IT Sales Head

Samaha Consulting; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 2,500,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Samaha Consulting seeks a Sales Director to lead the South Africa and Rest of Africa sales function, owning regional targets across private-sector and government clients.

You will head a team of BDMs, shape the market strategy, build new logos and expand key accounts, while maintaining executive-level relationships with CEOs, CIOs, CTOs and government stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of enterprise tech sales experience.
• 5+ years in a sales leadership role.
• Proven track record of owning and achieving regional targets.
• Strong knowledge of the SA market with senior network.
• Proven ability to close large IT services or digital-transformation deals.
• Experience in sales planning, forecasting, CRM-driven operations.
• Strong negotiation and stakeholder-management skills.
• Executive presence representing a global tech services organization.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver sales, booking, and revenue targets for SA and Rest of Africa.
• Define go-to-market strategy and annual regional sales plan.
• Expand Rest of Africa coverage through direct, channel, and alliances.
• Lead, coach, and manage BDMs; set targets and territories.
• Recruit and retain top sales talent; build a strong sales culture.
• Drive new-logo acquisition and grow key strategic accounts.
• Build relationships with CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, and government stakeholders.
• Maintain a healthy sales pipeline and govern forecasting.
• Collaborate with delivery teams to shape propositions.
• Represent the organization in SA and African ecosystems; report to leadership.

Skills

Hunter mindset

Sales leadership

CRM & forecasting

Stakeholder management

Executive presence

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technology or Business

MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification

Job description

Sales Director – South Africa & Rest of Africa

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa (scope: South Africa and Rest of Africa)

Experience: 15+ years

Function: Sales / Business Development Leadership

Industry: IT Services, Consulting & Digital Transformation

Team: Business Development Managers / Client Partners (direct reports)

Reports to: Country Head – South Africa & Rest of Africa

Role Overview

We are seeking an accomplished Sales Director to lead the sales function for South Africa and the Rest of Africa and own the region's sales, order booking and revenue targets across leading private-sector and Government/Public Sector enterprises.

The successful candidate will lead a team of Business Development Managers, set the sales strategy for South Africa and key African markets, and drive predictable growth through new-logo acquisition, expansion of strategic accounts and large-deal wins. The role requires deep knowledge of the South African and wider African markets, established CXO and government relationships, and a proven track record of building and leading high-performing sales teams.

This is a multi-country sales leadership role with full accountability for the annual sales plan, order bookings, revenue and pipeline health. The primary focus is a hunter role (winning new logos and leading strategic pursuits), complemented by an enablement role for existing customers – supporting the account teams, which report to the Business Group (BG) organization and hold primary ownership of those customers – alongside management of the BDM team.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and deliver the sales, order booking (TCV) and revenue targets for South Africa and the Rest of Africa.
• Define the go-to-market strategy, priority countries, target sectors, priority accounts and annual sales plan for the region.
• Expand coverage across Rest of Africa markets (e.g., Kenya, Nigeria and other high-potential countries) through direct presence, channel and alliance partners.
• Lead, coach and manage a team of Business Development Managers; set individual targets, territories and account coverage.
• Recruit, develop and retain high-performing sales talent and build a strong sales culture.
• Drive new-logo acquisition across private and Government/Public Sector clients, and support growth of existing strategic accounts in partnership with BG account teams.
• Build and sustain relationships with CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, CDOs and senior government stakeholders.
• Enable and support the account teams for existing customers in the country
• Support BG account teams in account mining – identifying cross-sell, up-sell, renewal and extension opportunities and bringing in country capabilities, partners and local relationships to increase wallet share.
• Facilitate country-level stakeholder management – government and regulatory bodies, industry forums, procurement bodies and partners – and connect them with BG account teams and internal delivery and practice leaders as needed.
• Participate in account reviews, quarterly business reviews and executive connects when needed, and support account and delivery teams in resolving escalations to protect customer satisfaction and retention.
• Personally lead large, complex and strategic pursuits from origination and solutioning through commercial negotiation and closure.
• Ensure a healthy, well-qualified pipeline with early engagement ahead of formal RFPs.
• Run disciplined sales governance – pipeline reviews, forecasting, deal reviews and win/loss analysis.
• Collaborate with consulting, solution, delivery, commercial and partner/alliance teams to shape compelling propositions.
• Represent the organization in the South African and wider African business and technology ecosystem and strengthen brand presence.
• Report sales performance, forecasts and market insights to country and regional leadership.

Candidate Profile

Essential

• 15+ years of overall professional experience, including significant experience in enterprise sales and business development in the technology sector.
• 5+ years in a sales leadership role, managing a team of BDMs / account managers with a country or multi-country quota.
• Proven track record of owning and consistently achieving country or regional sales and revenue targets.
• Strong knowledge of the South African market and key African markets with an established senior-level network across private and government sectors.
• Demonstrated success in originating and closing large, complex IT services, consulting or digital-transformation deals.
• Strong experience in sales planning, forecasting, pipeline governance and CRM-driven sales operations.
• Strong commercial, negotiation, communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Executive presence and ability to represent a leading global technology services organization with senior clients.

Preferred

• Experience with a leading global IT services, consulting, technology or digital-transformation organization.
• Existing relationships with major enterprises, government entities and decision-makers across South Africa and other African markets.
• Understanding of South African procurement and B-BBEE requirements, and experience of doing business across multiple African countries.
• Additional experience in managing delivery of IT engagements and customer relationships (e.g., as Delivery Head, Engagement Manager or Client Partner), enabling credible solutioning, smooth sales-to-delivery transition and account growth.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technology, Business or a related discipline.
• MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification is preferred.

Key Success Measures

• Achievement of order booking / Total Contract Value (TCV) target for South Africa and Rest of Africa
• Achievement of regional revenue target and revenue growth, including growth in Rest of Africa markets
• New logos acquired and growth in strategic accounts
• Contribution to revenue growth in existing customers through enablement of BG account teams (wallet share, renewals, cross-sell and up-sell)
• Feedback from BG account teams on the effectiveness of country-level enablement and stakeholder support
• Large deals won
• Pipeline coverage, quality and pipeline-to-win conversion
• Forecast accuracy
• BDM team quota attainment and productivity
• Team capability building and retention
• CXO penetration across strategic accounts

What We Are Looking For

The ideal candidate is a well-connected sales leader in South Africa and the wider African market, with a strong hunter mindset and a collaborative approach, who can build and lead a high-performing BDM team, open doors at senior levels, enable BG account teams to grow existing customers, mobilize the right organizational capabilities and deliver predictable sales and revenue growth across the region.