About us
Damen Services' mission is to support the sales organization of Damen in delivering vessels by providing additional value in the form of services.
The department gives substance to the concept of high quality and high customer satisfaction. After the delivery of a vessel, excellent services are delivered in order to increase the likelihood that a customer chooses Damen again for the delivery of a new vessel.
Service Team Africa is one of the highest grossing areas of Damen Services and consists of young and hard-working professionals. When they are not in the office, there is a big chance you can find them in the African sun working their way from a commercial port to a navy base to discuss the upcoming projects.
At the operational level, the Services department maintains contact with clients and is the eyes and ears of the sales organization. Services provides a broad portfolio of services for the entire life cycle of a ship built by Damen. This includes the handling of warranty calls, providing training, providing spare parts, providing maintenance and perform modifications and repairs. That is reflected in the behavior of its employees; they are always available, proactive, keeping their promises and always do more than is asked of them. Within the Services department the question is always: How do we make it happen?
The role
As Account Manager you are responsible for the complete after-sales of a specific region and work together with the new build sales department in selling vessels and by offering services products to our African customers. The product portfolio includes maintenance contracts, spare part packages and training programs.
It’s up to you to keep the customer happy during their operation and to ensure that the next vessel will also be delivered by Damen. You will approach new- and existing customers for sales of services packages during one of your trips to Africa. You will be the first services-related point of contact for customers, ranging from port authorities, navies/coast guards and oil & gas companies. The adequate and timely follow up of warranty claims for new vessels are monitored by you and you make sure that customer satisfaction is always as high as can be. In order to realize the revenue and profit targets, you will work together with project managers and engineers to make sure the Damen products match with the customer demand, and that operational projects are executed correctly. You can signal market developments and act quickly to initiate product improvements.
Key accountabilities
- Play an active role in acquisition and relationship management, and you use these to create customer demand;
- Consult with the (potential) client on the technical, functional and other specifications of a possible order;
- Make commercial proposals after detailing client needs and after consultation with Damen back offices;
- Responsible for the handling of service orders, by monitoring the progress of the project and signalling deviations in time, budget and quality, and by monitoring agreements with customers;
- Assure an up-to-date sales funnel (in IFS / CRM - ERP system);
- Actively manage the relationship with the client and bring multiple visits per year to their premises;
- Visit the customer regularly to negotiate proposals, financial constructions and contracts.
Skills & experience
- A completed technical/commercial education (at least Bachelor degree);
- Preferable multiple years of experience in a services/maritime environment;
- You have excellent communication skills for negotiating, discussing commercial leads and convincing the client in French and English;
- You are willing to make short business trips (approx. 8 weeks per year) related to your work area in Africa;
- You are customer oriented, service oriented, focused, driven and proactive;
- You are familiar with the cultural and business aspects of doing business in the region;
- You have managerial knowledge about combining technical, logistical and commercial aspects of tenders;
- You have a can-do mentality, you are customer oriented, service oriented, focused and proactive.
What we offer
We want to make sure you are a happy account manager, so we offer:
- The opportunity to develop yourself in this position. We are a growing organization where Services is the driving force. Entrepreneurship is in our DNA, and that's why we continue to grow and innovate and offer plenty of opportunities. All you have to do is grab them.
- Personal guidance, freedom, varied work and a work environment where your opinion counts;
- An excellent benefits package tailored to your experience and education level;
- An International work environment;
- Various growth and development opportunities;
- Open, informal, no-nonsense culture with short communication lines;
- An active social environment in terms of business culture, events & sports.
Other
Damen offers you a role within a young and dynamic department where people learn from each other, and management has an eye for personal growth. Do you want to come on board with us? Apply now via the button below.
An assessment will be part of the recruitment process.
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