CST Head of Sales [India]

The CST Head of Sales [India] is the owner of all cross-BA customer matters and represents all business areas in front of the customer's top management for a specific region. The function develops and executes the customer strategy in strong alignment with the business areas, summarizing all business opportunities for future growth. The CST Head of Sales [Region] is the main business driver across business areas and is supported by the two main pillars of the CST organization, consisting of the Customer Sales Manager BA / Regional (CSM) and Customer Account Management (CAM).

Account Strategy:

Ownership for steering, approving, aligning, and driving the implementation of the relevant regional customer strategy, considering future and global business opportunities on a comparable level with the customer as well as acquiring and transferring customer market and strategic knowledge within Continental.

a) Drive the customer strategy alignment with Business Areas for a dedicated region

b) Initiate and steer cross-business area synergy potentials, including innovation management for a dedicated region

c) Approve the definition of regional customer strategy provided by the customer sales manager

d) Approval of definition of function (incl. systems) acquisition roadmap (customer function roadmap) for a dedicated region

e) Approval of new businesses / innovation identification for a dedicated region

f) Approval of pre-acquisition management for a dedicated region

g) Approval of identifying potential co-operation areas (e.g. pre-development areas, joint ventures, technology cooperation) for a dedicated region

h) Executes the customer-specific claim strategy and act as internal coordinator and key negotiator for x-BA claims as well as a supporter of BA claims on demand

i) Defines the Marketing, communication, and Events action plan following the customer strategy

Acquisition of Business:

Challenge, drive, and guide business area-related acquisition requirements on a regional basis across business areas.

a) Approval of Customer Engagement/Escalation Management for a dedicated region

b) Approval of driving, guiding and standardizing cross-business area acquisition requirements for a dedicated region

c) Approval of the definition and application of Customer Standard Quote (according GT&C, customer standards, etc.) for a dedicated region

d) Overall negotiation and agreement with customer regarding sustainability requirements in alignment with plans and communication of sustainability strategy and actions to customers

e) Manage LiFT activities and prepare (strategy/tactic/leverage) and drive the negotiations in alignment with BAs

f) Leads commercial improvement activities by being the center of information and commercial knowledge

Customer Relationship Management

Responsible for steering and approval of customer engagement, knowledge of customer processes, and setting of internal guidelines (improvements processes and change management processes)

a) Approval of application of customer relationship management (CRM) rules (e.g., customer satisfaction information, creation of trust, response times, meeting structure, etc.)

b) Approval of de-escalation management (countermeasure)

c) Approval of escalation management (customer complaint handling)

d) Approval of the development of a story line for top management meetings and customer events

e) Approval of the maintenance of customer relationship and continuous improvements

f) Provides a clear outside view about customer satisfaction and customer feedback.

Goal Alignment & Communication

Orchestrate and steer the right and balanced goal alignment and ensure aligned internal/external communication.

a) Definition of Goals & Objectives for the customer (Sales top line, order intake targets, target projects / top acquisitions) for a dedicated region

b) Goal achievement tracking for the Customer / Customer Sales Team for a dedicated region

c) Organization of (annual) customer-specific sales meeting (Internal) for a dedicated region

d) Organization of regular Customer (cross-BA) status meetings (e.g., quote status, SPOT updates, Order Intake reporting/ePCIS, acquisition measures) for a dedicated region

e) Approval of establishing, managing, and steering the "Customer Sales Community," including the info pool (document library) for a dedicated region

f) Key interface to BA product and Automotive Market Intelligence

Sales Planning & Opportunity Management

Responsible for approving the establishment and maintenance of best-in-class assumptions for Sales Planning & opportunity management.

a) Approval of LVPF management for a dedicated region

b) Approval of engine/transmission roadmap management for a dedicated region

c) Approval of opportunity Inputs based on regional account strategy

d) Approval of APA process management for a dedicated region

e) Approval of training, maintenance & access management for a dedicated region

Administration

Responsible for approval and planning of own cost center and budget.

a) Achieve Cost Center Budget

b) Approve budget

c) Review of critical items

d) Definition and review of KPI's

Professional Experience

• 18-20 years of job experience in an international automotive environment
• High negotiations experience preferred, e.g., sales, KAM, Purchasing
• Ideally existing experience in leading application projects
• Existing experience in Automotive product know-how and processes
• Minimum 5 years experience in project management
• 2-3 completed customer projects with reasonable scope and impact to the organization
• Minimum 10 years leadership experience with international teams

Education / Certification

• Degree in Business Administration or Engineering