Job Openings at Bayer

Role Purpose:

• We are seeking a dynamic, and results oriented First Line Sales Manager to lead a team of Customer Engagement Specialists.
• This role requires a strong, values-driven leader who can inspire high performance, develop capabilities, and drive commercial excellence.
• The successful candidate will embody Bayer’s leadership principles (VACC – Visionary, Architect, Catalyst, Coach) while ensuring alignment with the company’s values, ethics, and customer-focused mission.
• Inland region: Gauteng, (Pretoria, Johannesburg), Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North-West, Free state

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

Leadership & Team Development:

• Demonstrate VACC leadership by adapting leadership behaviors to meet team needs while cultivating a high-performance and psychological safe environment that values trust, agility and results.
• Coach the team to collaboratively define their mission, goals, and success metrics, ensuring these are closely aligned with their individual sales plans and the Customer Excellence KPIs. This approach fosters a sense of ownership and relevance, drawing from field insights.
• Foster a culture of empowerment, collaboration and continuous learning, enabling each team members to grow through shared experiences and best practices.
• Champion a growth and creative mindset encouraging team members to consciously own their business, innovate in their approach, and actively contribute to the goals of their Customer and Product teams.
• Actively participate in the recruitment and selection of Customer Engagement Specialists ensuring alignment with Bayer’s values, competencies and long-term capability needs to uphold Bayer’s standards.

Coaching & Performance Management:

• Mentor and coach individual team members through regular field visits, double calls, and formal In Call Quality (ICQ) assessments.
• Identify and address performance gaps using structured feedback and coaching processes.
• Utilize Veeva CRM and digital tools to track performance, support coaching, and ensure continuous improvement.
• Implement the online performance management system to set, track, and review individual goals.

Sales & Strategic Execution:

• Enable profitable sales delivery through the regional team by equipping them with commercial excellence tools such as PFI-CE, emotive selling, and deep product knowledge, empowering them to deliver on the ambitions of the Customer and Product teams.
• Contribute strategic insights to territory planning, customer targeting, promotional strategies, and ensuring alignment with market dynamics and the overarching goals of Sales Excellence.
• Embed Sales Excellence by coaching team members to meet and exceed defined KPIs and behaviours, with a focus on continuous performance improvement and excellence in customer engagement.
• Support digital transformation by enabling the team to enhance and apply digital capabilities to strengthen engagement with healthcare professional (HCPs) driving a hybrid and future ready customer interaction model.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration encouraging team members to take active accountable roles in Customer and Product teams to support seamless execution of strategic initiatives and shared outcomes.

Compliance & Operational Oversight:

• Ensure all sales activities comply with the South African Marketing Code of Practice, IFPMA guidelines, and Bayer compliance standards.
• Manage sales administration, reporting processes, and continuously seek opportunities to optimize systems and operations.

Key Working Relations: 

Internal

• Pharma CDH
• Pharma Chapter Heads
• Sales Chapter Peers – FLSMs, Customer
• Engagement Specialists, Key customer Specialists and Business Support assistant for Sales
• Marketing & Sales Operations
• Brand Leads, Content creators
• Market Access colleagues
• Medical Affairs colleagues
• Financial Controller

External

• Identified Thought Leaders
• Healthcare Professionals (Targeted customers)
• Practice Staff
• Other Healthcare Stakeholders
• Public Sector stakeholders
• Wholesalers Stakeholders
• Corporate and non-Corporate Pharmacy chains in region

Experience, Skills and Qualifications

• University degree E.G. BCom Business Management
• A minimum of 3 years as sales manager in the pharmaceutical industry or 5 years as a customer engagement specialist in the company
• Strong communication skills
• Proven track record of success and ability to cooperate with different stakeholders
• Strong ability to coach customer engagement specialist to higher performance
• Demonstrate accurate forecast for future sales volumes

Job Requirements

• Proven leadership experience in a sales or customer-facing environment, preferably in the pharmaceutical or healthcare sector.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and digital CRM platforms (e.g., Veeva CRM). Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret complex data to support decision-making.

Personal attributes (Behaviors):

• Customer- and results-oriented with a passion for excellence.
• Team player with the ability to work independently and show initiative.
• High emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills. Resilient and able to lead under pressure.
• Demonstrates learning agility and an agile mindset.
• Strong leadership presence and ability to influence others positively.

Values & Culture:

• Demonstrates values and beliefs aligned with Bayer’s DSO principles and VACC leadership principles.

DSO Principles:

• Focus on a mission to deliver outcomes for all, Customer, Product and Company
• Collaboration and teamwork Co-creation – create new value for customers Evolution –
• Executing, exploring and learning in rapid 90day cycles
• Authenticity – enabled by being your authentic self-functioning in a creative mindset

VACC Leadership:

• Visionary – guide teams in defining outcomes to deliver on our mission Health for All
• Architect – Create a value creating system to unleash the passion and energy of our people Catalysts thank remove roadblocks to facilitate connection and collaboration
• Coach – Help teams learn and build the capabilities needed to create value for customers and stakeholders
• Embodies integrity, respect, collaboration, and innovation in all interactions.
   

