Sales Director - Defense

About Kennametal

With over 85 years as an industrial technology leader,Kennametal Inc.delivers productivity to customers through materials science, tooling and wear-resistant solutions. Customers across aerospace and defense, earthworks, energy, general engineering and transportation turn toKennametalto help them manufacture with precision and efficiency. Learn more atkennametal.com. Follow @Kennametal: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Sales Director - Defense

Location - Remote, anywhere within the US

Job Summary

The Sales Director Defense is responsible for a growing global Defense team of professional Global Key Account Managers, Sales Engineers, and a Market Portfolio Manager across WC and WHA Defense solutions and markets. This key position acts as primary market and strategy advisor, developing growth and retention strategies alongside the EWC Business Unit Leader. The position will provide direction and support to global executive management in identifying opportunities for growth inside and outside of the current product portfolio, required investments and long-term planning to accomplish this growth. Collaborating with the design, production, engineering, or research and development departments to determine how products and services could be made or modified to suit the needs of the customer.

The ideal candidate for the job is first and foremost an experienced technical sales professional with a demonstrated working knowledge of Armor Penetration, Ammunition, Fragments and the Defense acquisition lifecycles. The candidate should have an awareness and a working knowledge of federal procurement and of the different contract types utilized for the acquisition of both commercial and non-commercial items, as well as the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Department of Defense Acquisition Regulation supplement (DFARs).

Key Job Responsibilities

• Define, develop and deploy market and key customer & competitive strategies to find attract win and retain profitable growth, with SMART key performance indicators and milestones to ensure accountability.
• Analyze and understand variable financial drivers to identify sales penetration opportunities for region and optimize resource allocation in pursuing these opportunities.
• Develop and implement a multi-faceted regional growth strategy, through profitability analysis, to drive strategic planning, resource allocation, and regional operations to meet/exceed annual and quarterly sales targets.
• Develop and implement regional sales plans/performance goals that will increase current sales volumes and profit margins across the assigned region within company plans and guidelines.
• Provide regular updates to BU and Executive leadership on business performance, profitability, and growth efforts.
• Manage all executive customer relationships to strengthen overall solution capabilities and drive greater value to the customer addressing customer inquiries and concerns leveraging our L.A.M.P model alongside key account managers and team.
• Leverage strong local market and competitive landscape awareness to influence strategic business decisions. Identify other influencers, decision makers, and possible champions within existing and potential client companies.
• Coordinate and deliver forward looking forecasts to manufacturing and sourcing partners through collaborative S&OP process across various plants and teams
• Develop and deliver annual operating plan and direct team quota inputs through planning processes in collaboration with peers and business unit leader / finance teams.
• Collaborate with marketing, customer services, consulting desks, analysis teams and sales colleagues and managers, to ensure successful implementation and financial growth.
• Lead, mentor, train, and coach regional team; develop future sales leaders.

• Utilizes customer relationship management (CRM) tools to document and manage customer activity / pipeline.
• Directs input for and completion of required sales training modules (CRM, large account management, etc)

Requirements

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related field preferred, MBA preferred
• 8-10 Years in related industries or materials
• 2-4 years of sales experience preferred
• Previous military or law enforcement experience
• Able to achieve secret level US DoD clearance
• Knowledge of connected industries or solutions including specialty markets (armor plating, body armor, vehicle protection systems)
• Ability to create demand through insight, influencing, planning & organizing
• Self-starter and self-sufficient requiring little supervision for decision making, account planning and advancing sales discussions
• Excellent interpersonal skills including active listening and building trusting relationships.
• Excellent business sense and decision-making skills leveraging data and strategic thinking.
• Completion of structured selling courses / training program preferred

Functional/Technical Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Subject matter expert of KMT Inc and/or industrial consumables industry preferred
• Data-driven, focused on results driven by strategy, thriving in a fast-paced fast growth organization
• Demonstrable success as a leader, able to attract and recruit top sales talent, is adept at coaching and getting the best out of the team
• Deep understanding of both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of a successful sales operation
• Resilient and entrepreneurial spirit
• Excellent listening, negotiation, and presentation skills
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills
• Transformational Leadership; challenging the status quo, and leading by example (Cultural beliefs, True North)
• Ability to lead in a challenging and dynamic environment while managing risk
• Effectively communicate in a highly collaborative environment
• Ability to interpret market trends in a meaningful and actionable way
• Being able to be proactive and provide strategy to mitigate future issues
• Possess foresight and hindsight with ability to rely on historical context - learning and incorporating into future plans/actions (proactive)
• Comfortable influencing team decision making process
• Possess understanding and comfortability with diverse financial acumen

Due to the nature of the responsibilities of this position, consideration as an applicant is limited to individuals who are either a US Citizen or a US Permanent Resident. An expression of interest from anyone who is not a US Citizen or a US Permanent Resident will not proceed for consideration as an applicant.

Equal Opportunity Employer