Key Account Manager

Essity is a leading global hygiene and health company which develops, produces and sells Health & Medical, Consumer Tissue and Professional Hygiene products and solutions and has a strong global presence.

There is an opportunity for a Key Account Manager to join our Sales team based in Johannesburg, South Africa reporting to the Sale Manager South Africa. The successful candidate will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with both existing and new business partners, to support sustainable growth within Southern Africa.

We're looking for people who embody our values, who aren't afraid to challenge, innovate, move at fast pace. Someone who is a self-leader, highly organized and collaborative working across functional teams with a passion for identifying opportunities and selling. We're always looking for ways to improve our products and ourselves. If this is you, we'd love to talk. 

• Develop, maintain and expand relationships with strategic business partners and major accounts, to promote brand awareness and secure profitable business;

• Provide ongoing support to high value clients as well as assisting in generating leads to assist customers reach their annual sales targets;

• Research market trends and innovation to identify new business opportunities within existing customer base as well as identify new potential clients and partnerships;

• Develop, implement and monitor customer specific sales processes and account plans that align with the company's yearly strategy to meet/exceed sales targets;

• Create and execute sales and sales related activities to assist in successfully achieving key business objectives and sales targets;

• Frequently analyze customer sales to discover and manage opportunities as well as any potential business risks;

• Recommend products and services (value propositions) that fit well to meet customer business needs;

• Negotiate customer and dispenser contracts, in line with our trading terms, product offerings and pricing strategies;

• Collaborate with marketing on additional support needed for customer omni-channel development/support as well as potential branding opportunities and customer events;

• Generate knowledge on market development/customer needs and competitor activities and distribute to internal stakeholders;

• Launch and implementation of new marketing concepts and campaigns to our customers;

• Product knowledge training to new distributor staff and end users;

• Conducts trials with large end customers and present to senior management post the trial;

• Re-evaluate customer prioritization of allocated customers on an annual basis and propose actions needed where necessary;

• Support the Sales Manager in executing the annual strategic plans;

• Responsible for your sales target, customer turnover and profit, as well as supporting the sales team meet the annual sales target, GP target and EBIT target;

• Assist, support and partake in customer events and trade shows.

• Must have metric, and University degree or Tertiary Qualification in Commercial or Business Administration;

• 3-5 years Key Account Manager experience in the same or similar role preferably within Hygiene industry;

• Commercial and business acumen with strong negotiation skills;

• Excellent communication skills at all levels, a collaborative team player, that works well in a team environment;

• Meticulous attention to detail with the ability to drive performance and processes forward;

• Must have a valid South African drivers license;

• Proficient in Microsoft Office and CRM.

Our purpose, Breaking Barriers to Well-being, provides meaning to everything we do. Working at Essity means a chance to improve well-being for people and opportunities to drive positive change for the society and the environment.

As an employee at Essity, you will belong to an organization where you feel valued and supported to grow, and challenged to generate business results in a collaborative and open atmosphere. Innovate for Good  |  Excel Together| Be You with Us

Johannesburg, South Africa