Job Description

In the framework of the strategic growth of Aviation Global Services in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa region, the Regional Sales Manager:

• is the focal point for a group of airlines located in the region, to represent Thales AGS, thanks to very close contacts and regular visits and meetings with all customers in the area ;
• is responsible for achieving, or exceeding, the yearly financial objectives (order booking, sales, gross margin) for AGS in the region. Customers include airlines operating Air Transport, Regional and Business Jet aircraft, as well as third party customers (MROs, shop, broker) ;
• contributes to the growth of the market share in the region of his/her responsibility, through the offering of new products and services, and through innovative solutions generating additional revenues for the Business Segment.
• sets up and drives the commercial strategy dedicated to his/her customer portfolio.
• is accountable for the customer satisfaction of his/her accounts

The product portfolio covers all AGS products and services (Maintenance contracts, linefit, retrofit, spares, services, business development)

Due to the Customer interface role, the RSM is required to travel extensively.

Position in the organisation: 

Thales AVS provides complete system solutions for all types of aircraft in the civil and military sectors. As a system integrator, prime contractor and supplier of value added services, Thales AVS deliver cutting edge solutions to meet the operational requirements in the fields of combat, surveillance and air transport in addition to regional and business aviation. The company’s portfolio includes avionics, airborne radars, electronic warfare, mission systems, UAV systems and in-flight entertainment.

Within the AGS business segment, the Sales & Marketing department is responsible for:

• reaching the yearly orders, sales and gross margin objectives of the entity;
• ensuring the business growth;
• maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction of all our customers.

The Regional Sales Manager reports to the Regional Sales Director, EUMEA. He/she works and communicates with many internal teams within different divisional and functional entities such as Marketing, Business Development, Contracts, Technical Support, Logistics, and Programme Management, with the ultimate aim of customer satisfaction.

The RSM evolves in the Civil Aviation international market with high competition (Honeywell, Collins Aerospace, Goodrich, Air France Industries, Lufthansa Technik, etc).

The main responsibilities of the RSM lie in negotiating / signing new maintenance service agreement for avionics and IFE solutions. Action takes place in the sale of the services, products and systems, from the early stages of lobbying and presentations/discussions with customer, to request for proposal, and until the product/system/service end of life. It covers all product areas (IFE, Communication, Man Machine Interface, Navigation, Instruments, Probes, Surveillance,etc) and associated services (Repairs, Inventory access, trading, etc).

Main mission and responsibilities :

In a highly competitive market environment, the Regional Sales Manager:

• coordinates with marketing and business development teams all actions of promotion of ASW products and services to his/her customers,
• identifies key customer relationships and implements a policy to build positive and beneficial relationships (lobbying plans)
• prepares capture plans for designated prospects and build commercial offer from gate 1 to gate 3 (capture leader role)
• leads all commercial negotiations and assists the contractual negotiations
• works with and sometimes coordinates Account Management team activities
• makes regular reports to the organization
• uses and maintains up-to-date his/her inputs in the sales opportunity tool (CRM)
• visits customer, visits requiring frequent travels within the specific region
• identifies areas to grow the business in his/her region
• builds his/her own forecast on his/her customer portfolio
• builds the customer specific price catalogues

BACKGROUND REQUIRED

• Engineering or Business Administration degree or equivalent.
• Minimum 10 years professional experience, preferably in Aerospace Industry, or in Thales
• Excellent communication, marketing, selling and negotiation skills are essential for the role.
• Ability to work in a team is a pre-requisite.
• Fluency in English.
• Fluency in Arabic and/or French would be an advantage

Skills Required

• Aerospace