Sales Executive (Steel Trading) – Nairobi at Summit Recruitment and Search in Nairobi, Kenya

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    Sales Executive (Steel Trading) – Nairobi

    Posted

    3 weeks ago

    Apply by

    28 Aug

    Full Time
    On Site
    Mid
    Human Resources & Recruitment
    Sales

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    Job Description

    This role involves building and maintaining strong relationships with steel buyers across East Africa, promoting steel products, and identifying sales opportunities. The Sales Executive will manage customer accounts, coordinate logistics, and monitor market conditions to drive business growth.

    Key Responsibilities

    • Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with steel buyers across East Africa.
    • Promote the company's steel products and commercial offers to existing and prospective customers.
    • Identify sales opportunities, prepare competitive offers, follow up with customers, and close orders.
    • Serve as the main local point of contact for customers, managing communication, meetings, visits, and ongoing account relationships.
    • Monitor customer accounts and follow up on outstanding payments and collections.
    • Conduct customer KYC checks and monitor account standing, payment history, and creditworthiness.
    • Coordinate orders, shipments, and logistics with headquarters, steel mills' local offices, and logistics partners.
    • Support import and port-clearance processes to ensure timely delivery of customer orders.
    • Monitor market conditions, customer activity, competitor developments, pricing, and new business opportunities.
    • Provide regular updates to headquarters on sales activity, customer requirements, market developments, and potential risks.
    • Maintain accurate records of customer interactions, quotations, orders, payments, and sales activities.
    • Travel regularly within East Africa to meet customers and develop new business opportunities.

    Required Qualifications

    • Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related field.
    • At least four years of experience in steel trading, steel sales, or steel procurement.
    • Good working knowledge of steel products and their applications.
    • Understanding of international trade and import processes, including CFR, CIF, letters of credit, open-account payments, and port clearance.
    • Strong sales, negotiation, communication, and relationship-management skills.
    • Experience in customer account management, credit control, and payment follow-up.
    • Existing relationships with steel buyers across East Africa will be an added advantage.
    • Ability to communicate in Gujarati or Hindi will be an added advantage.
    • Willingness to travel frequently within the East African region.
    • Strong organisational skills, integrity, accountability, and the ability to work independently.

    Job Details

    Job Function

    Sales

    Minimum Experience

    4 years

    Education Level

    Bachelor’s Degree

    Area of Study

    Business

    Languages

    English, Gujarati or Hindi (added advantage)

    Additional Information

    How to Apply: Interested and qualified candidates should go to Summit Recruitment and Search on summitrecruitment-search.com to apply.

    Mastering Steel Sales in East Africa

    Steel trading is a relationship-driven, high-stakes field where trust and technical know-how seal deals. Hiring managers look for candidates who can prove they understand both the product and the cross-border logistics that make or break orders.

    1. Showcase your steel product knowledge: On your CV and in interviews, be specific about the steel grades, applications, and standards you've worked with. Mention any experience with long products, flat products, or structural steel to demonstrate depth.

    2. Prove your trade finance fluency: Highlight your hands-on experience with letters of credit, CFR/CIF terms, and port clearance. Give a concrete example of how you navigated a tricky import process to keep a customer satisfied.

    3. Demonstrate account management discipline: Sales in steel is about repeat business. Share how you tracked customer payment histories, managed credit limits, and reduced overdue accounts without damaging relationships.

    4. Leverage your regional network: If you have existing contacts among steel buyers in East Africa, mention them by region or company type (e.g., construction firms, fabricators). This is a major advantage.

    5. Prepare for logistics coordination questions: Expect interview questions about coordinating with mills, shipping lines, and clearing agents. Walk through a real scenario where you ensured on-time delivery despite a port delay.

    6. Highlight your multilingual edge: If you speak Gujarati or Hindi, emphasize it early. Many steel trading firms have ties to Indian-owned mills, and language ability builds trust quickly.

    7. Show you can work independently: This role involves frequent travel and minimal supervision. Describe a time you managed a sales territory solo, made decisions on the ground, and still hit targets.

    8. Tailor your CV to steel trading keywords: Use terms like 'steel procurement', 'import logistics', 'customer KYC', 'payment follow-up', and 'market intelligence' to pass applicant tracking systems and catch the recruiter's eye.

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    Tags

    steel trading
    sales
    East Africa
    customer relationship management
    import processes