Senior Manager Sales & Distribution - Africa at Caterpillar Inc.

Role Definition:

• Leads a cross-functional commercial team responsible to delivering the business plan and distribution strategy for the SEM brand in Africa. This role and the team reporting to it are accountable for business performance including revenue growth, PINS (percent of industry new sales), customer satisfaction, distribution strategy execution and dealer administration.
• Partners with stakeholders to improve dealer and channel performance, enhance the customer experience, and drive sustainable, profitable growth in line with SEM’s strategic priorities.

What You Will Do:

• Deliver business plan for prime product sales and PINS targets for the SEM brand
• Deliver business plan for aftermarket parts sales for the SEM brand
• Execute SEM distribution strategy and optimize dealer effectiveness
• Drive SEM brand growth by expanding sales opportunities and leading customer experience improvements through structured insights and relationship management.
• Collaborate with and influence cross-functional teams to ensure aligned execution of commercial, operational, and customer strategies.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team, building organizational capability and succession pipeline to support long-term growth.
• Create a high-performance culture with strong governance focus on capability development

What You Have (Basic Skills Required):

• Customer Focus: Knowledge of the values and practices that align customer needs and satisfaction as primary considerations in all business decisions and ability to leverage that information in creating customized customer solutions.
• Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyse situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
• Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviours.
• Industry Knowledge: Knowledge of the organization's industry group, trends, directions, major issues, regulatory considerations, and trendsetters; ability to apply industry knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
• Negotiating: Knowledge of successful negotiation concepts and techniques; ability to negotiate successfully across the organization and with external vendors and clients in a constructive and collaborative manner.
• Relationship Management: Knowledge of relationship management techniques; ability to establish and maintain healthy working relationships with clients, vendors, and peers.
• Business Development: Knowledge of business development tools, techniques and approaches; ability to explore and develop potential areas of business growth for the organization.
• Value Selling: Knowledge of the principles and practices for selling products, technology and services; ability to provide overall product/service 'value' and to differentiate support offerings that address clearly understood customer needs.

What will put you forward:

• Bachelor’s degree (MBA preferred) with 10–15+ years’ commercial leadership experience in heavy equipment/industrial sectors.
• Proven success driving revenue growth, profitability, PINS, and customer reach across Africa or other emerging economies.
• Strong experience managing dealer/distributor networks and executing distribution strategies.
• Demonstrated leadership of cross-functional, multi-country teams with a focus on talent development and high performance.
• Deep understanding of African territories, customer needs, and industry dynamics.
• Advanced skills in business planning, negotiation, relationship management, and value selling.