Sales & Service Engineer (East Africa)

Job Title: Sales & Service Engineer (East Africa)

About the Job:

A leading manufacturer of monolithic refractories worldwide is seeking a Sales & Service Engineer in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda & Rwanda). This position is responsible for all aspects of sales and service within the East Africa region.

Key Duties:

• Plan, organize, maintain, and develop a refractory sales territory.
• Maintain existing customer base and obtain new customers to maximize sales, including cold calling and prospecting for new account development.
• Sell to and maintain relationships with customers in key industries such as foundry, steel, heat treat and forge, mining and smelting, power generation, and other industrial applications requiring refractories.
• Manage the entire sales process:
  • Prospect new opportunities with current and new accounts.
  • Obtain purchase orders.
  • Interact with customer service to ensure order accuracy and timely delivery.
  • Coordinate field service support if needed.
  • Oversee product installation and document material installation and application.
  • Create case studies for new applications when appropriate.
• Communicate weekly through the company's call report system: opportunities, activity, applications, and industry news from customer interactions.
• Complete sales reports, forecasting, expense reports, and other reporting requirements in a timely manner.
• Utilize all available resources to educate and motivate distributors to ensure representation in East Africa is equivalent to that in India.
• Collaborate with distributors and OEMs to maintain trust-based relationships.
• Participate in trade shows and other industry meetings.
• Plan and implement a business strategy for the assigned markets.
• Maintain current records and customer files, customer order and quote logs, trial sheets, call books, and potential sheets in an orderly manner.
• Prepare and present effective sales presentations for new or existing customers.
• Service all accounts as needed, including installation and troubleshooting.
• Must be willing to travel internationally as needed.

Qualifications & Experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in business or a technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
• 2-5 years of experience in Foundry, Aluminium Industrial Refractory Sales & Application.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, ideally in English and local languages.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop and maintain relationships internally and externally with coworkers, partners, and customers.
• Practical problem-solving skills and the ability to work well with engineers and operators to resolve product and process issues.
• A solid understanding of refractories and technical information on ceramics is beneficial, with a demonstrated ability to learn quickly.
• Comfortable operating in factories and industrial environments.
• High level of energy and self-motivation.
• Proficiency with MS Office applications.
• Must be an Indian origin employee who will be based in East Africa.

Working Environment:

• Home-based office.
• Frequent work in heavy industry locations.
• Required to wear appropriate PPE per the company's Safety & Health policy.