Country Business Head: Digital Industries

Siemens Mobility; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 1 200 000 - 1 500 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading innovator in automation is seeking a Country Business Head for Digital Industries in Midrand, South Africa. This role involves driving regional strategy, ensuring operational excellence, and fostering high-performance culture. Candidates should have 10–15 years of senior management experience, strong leadership skills, and a deep understanding of the digital industry. Excellent customer relations, strategic acumen, and compliance awareness are essential for success in this position. The company values diverse perspectives and encourages various applications.

Qualifications

• 10—15+ years of senior management experience in digital industry and automation.
• Strong existing customer networks and relationships.
• Proven ability to mentor and inspire a high-performance organization.

Responsibilities

• Lead Siemens Digital Industries in Sub Sahara Africa.
• Drive digital transformation and industry 4.0 initiatives.
• Build and nurture relationships with stakeholders.

Skills

Leadership experience

Customer management

Sales leadership

Stakeholder management

Change management

Education

BSc/MSc in Electrical or Automation Engineering

MBA or equivalent business qualification

Job description

Country Business Head – Digital Industries

Organization: Digital Industries (DI), Lead Country South Africa

Location: Siemens Park, Midrand

Reporting Manager/s: The role reports functionally to the EMEA Sales Head (DI) and locally to the Country CEO

Business

Siemens Digital Industries stands as a leading innovator in automation and digitalization. Our mission is to empower customers by enhancing growth, profitability, and ecological sustainability across both discrete and process industries. Our Digital Enterprise portfolio seamlessly integrates the virtual and real world’s, providing a unique, end‑to‑end offering and Digital Twins throughout the value chain, tailored to specific vertical needs. We continuously expand our portfolio to incorporate groundbreaking technologies and offer industry‑specific solutions for businesses of all scales.

Purpose of the Role

Lead the Digital Industries (DI) business across Sub‑Saharan Africa by driving regional strategy, ensuring operational excellence, and fostering a high‑performance culture. This role combines strategic leadership, financial accountability, people development, and customer engagement to position Siemens DI as a market leader in the region. The role reports functionally to the EMEA Sales Head Digital Industries and locally to the Country CEO.

Responsibilities of the Role

• Lead Siemens Digital Industries in Sub Sahara Africa by building and nurturing high‑impact, intimate and trusted partnerships with stakeholders including customers, partners, suppliers, government, and the media.
• Drive the DI LCB South Africa business in close alignment with the DI EMEA Zone strategy, ensuring profitable growth and strong market positioning and demand generation.
• Drive digital transformation, industry 4.0 initiatives, innovation across products, services, and internal operations.
• Observe the local/regional market, anticipate developments, identify and execute cross‑Region/BU business opportunities, and act as a guide for the implementation of HQ/Zone strategies.
• Direct and control actions to achieve short and long‑term financial and operating objectives (e.g., profitability, productivity, market share).
• Be an inspiring leader with the ability to create confidence internally and externally.
• Build and nurture the DI South Africa Leadership team by developing team capabilities to successfully deliver aggressive revenue growth.
• Set the highest priority on EHS and compliance; you are furthermore legally responsible for these topics.
• Coaching, guiding, and developing a team of senior managers to ensure that DI South Africa achieves its business objectives and complies with all relevant local regulations and laws by establishing a culture of compliance.
• Drive Change Management, leading the organization’s transition to ONE Tech company and collaborating with other businesses to formulate joint tech and customer service strategies.

Qualifications, Experience and Attributes

• BSc/MSc in Electrical or Automation Engineering or equivalent; MBA or equivalent business qualification preferred.
• 10—15+ years of senior management experience, with substantial leadership experience of the DI business and sales. Deep understanding and experience in digital industry and automation is a must.
• Strong leadership experience with people and customer management accountability.
• Seasoned and proven sales leadership experience with high proficiency in strategy and organization building, business planning, technology sales and general management; preferably with exposure to engineering, project management and customer services in past career.
• High level of intercultural sensitivity and the ability to deal confidently with complexity and diversity. Experience working across seniority levels and cultures, as well as strong knowledge of the African market and people.
• Strong existing customer networks and relationships preferred. Outstanding ability to build the highest levels of market connections would be essential in the role.
• Experienced in working closely and effectively with senior executives and communicating with them on a range of commercial, strategic and operational business challenges.
• Capabilities in people leadership with the ability to mentor, develop and inspire a high‑performance organization are vital.
• Outstanding strategic acumen, stakeholder management, communication, decision‑making and negotiation abilities.

Our culture

Our culture embraces different perspectives, open debate, and the willingness to challenge convention. Change is a constant aspect of our work. We aspire to lead change in our industry rather than simply react to it. That’s why we invite you to take on new challenges, test your ideas, and celebrate success.

The company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets under the Employment Equity Act will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an equal opportunity employer we encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply. We care about your data privacy and take compliance with the POPI Act, GDPR and other data protection legislation seriously.