Key Account Manager

KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER

Vald. BIRN A/S in Holstebro is looking for a technically qualified and commercially focused Key Account Manager for its sales of high quality cast iron solutions.

THE POSITION

In order to consolidate and expand our sales activities, we need to strengthen our sales team by recruiting a qualified Key Account Manager.

You will be given responsibility for strategically important customers, all of which are market-leading OEMs or system providers, including those in the truck sector. Your role will be to expand and enhance the sales turnover among existing customers, while at the same time cultivating new customer relationships. A significant part of the role also involves making sustained efforts to secure up-to-date framework agreements and contracts in addition to communicating customer requirements and expectations.

The sales process consists of offering to produce the customers’ cast iron components. Once the items are being produced, the sales work will involve continuously negotiating and adjusting the sales prices of the individual components, as well as negotiating and maintaining other commercial conditions. These conditions include packaging, logistics solutions, framework agreements for quality and delivery, and aftermarket terms.

Your normal working day will vary from administrative tasks at the office in Holstebro, where you will work closely with Production, the Production Engineering Department (PED), Business Controlling and other company stakeholders. You will also be responsible for planning and conducting your external customer visits, primarily in Europe where you can expect up to around 50 days’ travelling per year. You will also help with and prepare data and presentations for sales meetings and trade fair attendance, as well as continuously reporting to Sales Management.

As part of a cross-organisational partnership, you will familiarise yourself with the customers’ projects and thus become the most important link of the contact between the customer and your colleagues across the entire organisation.

When out visiting customers with a view to sales, you will always have a ‘One Stop Shop’ cast iron solution to call upon. By this, we mean that BIRN is able to cast, machine, assemble and surface-treat the products so that they can be delivered directly to the customer’s production line or application without further processing. This is both efficient and sustainable.

Are you looking to combine your technical curiosity and skills with a strategic responsibility for sales and long-term customer relationships in an international industrial group? If so, you may be the person we are looking for as a Key Account Manager.

YOUR DUTIES

You will be given a central role in the sales organisation, with your work including the following:

• Responsibility for and the continued development of a portfolio of four to six major strategic customers in Europe, primarily in Scandinavia. You will be responsible for a turnover of at least € 25 million
• Building up long-term relationships with the customers’ stakeholders in the fields of purchasing, development, quality and logistics
• Technical and commercial advice during the customers’ development and project phases
• Planning and conducting customer visits, contract and price negotiations and major framework agreements
• Ongoing budget monitoring, forecasts and sales reports at customer level
• Searching for, analysing and developing new customer potentials and market segments
• Close internal collaboration with production engineering, quality, controlling and finance
• Participation in sales and strategy activities across the organisation

The position involves some travel, primarily in Europe.

QUALIFICATIONS

We expect you to have the following:

• Extensive advanced technical training/experience, ideally supplemented with commercial skills, e.g. engineer, marine engineer or equivalent. A skilled trade background, supplemented by commercial training or experience, is another option
• Experience of technical sales, project sales or Key Account Management; alternatively, you will have been recently trained and have the right level of drive. The start date will be adapted to suit the right candidate
• The ability to thrive in an outward-facing role with extensive customer contact, and to plan your day-to-day work independently
• The ability to work in a structured manner on CRM, budgets, documentation and monitoring. You will need to be skilled in using digital tools, for processing both text and numbers
• The ability to communicate without difficulty in English and, preferably, also in Danish – and, ideally, in the other Scandinavian languages
• The technical flair and ability to get to grips with the customers’ business and applications
• A passenger car driving licence and a valid passport with no travel restrictions

At a personal level, you will be skilled in relationships, persistent and curious, with the motivation to create value through collaboration based on trust and a high level of professionalism.

WHAT WE OFFER

You will become part of Vald. BIRN A/S, a solid and internationally represented industrial enterprise with strong values and a high degree of professionalism. In addition, you will receive:

• A central, independent role with a high level of influence on customers, sales and commercial development
• A strong professional environment with close collaboration across the Group
• Thorough on-boarding and training in products, markets and the organisation
• Good opportunities for both professional and personal development
• Attractive terms and conditions of employment, including a pension scheme and health insurance
• A good canteen scheme and active staff association
• An informal work environment that focuses on well-being, responsibility and sustainability

ABOUT THE BIRN GROUP

Vald. BIRN A/S in Holstebro is the Group Headquarters of one of Northern Europe’s largest foundry Groups. We supply highly processed cast iron components to the truck industry and others, as well as industrial hydraulics and machine components. Sustainability, the circular economy and responsibility are integral parts of our DNA. The Group employs around 750 staff, of which around 480 are in Holstebro.

APPLICATIONS

If you have any questions about the position or the BIRN Group, please feel free to contact Group CSO Peter Frost Jepsen on tel. +45 3016 0160 or Group HR Manager Morten Madsen on tel. +45 3016 0115.

Please note that we are processing applications on a continuous basis and will close the position once we have found the right candidate. As mentioned above, the start date can be adjusted to suit the right candidate. Please submit your application via our recruitment system, which you will find at [insert link]. Candidates who proceed to a second interview can expect to complete a personality profile as part of the process.

We would encourage all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, ethnicity or age, to apply for the position.