Strategic Account Manager

Röhlig & Co; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Röhlig-Grindrod in Johannesburg's head office seeks a dynamic Strategic Account Manager to drive partnerships and multi‑modal logistics solutions across Africa, delivering sustained growth and exceptional service.

You bring 7–10 years in freight forwarding, customs clearing, and contract logistics, with a proven, sales‑driven mindset. The role requires strategic thinking, customer obsession, and collaboration with operations and IT to unlock value.

Qualifications

• High performing regional or national multi-modal experience in freight forwarding and logistics.
• Proven track record in sales, marketing or customer-centric roles.
• Ability to interpret big data for proactive forecasting and decision making.

Responsibilities

• Ensure the Diamond Standard of service delivery across multi-modal solutions.
• Collaborate with operations to maintain back-to-back contracts and SOPs.
• Be the single point of contact for customer escalations with outsourced providers.
• Identify opportunities to improve customer supply chains and reduce costs.
• Work with IT to develop innovative solutions and reporting.
• Demonstrate strategic thinking with short and long-term planning.

Education

Matric

BCom Logistics

INCOTERMS

Tools

Cargowise

JDA

QlikView

Ship Shape

Job description

We’re looking for a dynamic Strategic Account Manager to drive partnerships that move our business forward.

This role will be based in our Head Office -JHB branch.

Education

• Matric
• BCom Logistics
• INCOTERMS

Knowledge and experience

• High performing regional or national multi-modal individual with a minimum of 7-10 years’ sound understanding of freight forwarding, customs clearing, contract logistics, cross- border road freight and exports into Africa and be familiar with advanced international trade principles.
• Worked in diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to employee, supplier and customer facing environments.
• Exposure in working within a high result driven organisation with a proven track record in sales, marketing and or customer centric roles.
• The ability to understand complex supply chain ecosystems in dominant markets and use the expertise in Röhlig-Grindrod to provide solutions and secure the opportunities that present themselves.
• High touch customer centric approach obsessed with delivering the most outstanding customer experience.
• The ability to inspire, motivate and extricate the best out of a team that are either autonomous or divergent in thinking, towards a common goal.
• Have the requisite networking skills, build social equity, be assertive, and command the level of respect and confidence to achieve the objectives which have been outlined.
• Demonstrate the ability to think systemically, strategically, short, and long term in all engagements and stay motivated to achieve the revenue goals and objectives set by both the customer and the organisation.
• The candidate must be a critical thinker with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail and demonstrate experience in working with big data and business intelligence for proactive forecasting and decision making.
• Be digitally savvy, solution centric, and have the requisite financial and business acumen together with superior problem-solving abilities.
• Superior communication skills, written and verbal.
• Have the requisite computer skills: intermediate / advanced proficiency in all Microsoft packages, Ship Shape, Cargowise, JDA or equivalent warehouse management systems, QlikView and/or the equivalent BI tools. Project Management skills would be advantageous.
• Weekend and overtime work as well as participation on 24 hr WhatsApp groups will be required.

Advantageous attributes

• Customer service orientation - Able to handle a demanding customer environment.
• Good problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Ability to handle pressure.
• Can communicate within the team and contribute to the overall success of the team.
• Adaptable as this is a constantly changing environment.

Overall responsibilities include

• Mandated to ensure the ‘Diamond Standard’ and no less in service delivery of multi-modal solutions based on the client’s scope of work, KPI’s, and SOP across all Regions.
• Pursuant to the above point and diversified requirements of the Customer, the SAM will be supported by the respective operational teams in South Africa.
• Be quick, efficient, customer-obsessed and focussed to deliver in all matters demanded from the Customer.
• Be diligent in declining requests where we cannot render a service to the Customer.
• Work with the R-G operations team to ensure that all outsourced service providers and / or agents have back-to-back contracts and standard operating procedures in place that meets the Customer’s service expectations.
• The SAM will be the single point of contact for the Customer for all operational escalations including outsourced service providers and agents.
• Develop a deep understanding of the Customer’s supply chain processes by continuously identifying opportunities for improvement which must result in quantified value through reduced costs and improved efficiencies for both the Customer and R-G.
• Work hand in hand the operations and IT to create innovative solutions that raises the level of thinking, service delivery and innovation which will differentiate Röhlig-Grindrod amongst the Customer’s suite of vendors.
• Identify the Customer’s reporting requirements and work with IT and our R-G operations teams to ensure the reporting is accurate, of a high quality, and of the highest standard in the industry.
• Based on the Scope of Work and KPI’s, identify and develop risk mitigation strategies that are signed off and adhered to by R-G as well as any outsourced service providers or agents