Country Manager Zamibia

Job Purpose

The Country Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, management, and profitability of the Zambia operation. The incumbent will develop and execute the country's strategic business plan while ensuring operational excellence across sales, aftermarket support, procurement, technical services, finance, compliance, and people management.

The role is accountable for growing market share, strengthening customer relationships within the mining industry, ensuring exceptional customer service, maintaining profitability, and delivering sustainable business growth while representing the company professionally throughout Zambia.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership

• Develop and implement the Zambia business strategy aligned with the company's overall objectives.
• Identify growth opportunities within Zambia and neighbouring markets.
• Drive sustainable revenue growth and profitability.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activities and customer requirements.
• Prepare annual business plans, budgets and forecasts.
• Present monthly operational and financial reports to executive management.

• Business Development, Sales & Marketing

• Develop and implement the regional sales strategy.
• Identify new mining projects and business opportunities.
• Build long-term strategic relationships with customers.
• Lead contract negotiations and commercial discussions.
• Ensure achievement of annual sales and revenue targets.
• Drive aftermarket sales, service contracts and parts sales.
• Develop marketing initiatives that increase brand visibility.
• Represent the company at mining exhibitions, conferences and industry events.

• Operational Management

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the Zambia branch.
• Ensure efficient coordination between technical, sales, procurement and administration departments.
• Implement operational procedures and best practices.
• Monitor branch performance against established KPIs.
• Ensure customer service standards are consistently achieved.
• Drive operational efficiency and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Technical Services Management

• Provide leadership to the technical service team.
• Ensure high-quality field service and technical support.
• Monitor equipment performance and customer satisfaction.
• Ensure technical teams meet response time commitments.
• Drive preventative maintenance programmes.
• Support resolution of major technical issues.
• Ensure technicians receive ongoing product and technical training.

• Procurement & Parts Management

• Oversee procurement activities for the Zambia operation.
• Ensure inventory levels adequately support customer requirements.
• Manage supplier relationships.
• Ensure cost-effective purchasing strategies.
• Monitor stock holding, stock accuracy and stock obsolescence.
• Improve inventory turnover.
• Ensure timely procurement of critical components.

• Financial Management

• Prepare and manage annual budgets.
• Monitor branch profitability.
• Control operating expenses.
• Review financial reports and implement corrective actions where necessary.
• Ensure debtors are managed effectively.
• Improve cash flow management.
• Approve expenditure within delegated authority.
• Drive cost optimisation initiatives.

• Customer Relationship Management

• Build and maintain executive-level relationships with mining customers.
• Conduct regular customer visits.
• Resolve high-level customer concerns.
• Ensure excellent customer satisfaction.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing customer contracts.
• Promote a customer-centric culture throughout the organisation.

• People Management

• Lead, motivate and develop the Zambia team.
• Recruit, coach and retain high-performing employees.
• Conduct performance reviews.
• Establish KPIs for all departments.
• Promote employee engagement.
• Build succession plans for key positions.
• Foster a high-performance culture.

• Compliance, Governance & Risk

• Ensure compliance with all Zambian labour legislation.
• Ensure compliance with health, safety and environmental legislation.
• Maintain company governance standards.
• Identify operational and commercial risks.
• Implement mitigation strategies.
• Ensure legal compliance in procurement and commercial contracts.

• Health, Safety and Environment

• Promote a strong safety culture.
• Ensure compliance with all client and statutory safety requirements.
• Lead incident investigations where required.
• Drive continuous improvement in HSE performance.
• Ensure all staff receive appropriate safety training.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Revenue Growth
• Gross Profit Margin
• Operating Profit
• Budget Adherence
• Market Share Growth
• Customer Satisfaction Index
• Parts Availability
• Inventory Turnover
• Debtor Days
• Sales Target Achievement
• Technical Response Time
• Equipment Availability
• Employee Engagement
• Staff Turnover
• Safety Performance
• Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)
• Compliance Audit Results

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, Engineering, Commerce or related discipline.
• MBA or postgraduate qualification will be advantageous.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years' senior management experience.
• Minimum 5 years in the mining equipment, engineering or heavy industrial sector.
• Proven experience managing multi-functional business operations.
• Demonstrated experience managing technical, commercial and operational teams.
• Experience in business development and sales leadership.
• Experience managing budgets and financial performance.
• Experience dealing with mining customers within Zambia or Sub-Saharan Africa.

Knowledge

• Mining industry practices.
• Heavy equipment and aftermarket support.
• Financial management and budgeting.
• Procurement and supply chain management.
• Sales and contract negotiations.
• Inventory management.
• Labour legislation.
• Corporate governance.
• Strategic planning.
• Business development.
• Health and Safety legislation.

Competencies

Leadership

• Strategic thinking
• Visionary leadership
• Decision-making
• Change management
• Team development
• Coaching and mentoring

Business

• Strong commercial acumen
• Financial literacy
• Profit and loss management
• Business planning
• Risk management
• Negotiation skills
• Customer relationship management

Operational

• Project management
• Operational excellence
• Continuous improvement
• Procurement management
• Inventory optimisation
• Technical understanding of mining equipment

Communication

• Executive-level communication
• Presentation skills
• Stakeholder management
• Influencing and negotiation
• Conflict resolution

Personal Attributes

• Results-driven
• Entrepreneurial mindset
• High integrity
• Resilient under pressure
• Self-motivated
• Adaptable
• Strong analytical ability
• Customer-focused
• Professional and ethical

Working Conditions

• Based in Zambia with regular travel throughout the country.
• Frequent travel to customer mine sites.
• Regional and international travel as required.
• Availability outside normal business hours to support operational requirements.

Authority Levels

The Country Manager has delegated authority to:

• Manage the Zambia branch's day-to-day operations.
• Approve operational expenditure within delegated financial limits.
• Lead customer negotiations and commercial discussions.
• Manage recruitment, performance and disciplinary matters in accordance with company policy.
• Approve procurement activities within delegated authority.
• Represent the company with customers, suppliers, government authorities and industry stakeholders.

Success Profile

The ideal Country Manager is a commercially astute leader with a strong understanding of the mining industry, capable of balancing strategic growth with operational excellence. They possess exceptional business acumen, financial insight, and leadership capability, while effectively integrating technical services, procurement, parts management, sales and marketing to deliver profitable, sustainable growth and exceptional customer value across the Zambia region.