General Manager

Eaton; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 3,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working solutions

Internal promotion opportunities

Learning & development programs

Wellbeing & health initiatives

Job summary

Eaton seeks a General Manager to lead its Electrical business in South Africa, driving growth, profitability, and market share. You will own the SA P&L, build a high-performing team and shape the country strategy aligned with regional priorities.

The role requires strong leadership, transformation acumen, and the ability to leverage digital tools and market intelligence to optimize performance amid evolving market conditions.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Business or Engineering; MBA advantageous.
• 15 years of progressive business and commercial experience with 7+ years in sales/leadership roles.
• Solid background in Data Centre and Buildings & Construction segments; electrical industry experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the South Africa growth strategy with market insights to drive profitability.
• Own the South Africa P&L and deliver sales, profitability, margin and operational targets.
• Build strategic customer relationships, lead negotiations, drive new business opportunities.

Skills

Enterprise Leadership & Strategic Vis

Executive Influence & Collaboration

People Leadership & Change Management

Business Acumen & Operational Excel

Communication & Stakeholder Eng.

Customer & Market Focus

Education

Master's degree in Business or Engineering

MBA (advantage)

Tools

CRM / Salesforce

Job description

Unlock Your Potential at Eaton: Where Diversity Drives Innovation. No matter where you come from, your aspirations matter to us. We believe in the power of different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds to ignite innovation and drive success. We're in the business of empowering people, and that includes you. Your journey here is not just about a job; it's about a shared vision for a brighter, more sustainable future.

We are seeking a General Manager to lead our Electrical business in South Africa.

The General Manager - South Africa provides overall strategic, commercial and operational leadership for Eaton's Electrical business in South Africa.

The role is accountable for the South Africa P&L and for achieving agreed business targets for sales growth, profitability, margin, cost and market share. The General Manager develops and executes the country strategy in alignment with Eaton Electrical, Emerging Markets and EMEA priorities, translating market data, customer needs, competitive dynamics and regulatory developments into clear strategic and operational plans.

The General Manager leads the country organization through Eaton's matrix environment, ensuring effective collaboration across Sales, Services and associated support functions. The role builds strong customer and market relationships, strengthens organizational and commercial capability, develops a high-performing leadership team and drives the transformation required to position the South Africa business for sustainable future growth.

The role requires a leader who can balance profitable growth with price pressure and changing market conditions; lead through continuous change and ambiguity; leverage digital, AI and commercial insights; and create an operating culture characterized by accountability, customer focus, collaboration and execution excellence.

What the role entails:

• Sales Strategy: Define and execute the South Africa growth strategy, leveraging market insights to drive profitable growth and market share.
• Sales & business Operations: Own the South Africa P&L and deliver sales, profitability, margin, and operational performance targets.
• Business Development & Customer Leadership: Build strategic customer relationships, lead key negotiations, and drive new business opportunities.
• Leadership & Organizational Capability: Lead and develop a high-performing organization, fostering collaboration, accountability, and talent growth.
• Transformation & Future Readiness: Drive digital adoption, organizational change, and continuous improvement to strengthen business performance.
• Enterprise, Governance & Stakeholder Leadership: Collaborate across Eaton's matrix organization while ensuring strong governance, compliance, and stakeholder engagement.

Qualifications:

• Master's university degree, preferably in Business or Engineering. MBA will be an added advantage.
• 15 years of progressive business and commercial experience, with a minimum of 7 years' experience in sales and leadership roles and a proven track record of achieving business success as a commercial sales leader.
• A solid background in the Data Centre and Buildings and construction segments, with demonstrated success in complex, project - led environments is preferred.
• Solid experience in the electrical industry or sector.
• Strong understanding of the South African electrical market, customer segments, channels, competitors and market dynamics.
  Sound knowledge of P&L management, financial planning, forecasting, pricing, margin and commercial risk.
• Strong understanding of value-based selling, strategic account planning, opportunity management, negotiation and channel/project-based selling.
  Ability to understand customer buying processes and articulate differentiated business and technical value propositions.
  Working knowledge of CRM/Salesforce, pipeline governance, commercial analytics and forecasting.
  Ability to use commercial insights, data, market intelligence and AI-enabled tools to strengthen decision-making and sales effectiveness.

Skills:

• Enterprise Leadership & Strategic Vision
• Executive Influence & Collaboration
• People Leadership & Change Management
• Business Acumen & Operational Excellence
• Communication & Stakeholder Engagement
• Customer & Market Focus

What we offer:

• Competitive compensation and benefits package
• Challenging projects in dynamic collaborative team
• Flexible working solutions (remote, flexible working hours, compressed week, part time etc.)
• We make your aspirations matter – Eaton encourages internal promotion, whenever possible
• We make your growth matter - We invest in our employees for the long term – not just with salary and benefits, but with ongoing learning and development opportunities made available through Eaton University
• We make your contributions matter - reliability, safety, efficiency, and sustainability are at the core of our dedication to improving people’s lives and the environment through power management technologies
• We make your wellbeing matter – We put your health and safety first. Wellness at Eaton is more than a program, it’s about changing the environment by offering the right tools to help empower employees to make that happen

All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

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All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for job applicants and employees. Our recruitment processes use balanced selection criteria and avoid unlawful discrimination against applicants on the basis of their age, colour, disability, marital status, national origin, gender, gender identity, genetic information, race or racial origin, religion, sexual orientation or any other status protected or required by law.