Job Description

Join our dynamic Sales Team in Southern Africa, where you will work closely with strategic customers in South Africa across Nokia’s AMS, MCE, and IP portfolio. As an Account Manager, you will collaborate with pre-sales, solutioning, delivery, and global product teams to provide innovative solutions that support customers’ transformation priorities, operational efficiency, network evolution, and enterprise digitalization initiatives.

This role offers a hybrid working environment, balancing collaboration within Nokia offices and direct engagement with customer stakeholders across technical, operational, commercial, and executive functions. You will play a critical role in strengthening existing customer relationships, expanding Nokia’s footprint, and identifying new growth opportunities across telecom operators, enterprises, and digital infrastructure customers.

You will thrive in a collaborative and high-performance culture that values innovation, accountability, and customer success. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to large-scale transformation programs while developing your expertise within a globally recognized technology leader

• Manage and grow strategic customer relationships across the AMS, MCE, and IP portfolio in South Africa.
• Lead and drive sales activities related to Application & Managed Services, Mission Critical & Enterprise solutions, and IP networking technologies.
• Identify, develop, and convert new business opportunities within telecom, enterprise, and digital infrastructure sectors.
• Develop deep understanding of customer business priorities, transformation strategies, and operational challenges.
• Define and execute account strategies to support revenue growth and long-term customer engagement.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders across technical, operational, procurement, and executive functions.
• Own and manage the sales pipeline, ensuring forecasting accuracy and CRM discipline.
• Lead complex sales cycles from opportunity identification through proposal development, negotiation, and contract closure.
• Collaborate with global and regional teams to develop competitive sales strategies and differentiated customer solutions.
• Coordinate pre-sales, delivery, and partner ecosystems to deliver value-based and outcome-driven solutions.
• Work closely with delivery and operations teams to ensure alignment on execution, customer satisfaction, and risk management.
• Apply consultative and challenger selling techniques to position Nokia solutions effectively.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activities, and industry developments to identify strategic growth opportunities.
• Mentor and support less experienced team members while fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing.
  

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, Business, IT, or a related field.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in account management and solution sales within the telecom and/or IT industry.
• Strong knowledge of Application & Managed Services, IP networking, enterprise solutions, and digital transformation technologies.
• Good understanding of telecom and enterprise network environments, particularly within the African market.
• Experience working with telecom operators, enterprise customers, and digital infrastructure providers.
• Proven track record of consistently meeting or exceeding sales targets.
• Experience managing partners and ecosystem collaborations within large-scale transformation programs is preferred.
• Proficiency in CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce) and Microsoft Office suite.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills in English.

• High level of integrity, accountability, and professionalism.

Key Competencies

• Consultative & Challenger Selling: Ability to influence customers through insights and value-based engagement
• Stakeholder Management: Skilled at navigating complex organizations and engaging senior decision-makers
• Communication & Presentation: Strong interpersonal, negotiation, and storytelling skills
• Cross-functional Leadership: Ability to lead virtual teams across pre-sales, delivery, and product organizations
• Results-Driven Mindset: Strong ownership with the ability to deliver under pressure
• Commercial & Financial Acumen: Understanding of contracts, pricing strategies, and business cases
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to define and execute long-term account growth plans
• Solution Selling Expertise: Experience in bid management, pricing, and contract negotiations
• Tenacity & Resilience: Persistent and determined in managing long sales cycles, overcoming obstacles, and navigating complex customer environments.
• Independence & Ownership: Able to operate autonomously with minimal supervision while proactively managing customer engagement and business priorities.