Head of Distribution Africa

The businesses of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; Rustenburg Local Municipality; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the Life Science sector seeks a Supply Chain Manager to oversee comprehensive supply chain management across Southern and Eastern Africa. The role involves strategic alignment, team development, and logistics excellence, requiring extensive experience and a strong educational background. This position promotes diversity and encourages candidates from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to apply.

Qualifications

• 10-15 years of experience in supply chain or distribution.
• Minimum of 5 years in leadership roles.
• Experience managing 3rd party service providers for at least 8 years.

Responsibilities

• Plan and implement the full supply chain strategy for the Life Science business.
• Recruit and develop a high-performance supply chain team.
• Ensure compliance with quality policies and procedures.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical Problem-Solving

Relationship Management

Decision-Making

Project Management

Education

Tertiary degree in Supply Chain or science-related field

Master of Business Administration

Project management course

Job description

Your Role

1. Comprehensive Supply Chain Management: Plan, resource, develop, and implement the full supply chain strategy for the Life Science business in South, Southern, and East Africa. This includes inbound shipping, warehousing, domestic and export distribution, CMO production activities, and data management, all while considering organizational performance and local and global strategies to align business needs in both the short and long term. It also includes collaboration with other supply chain functions, notably demand planning, procurement, sourcing.
2. Leadership and Direction: Establish, guide, direct, and oversee the supply chain division to ensure alignment with overall global and local business objectives, fostering a cohesive operational framework.
3. Strategic Alignment: Align local supply chain, distribution, and quality strategies with global strategies and guidelines, ensuring that Global Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are localized and effectively implemented.
4. Team Development: Recruit, develop, and maintain a high-performance supply chain team that aligns with the organizational strategy, promoting a culture of high engagement, excellence, and continuous improvement.
5. Logistics and Distribution Excellence: Ensure the development, implementation, and maintenance of optimal logistics and distribution policies and procedures. Manage supplier relationships to achieve cost-effective warehousing and distribution, negotiate local supplier contracts, and actively monitor KPIs, costs, and performance to meet service levels while driving continuous improvement for competitive advantage.
6. Quality Management: Develop, implement, and maintain quality policies and procedures for the Life Science and Performance Material divisions, ensuring compliance with ISO 9001:2008 management system standards.
7. Master Data Management (MDM): Establish, implement, and maintain optimal MDM policies and procedures, ensuring alignment with international requirements to support efficient operational processes.
8. Cost Control and Inventory Management: Effectively manage and control all logistics, planning, production, and quality-related costs within the divisions. Optimize inventory levels to minimize write-offs and ensure financial efficiency.
9. Education & Work Experience: Tertiary degree in Supply Chain or a science-related field / Master of Business Administration is required. Project management course is desirable. Certificates in handling hazardous material, customs processes, permit requirements are also desirable. At least 10-15 years of experience in supply chain or distribution, with a minimum of 5 years in leadership. Experience managing 3rd party service providers for at least 8 years. Proven project management experience. Experience in a multinational organization is preferred.
10. Job Specific Competencies & Skills: Purposeful, future-oriented, curious & innovative, results-driven, collaborative, empowering. Skills include deep understanding of supply chain processes, relationship management, leadership in diverse environments, analytical problem-solving, decision-making under pressure, performance management of third parties, and project rollout management.

This role is an Employment Equity position, and the company encourages candidates from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to apply, aligning with its employment equity plan.