Strategic Retail Category Leader (Hybrid)

Placements24; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Abbott is seeking a Team Lead TSS to join the Core Diagnostics division in the Western Cape (Cape Town). You will lead and develop a team of Field Service Engineers responsible for installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and performance improvement of Abbott Core Diagnostics instruments across Africa.

This leadership role focuses on service excellence, customer satisfaction, and adherence to quality systems.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Medical Technology, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years experience leading a team of Field Service Engineers.
• Experience in diagnostics, medical devices, healthcare or laboratory service.
• Strong customer-facing experience with laboratory and healthcare customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Technical Support Specialists (Field Service Engineers) across Coastal region of South Africa.
• Drive service performance through KPI improvements (First Time Fix Rate, MTTR, NPS, spare parts utilization, cost-per-box).
• Conduct field coaching, technical training, audits, and performance reviews to ensure excellence.
• Support installation, upgrades, preventive maintenance, escalations, and advanced troubleshooting.
• Perform pre-installation assessments, site readiness reviews, and planning for new instrument placements.
• Act as a key technical resource for customers, distributors, and internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Sales, Applications, Service, and Commercial teams to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
• Utilize data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Drive technical service bulletins, service programs and global improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with Abbott quality systems, SOPs, safety, and service documentation.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Communication

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Technical training

Service management tools

Reporting

English fluency

Travel readiness

Education

Biomedical Engineering

Electrical Engineering

Mechatronics

Tools

Diagnostic instrumentation

Service management tools

Job description

Clinical FIELD SERVICE TEAM LEADER ( WESTERN CAPE )

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life‑changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 115,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.
At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You will have access to:
- Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
- A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
- A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.
In Abbott's Core Diagnostics (CRDX) Division
We are committed to delivering innovative diagnostic solutions that help laboratories and healthcare professionals make informed decisions faster and more accurately. Our service teams play a critical role in ensuring customers receive world‑class technical support, driving operational excellence, uptime, and customer satisfaction across the region.
The Opportunity
We are looking for a Team Lead TSS (Technical Service Support i.e Field Service Engineers) to join our Core Diagnostics team , Based in the Western Cape (Cape Town)
In this leadership role, you will lead and develop a team of Technical Support Specialists responsible for the installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and performance improvement of Abbott Core Diagnostics instruments across Africa. You will drive service excellence, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and key service KPIs while supporting business growth throughout the region.
What You'll Work On

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Technical Support Specialists (Field Service Engineers) across Coastal regiona of South Africa
• Drive service performance through continuous improvement of key KPIs, including First Time Fix Rate, Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), NPS, spare parts utilization, and cost‑per‑box metrics.
• Conduct field coaching, technical training, audits, and performance reviews to ensure operational excellence and compliance.
• Support installation, upgrades, preventive maintenance programs, escalations, and advanced technical troubleshooting.
• Perform pre‑installation assessments, site readiness reviews, and technical planning for new instrument placements.
• Act as a key technical resource for customers, distributors, and internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with Sales, Applications, Service, and Commercial teams to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
• Utilize performance and service data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Drive implementation of technical service bulletins (TSBs), service programs, and global improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with Abbott quality systems, SOPs, safety requirements, and service documentation standards.
• Support a 24/7 customer service model and travel extensively across Africa when required.

Qualifications
Required Education
Tertiary Qualification in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Medical Technology, or a related technical discipline preferred.
Experience

• Minimum of 2 years experience having managed a team of Field service Engineers
• Proven experience in a field service, technical support, or service leadership role within the diagnostics, medical device, healthcare, or laboratory industry.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing technical teams.
• Strong customer‑facing experience with laboratory and healthcare customers.
• Experience with diagnostic instrumentation, troubleshooting, installations, and preventive maintenance activities.
• Experience working with service KPIs, quality systems, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ideally experience from the diagnostic laboratory instrumentation.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong leadership and coaching capabilities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Advanced analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to work independently while fostering collaboration across teams.
• Strong knowledge of service management tools and reporting systems.
• Ability to deliver technical training and mentorship programs.
• Fluent in English, both written and verbal.
• Additional African or international language skills are advantageous.

Additional Requirements

• Willingness and ability to travel extensively across Africa and the EMEA region.
• Valid driver's license.
• Valid passport.

Join Abbott and help shape the future of diagnostics through technical excellence, customer focus, and leadership across Africa.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Abbott welcomes and encourages diversity in our workforce.
We provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities.
To request accommodation, please call or email