General Manager

A healthcare product company is looking to appoint an Operational General Manager to oversee and maintain current operations and manage the existing customer base  Following this, the focus will shift to driving business growth by executing the strategies and objectives set by the Exco team. The ideal candidate will be a versatile professional with a strong understanding of operations, sales, and customer support.

The General Manager is responsible for the day to day running of the business. Their role is to plan, direct and coordinate all the organisation’s operations, customer support, marketing and sales functions. There will also be a finance person/team reporting into this role. This person will be a “hands on” person that is dynamic, motivated and willing to get their “hands dirty” as their responsibility will cover all areas of the business. They will be required to understand the business from pricing of products, issuing quotations, contractual reviews, compliance requirements with medical associations, supplier management, logistics, stock control, asset control, repairs and maintenance, liaising with customers (individuals, medical aids, hospitals, retirement villages,etc), managing support and administration queries and managing the marketing aspects of the business. Having both a sales and an operational management background would be ideal for this position. It is our intention to build a team around this role, hence the need for the candidate to have a good grasp of ALL aspects of the business and be prepared to get involved in everything.

Key Responsibilities:

• Day to day running of the business
• Logistics (delivery to/from customers)
• Purchasing (imports)
• Maintenance & repairs (understanding and allocating tasks to maintenance team)
• Storage control (including stock control and asset control)
• Ensuring compliance with applicable associations (2 licenses currently in place Practice license and SAHPRA)
• Ensuring the necessary insurances are in place – goods in transit, storage, public liability or D&O,etc
• Daily client liaison where applicable – this could include taking client sales calls, client queries, responding to whatsapp messages, website or social media enquiries
• Ability to be client facing and making a sale will stand you in good stead for this role (this includes meeting with corporate clients, medical aids, hospitals, retirement villages)
• Management of quotes and where applicable submission of quotes to customers
• Managing of client refund requests
• Liaising with the finance team for invoicing, payments,etc
• Maintaining the company’s website/hosting (this resides under this role, but will have IT person actioning any changes)
• Overseeing the social media pages and ensuring advertisements are executed
• Working with a marketing person in designing, creating content for social media posts and advertisements

• Managing supplier relationships and identifying alternative suppliers
• Working with the executive team in assessing product and services pricing to the market
• Serve as the company’s main adviser on all issues relating to operational functions and keep abreast of latest developments to ensure that the Company maintains its competitive position.
• Maintain an effective working relationship with Executive team members to ensure that there is effective co-ordination of all company activities in support of our objectives.

Competencies:

• Excellent inter-personal and negotiating skills
• Excellent organisational skills
• Excellent time management skills
• Excellent decision making skills
• Basic IT skills (databases, MS Office etc)
• Foresight, analysis and logic, systematic and orderly planning, attention to detail
• Strong problem solving skills and analytical abilities

Experience & Education:

• A degree or equivalent and relevant professional qualifications.
• Extensive experience in operations management, with at least 5-8 years’ relevant management experience
• Budget development and oversight experience People management – strong leadership and relationship management skills
• Communication skills – ability to communicate confidently and clearly with all stakeholders, i.e. peers and executive management Proven ability to identify and proactively manage risks
• Ability to work under pressure when dealing with and managing time critical scenarios