Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) is a national Railway of Zambia. The Company specialises in transporting heavy cargo in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as running a local passenger train service. The area of product specialization is freight-bulk cargo and passenger rail services to the satisfaction of all Stakeholders. The Company therefore seeks the services of committed, vibrant, innovative, and strategically focused and business oriented Zambian nationals to fill the vacant position below:
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DIRECTOR COMMERCIAL
JOB GRADE – ZRL01
SUPERVISOR – MANAGING DIRECTOR
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JOB PURPOSE:
To deliver measurable revenue growth, recover rail market share and maximise asset productivity to achieve corporate objectives for Zambia Railways Limited current services and identified revenue growth areas.
MAIN DUTIES
Strategic Planning, Market Development & Growth
- Lead commercial input into company strategy and investment decisions.
- Develop and execute the company’s commercial strategy and sales plans aligned with company objectives to achieve revenue and growth targets.
- Own and deliver the sales strategy and plan for freight, passenger as well as other railway services.
- Analyze sales data, market trends, customer behaviour and competitor activities to inform strategic and tactical decisions.
- Collaborate with senior management to align commercial goals with the company’s overall vision and goals.
- Actively grow market share in key sectors of freight (bulk cargo) and passenger services, particularly in line with national transport policies and regional corridor developments.
- Develop and recommend new revenue streams (e.g. Intermodal services, Inland container depots, warehousing, other logistics services)
- Lead marketing campaigns to promote railway services.
- Oversee advertisement on station building and passenger trains.
- Build and maintain a strong brand identity for the company.
- Utilize digital marketing, social media and traditional advertising to reach target audiences.
- Leverage partnerships to expand railway impact and revenue generation through coordination with ports and regional corridor cooperation?
- Position ZRL as a reliable public service institution through corporate brand alignment with national development goals
Revenue Generation & Management
- Recommend and oversee pricing/tariff strategies for freight, passenger and other railway services to maximise revenue by effectively competing with road and other transport modes.
- Lead customer acquisition Programmes.
- Identify and secure long-term contracts with key customers in strategic sectors.
- Monitor revenue performance and recommend adjustments to strategies and tactics in order to meet volume and financial targets.
- Develop and manage strategic relationships with intermediaries and distribution partners on the provision of railway services.
- Implement dynamic pricing models and promotional campaigns to optimize all revenue generated from passenger services
Financial & Commercial Performance & Monitoring
- Develop, own, monitor and manage the commercial department’s annual budget (P&L, forecasting and targets)
- Ensure achievement of revenue and profitability targets.
- Increase Revenue generation from existing and new business from freight, passenger and other railway services.
- Identify and prioritize long haul and high earning traffic.
- Prioritize, in conjunction with Operations and regional managers, clearance of foreign rolling stock on ZRL’ lines.
- Improve wagon utilization, that is, load factor and turnaround.
- Optimize utilization of hired rolling stock.
- Increase over border and local traffic.
- Monitor commercial performance against agreed KPIs (e.g., volume carried, revenue per ton-km, passenger ridership)
- Ensure variable costs are in line with output or production.
- Prepare regular reports for senior management and the board on commercial activities and performance.
Customer Service and Stakeholder Management
- Negotiate, manage, and monitor performance on high-value freight service contracts and agreements, including service legal agreements, for recommendations to Managing Director and ExCom
- Manage key clients and accounts – maintaining and sustaining strong customer relations, engagement and response to customer needs, thereby enhancing customer experience
- Consult with other revenue generating units.
- Meet stakeholder expectations and demand, especially in terms of freight volumes.
- Conduct customer satisfaction surveys.
- Consult with the Operations department to place required locomotives and wagons at customer sidings and loading and offloading sites.
- Manage contracts for outsourced services.
- Collaborate with government agencies, associations like SARA and other stakeholders to support commercial initiatives e.g. in implementing, monitoring and compliance reports on the movement of commodities specified in Statutory Instrument No. 7 of 2018. as well as overseeing ZRL’s participation at key industry conferences and exhibitions.
- Balance commercial objectives with public service obligations
- Develop strategic relationships with other transportation providers and logistics companies, e.g. partnerships with road haulers for movement of traffic.
- Manage and maintain a good relationship with contiguous railway administrations, including effective management of interchange.
Operational Efficiency & Innovation
- Identify opportunities to grow freight revenue in an operationally efficient manner.
- Traffic and corridor diversification
- Work in conjunction with Operations and Technical departments to align commercial plans with operational capability while improving service reliability, transit times and customer satisfaction.
- Ensure effective and efficient allocation and utilization of resources and materials to support commercial initiatives.
- Ensure cost-effective operations while maintaining service quality.
- Participate in company response to derailments.
- Monitor and track Train movements and update customers accordingly
- Ensure Systems availability in the commercial department.
- Develop and recommend new and efficient business models.
- Create an environment for departmental innovations.
- Recommend new, effective, and efficient innovations to manage.
- Benchmark with internal and external stakeholders on new innovations and recommend the same to ZRL through scheduled reports.
Regulatory & Policy Compliance
- Ensure all commercial activities comply with legal requirements, corporate governance rules, and national statutory instruments related to commercial operations.
- Ensure adherence to all safety protocols and guidelines.
- Advocate for policies that support the company’s commercial interests.
- Represent the company in negotiations with regulators, industry bodies and other stakeholders
CORE COMPETENCIES:
- Customer care relations skills.
- Communication skills.
- Social media skills.
- Excellent Numerical, Analytical and Financial skills.
- Excellent Negotiation skills
- Commercial and business acumen.
- Performance and appraisal knowledge.
- Innovative
- Knowledge of rules, regulations and procedures.
- Excellent Team building and leadership skills.
- Talent management.
- Leadership and Supervisory skills.
- Critical thinking and Problem solving.
EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR:
Uphold ZRL’s six (6) core values of: –
- Teamwork
- Innovation
- Integrity
- Professionalism
- Service
- Enterprise
ACADEMIC /PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Full grade 12 certificate (5 ‘0’ levels) with credit or better in Mathematics and English.
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing/ business administration. Economics, logistics, Engineering or equivalent.
- A master’s degree (MBA) is preferred.
- At least 5–10 years of senior management proven commercial management experience, preferably in the railway, transport, logistics or infrastructure industry.
- Strong understanding of revenue management, marketing and sales strategies.
- Knowledge of customer relationship management (CRM) systems and digital marketing tools.
- Membership of a professional body is a must. (ZIM).
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