievement of the business’s overall objectives
- formulates the departmental vision and values and oversees their adoption through the department, hence, forming the department’s working culture.
- in his leadership position, the Head of Key Account Management plays a mentorship role to key personnel in the account management department, assisting in the execution of duties where necessary, constantly honing their skills, ensuring their constant professional improvement.
Strategy: The Head of Key Account Management is also tasked with playing the lead strategic role in the account management department.
- in this capacity, He/She drives and develops account specific growth strategies and approaches
- strives to establish industry leading initiatives that influence the position of the business in the industry, solidifying its position as a market leader. Here, also establishes revenue goals and strategies that advance the accounts’ performance and enables the achievement of the department’s as well as the business’s financial goals.
Relationship Management: The Head of Key Account Management is also tasked with building strong and long-lasting relationships with consumers through the creation of long-term planning and understanding. This also done through the establishment of a solid understanding of the competitive market to realize how best to acquire and retain high-value consumers.
- also develops industry leading relationships with external key account contacts to ensure that the business receives constant leads on potential key clients.
- develops and maintains healthy relationships with senior managers for all key accounts to guarantee their smooth execution.
- in this position, he engages in key account events, seminars, and plays an active role in industry movements where he gathers information that keeps the business at par or even ahead of competition and up to date with the latest best practices in account management.
Collaboration: The role of the Head of Key Account Management is also a highly collaborative one, where he works to create cross-functional engagements and understandings with necessary departments, for example, the marketing departments to align goals and approaches that facilitate smooth achievement of key account objectives. In this position, He/She also works with the finance department in determining financial requirements for the department and developing the department’s internal budgetary allocation.
Analytics: The Head of Account Management plays an analytical role where he conducts research and gathers data on the consumers, the market, and competitive environment in order to identify key improvement areas in account maintenance and management. The Head of Key Account Management is tasked with developing and implementing consumer growth plans, measurement, performance benchmarking, troubleshooting performance gaps, formulating and nurturing outstanding initiatives.
- gathers data and information both from his own initiatives and from other Key Account Manager compiling it, analyzing it, and creating formal reports and presentations that will be used collaboratively with senior management in the formulation of decisions and strategies.
- measures the department’s performance, weighing it against the business’s targets and KPIs, which also enables the identification of areas of improvement and avails crucial information for strategic development of the business.
Other Duties: The Head of Key Account Management also handles other such duties as he may deem fit in the execution of his duties or duties as assigned by the Vice President Industry or other Top Executives
PROFILE, skills & experience
Education: The Head of Key Account Management must have a master’s degree in Sales, Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, Business Management, Business Administration, Communications, or any other related field. An equivalent of the same in working experience is also acceptable for this position.
Experience: A candidate for this position must have a minimum of 7 years in working experience working in key account management position within a fast-paced and highly competitive business environment. A suitable candidate will have a successful track record in meeting and sales targets.
The candidate will also have a proven and successful track record in establishing strong and long-term consumer relationships, being able to retain the highest-value relationships. A suitable candidate will also have an ability to lead, develop, and motivate a team of account managers, leading them to the achievement or even surpassing of goals/targets.
Communication Skills: Communication skills are a paramount requirement of this position. The Head of Key Account Management interacts directly with consumers and, as such, he must be capable of maintaining clear, unambiguous, exhaustive, and fulfilling communications with the consumers leaving them feeling satisfied and tended to.
The Head of Key Account Management will also create reports and presentations for senior sales management, junior Key Account Manager, clients, collaborating personnel and key stakeholders.
Ms Office: The Head of Key Account Management must demonstrate high proficiency in Ms Word, PowerPoint, and Ms Excel, which are necessary for the creation of visually and verbally engaging reports and presentations for the senior sales management, clients, key stake holders etc.
Analytical Skill: The Head of Key Account Management must have an ability to demonstrate an understanding of standard sales analyses and an ability to extract useful insights from raw data and information for the purpose of strategy creation, furthering key account agendas and enabling the achievement of goals and targets.
Interpersonal Skills: The Head of Key Account Management must be customer-oriented, be result-focused, demonstrate integrity and respect in the performance of his duties, be self-motivated going beyond the call of duty, have an ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines, have exceptional organizational skills and demonstrate calmness in uncertain and stressful situations inspiring the same in his team.
People/Leadership Skills: The candidate for this position must be a committed and highly collaborative individual who values the input of colleagues and involves others in important decision making. He must demonstrate and ability to lead with a vision establishing a healthy working culture in his team. The candidate will be likeable and approachable making it easy for junior and collaborative personnel to follow him and enabling him to earn the trust of clients and senior sales personnel
Language: Fluent in English, preferably also fluent in French, a third language is a plus.
Key interdependencies:
- Senior VP of Sonepar International Services
- VP Industry
- Country KAM Industry
- Vendors – Key account management mostly
- SIS Team
- Digital – Datalake, Vendor Portal, Digital Factory.
- Global and Countries executives in general.
- External agencies
We are interested in knowing you more. Start an exciting new career and enjoy many employee benefits by applying online. Sonepar is thankful for your interest in joining the team, only individuals selected for interview will be contacted.
More information on Sonepar:
Website: www.sonepar.com
Twitter: @sonepar
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sonepar/
Check out Sonepar on Facebook!
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