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Job Purpose:

• The Legal & Compliance Business Partner serves as a vital legal and compliance advisor to the Divisions and Enabling Functions, providing sound and credible guidance related to day-to-day operations.
• This role will provide expert advice and support to all levels of management across the relevant divisions and markets, supporting 15 different jurisdictions across Sub Saharan and North Africa.  
• The role supports markets/business functions with a total value of approximately 700 million EUR.
• This role reports directly to the Cluster Lead of LPC for the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Key Tasks and Reponsibilities:

• Provision of all aspects of legal support, including expert legal advice, local law analysis, risk assessment, strategic input and drafting, to all business divisions (PH, CH & ES) and platform functions across all SSA countries.
• Partnering with business stakeholders and LPC Cluster Head in identifying commercial and business risks and developing and implementing appropriate risk management and mitigation strategies to ensure minimal legal risk and smooth business activities.
• Prepare Legal Documentation, including drafting contractual amendments, termination notices, and necessary legal correspondence to facilitate smooth business operations.
• Managing Debt Collection Processes, including overseeing debt collection proceedings and providing strategic legal guidance to optimize recovery efforts.
• Ensuring Regulatory Compliance, including monitoring and ensuring adherence to Bayer LPC processes and internal regulations at the local level, maintaining high standards of compliance.
• Ensuring all relevant business divisions and functions are kept up to date on all applicable local laws and legal/political changes that may impact business operations.
• Provision of practical strategies, training and awareness sessions in respect of legal and internal policies issues to employees and management teams at all levels.
• Advising on, developing, implementing and ensuring continuous compliance with appropriate governance processes at a country and regional level.
• Active and key participant within business project teams, providing all required legal and compliance support, as well as strategic and commercial insights, at local and regional levels, across all business divisions and platform functional areas.
• Provision of specialized local review, analysis and advice in respect of all anti-trust matters.
• Active participant in external industry associations.
• Preparing submissions and lobbying relevant government ministries and departments regarding local legal and procedural changes that impact business.
• Provision of local law advice, guidance and local practical input to LPC shared service teams.
• Supporting anti-counterfeiting initiatives and contentious matters across all SSA countries, including liaising with global stakeholders and local external counsel.
• Responsibility for local Data Privacy processes, law and governance to actively help mitigate Data Privacy risks.
• Provision of local Data Privacy legal advice and practical input to LPC shared service teams.
• Investigating potential data privacy incidents, identifying applicable legal obligations, and supporting local incident response, internally and externally, with support from LPC shared services team.
• Developing and delivering Data Privacy training and Data Privacy internal communications with the goal of effectively and efficiently helping to mitigate Data
• Privacy risks across all local markets.
• Negotiating, drafting and reviewing local Data Privacy aspects of contracts, including collaborating with relevant LPC shared service team.
• Developing and updating Data Privacy templates (e.g., contract language, consents, and privacy policies) as business needs and Data Privacy laws and regulations change.
• Supervising and undertaking all corporate governance and company secretarial matters for Bayer legal entities in West and East Africa, as well as supporting on company secretarial matters for Southern Africa.
• Advising on and managing corporate matters such as corporate registrations, licenses renewal, directors’ appointment and removal, power of attorneys, ultimate beneficiary submissions
• Drive Compliance Initiatives: Assist in leading compliance efforts across SSA by supporting compliance activities, training, and compliance investigations.
• Support in ICM monitoring activities across SSA in coordination with Compliance Managers and LPC Cluster Lead MENAT & SSA.at every customer touchpoint.

Value added to success of the Company

• Safeguards Bayer from prosecution, fines, third party claims, damages and loss of reputation as a result of legal enforcement or cases of non-compliance.
• Integral partner to business, providing oversight, advice and guidance, across diverse and complex legal jurisdictions.
• Assures understanding, alignment and proper implementation of Bayer’s global policies, together with local regulations, codes and practice.

Work Relations

• Reports to LPC Cluster Head for Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Works closely with all levels of local management, including senior leaders within all business divisions and platform functions.
• Works closely with LPC colleagues in other end markets and in Regional and Global LPC specialist teams, as well as LPC shared service teams.
• Establishes and maintains external networks associated with the local legal environment and industry associations.
• Liaises with external legal and other consultancy firms.

Required Qualifications:

• Full law degree and practicing certificate.
• At least 7 years PQE working in private practice and in-house.
• Fluent in English language (written and spoken)
• Fluent in French language (written and spoken)
• Strong English language and French language legal drafting skills, preferably having completed additional external training/qualifications.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Fully computer literate – SAP, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Experience working across multiple jurisditions, preferably across Africa.
• Strong analytical skills to assess risk involvement, extent of legal liability, financial impact and long-term effects of own decisions on the business
• Team-oriented leadership skills honed through experience with senior management
• Professional image and ability to handle people and situations with tact, diplomacy, discretion, confidentiality and a sense of urgency