Account Manager - MTN/Bayobab

Join our dynamic Sales Team in Southern Africa, where you will work closely with strategic customers in South Africa, focusing primarily on MTN and Bayobab across Nokia’s Network Infrastructure (NI) portfolio. As an Account Manager, you will collaborate with pre-sales, solutioning, and delivery organizations to provide innovative infrastructure solutions that support customers’ network evolution, transport modernization, broadband expansion, and digital infrastructure ambitions.

This role offers a hybrid working environment, balancing collaboration within Nokia offices and direct engagement with customer stakeholders across technical, operational, and commercial functions. You will play a critical role in strengthening existing partnerships, identifying new growth opportunities, and positioning Nokia as a trusted advisor and technology partner.

You will thrive in a collaborative and high-performance culture that values innovation, accountability, and customer success. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to large-scale transformation initiatives while developing your expertise within a globally recognized technology leader.

• Manage and grow strategic relationships with MTN and Bayobab, driving sales growth and achieving business targets across the NI portfolio.

  
  
• Lead and drive sales activities across the MI and NI portfolio in South Africa. 
• Develop deep understanding of customer strategies, market dynamics, and digital infrastructure priorities in South Africa.
• Identify, shape, and convert opportunities by aligning Nokia solutions to customer business and technology challenges 
• Define and execute account strategies to achieve revenue growth and market expansion 
• Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with senior stakeholders across technical, operational, and commercial functions 
• Own and manage the sales pipeline, ensuring accuracy and discipline in CRM tools 
• Lead complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles from opportunity identification through negotiation and contract closure 
• Collaborate with global and regional teams to develop competitive sales strategies and winning proposals 
• Coordinate pre-sales, solutioning, and partner ecosystems to deliver differentiated, value-based solutions 
• Work closely with delivery and operations teams to ensure alignment on execution, risks, and customer satisfaction 
   

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, Business, or a related field 
• Minimum 10 years of experience in account management and solution sales within the telecom and/or IT industry 
• Strong knowledge of Mobile Networks, Digital Infrastructure, and automation 
• Good understanding of mobile and fixed network environments, particularly within emerging markets 
• Proven track record of consistently meeting or exceeding sales targets 
• Experience in selling software and services in the telecommunications or IT domain (highly preferred) 
• Experience managing partners and ecosystems in large-scale transformation programs (preferred) 
• Proficiency in CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce) and Microsoft Office suite 
• Excellent communication skills in English (additional regional language skills are an advantage) 

• High level of integrity, accountability, and professionalism 

  
  

Key Competencies

• Tenacity & Resilience: Demonstrates persistence and determination when managing complex sales cycles, overcoming obstacles, and navigating challenging customer situations while maintaining professionalism and focus on outcomes.
• Consultative & Challenger Selling: Ability to influence customers through insights and value-based engagement 
• Stakeholder Management: Skilled at navigating complex organizations and engaging senior decision-makers 
• Communication & Presentation: Strong interpersonal, negotiation, and storytelling skills 
• Cross-functional Leadership: Ability to lead virtual teams across pre-sales, delivery, and product organizations 
• Results-Driven Mindset: Strong ownership with the ability to deliver under pressure 
• Commercial & Financial Acumen: Understanding of contracts, pricing strategies, and business cases 
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to define and execute long-term account growth plans  
• Solution Selling Expertise: Experience in bid management, pricing, and contract negotiations
• Independence & Ownership: Capable of operating autonomously with minimal supervision, proactively managing customer engagement, priorities, pipeline, and internal coordination to drive business results.