Area Manager, Aggregates & Concrete at Lafarge Africa Plc

Lafarge Africa Plc is a member of the LafargeHolcim Group – the biggest building and concrete solutions company in the world. It is a publicly quoted company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and serves Nigeria with a wide range of building and construction solutions designed to meet housing and construction needs from small projects like individual home buildings to major construction and infrastructure projects.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Area Manager, Aggregates & Concrete

Location: Abuja
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Summary

• The Area Manger is a P&L role and provides leadership and direction across the network of plants in his/her designated Area. His/her responsibility covers administration, production, sales, quality control, maintenance, logistics, Health, Safety and Environmental issues.
• Demonstrates visible leadership and role modelling in Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) and Diversity & Inclusion (D&I). More specifically, promoting H&S and D&I actions/behaviours within the function will be key.
• Ensure profitability of plants within his/her “Area”
• To apply the safety policy and drive through with all direct contacts.
• Oversee batching plant operations
• Lead sales and marketing activities in his/her area
• Ensure key resources required in operations (Human resources, raw materials etc.) are available and optimized
• Actively participate in the growth Agenda of Lafarge Ready Mix Nigeria
• Effectively manage cross-functional teams across various plants within his/her “Area” to deliver results

Main Activities / Responsibilities
The Area Manager responsibilities can be summarized as follows:

Health, Safety & Environment:

• Promote safety culture through engagement with employees and subcontractors with an objective of “zero” safety incidents
• Ensure full compliance of the plants with Lafarge safety standards
• Conduct VFL (Visible Felt Leadership) in the RMX plants and or offices regularly
• Revise safety improvement plans in co-ordination with the Health & Safety Coordinator
• Support the certification and implementation of ISO 9001 & ISO 14001 standards in the Plants under his/her jurisdiction

Business Profitability / P&L:

• Ensure profitability of plants within the “Area” by achieving set volume, EBTDA & COI targets
• Ensure cost KPIs such as Material costs/m3, Delivery cost/m3, production cost/m3 etc. are within budget

Commercial and Customer Relations:

• Develop the business by leading the sales and customer service activities in his / her area
• Ensure customer needs are met in terms of quality, correct product and timely delivery in coordination with plant and quality teams
• Establish and execute commercial plan and strategy at area level (jointly with the Head A&C and other relevant persons)
• Take in charge Key Account customers (negotiation and contracts)
• Lead development of Value-Added Products
• Ensure compliance with the organization’s credit policy

Market Knowledge and Business Development:

• Lead the sales force in gathering market intelligence data on competition, new projects, new plants, suppliers and synthesize periodically for decision making with the Head, Aggregates and Concrete.
• Actively research, prepare & submit initiatives to develop the business: new plants or solve problems/issues (primary focus on his/her area but also nationally if necessary)

Operations:

• Accountable for overall performance of the batching plant operations with Plant Supervisor (Production, Quality, equipment utilization, people, fleet management, material supplies)
• Through the plant supervisor, ensure proper internal controls are in place (stock reconciliation, loss investigation) with Support of Maintenance Manager and Business Controller
• Administrative oversight of plant activities and achieve target set budget

Management, Organization and Communication:

• Manage and develop the team to ensure efficiency and high integrity
• Coach, train and help operational staff to understand and follow Lafarge procedures
• Proactive approach towards interaction between in-house departments
• Implement reporting process to monitor performance in his/her area
• Coordination with RMX and Cement Colleagues to drive Lafarge Africa Strategy
• Other tasks that may be assigned by the Head, A&C

Job Dimensions
List of direct reports:

• Operations Coordinator, Field Sales Manager, Sales Admin Officer

Key interfaces, stakeholders and relationships:

• The incumbent interacts regularly with the Head A&C, A&C Management team, Key Accounts Manager, Procurement etc.
• He/she also interacts regularly with the external public including transporters, suppliers and other external stakeholders.

Profile Required
Level of education/qualifications normally required:

• Degree in Engineering / Marketing
• An MBA will be an added advantage

Specific Work experience:

• At least 7 years working experience in a busy commercial environment within the building materials or construction industry.
• Knowledge of LafargeHoIcim products
• Experience in Ready Mix operation will be an added advantage

Technical / Functional Skills:

• Good written and oral communication skills
• Strong analytical mind and capacity
• Strong computer skills especially Excel, word, powerpoint and email applications
• Ability to prioritize with excellent time management skills
• Good attention to detail

Behavioral Competence:

• Good interpersonal relationship skills
• Strong  team player
• Adaptable
• Tact and tolerant
• Ability to work well under pressure and adhere to set deadlines
• Resilient and Motivated

Leadership and managerial abilities:

• Excellent management skills and ability to organize and plan effectively to meet both short and long range goals and objectives.
• Ability to manage multiple project plans successfully and simultaneously.
• Ability to motivate individuals and teams
• Able to coach and direct a diverse team.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.