Job Title: Senior Key Account Manager – Gauteng
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Business Unit: Cepheid, a Danaher Company
Reports To: Country Manager, South Africa
At Cepheid, we are united by our mission to enable access to fast, accurate, and actionable diagnostic insights that improve lives. As a Senior Key Account Manager based in Gauteng, you will play a critical role in accelerating our commercial growth across South Africa’s healthcare ecosystem.
You will lead strategic customer engagement, driving adoption of Cepheid’s molecular diagnostic solutions across both the commercial and public health sectors, including HBDC. You will be responsible for managing key accounts directly and supporting distributor activities, while delivering on sales targets and business expansion plans. This high-impact role requires a customer-centric mindset, strong commercial acumen, and the ability to influence complex stakeholder environments.
Key ResponsibilitiesAchieve or exceed quarterly and annual revenue targets by managing and growing strategic accounts in the region.
Design and execute tailored account strategies to drive market share, increase test menu utilization, and secure long-term partnerships.
Lead participation in tenders, contracts, and pricing strategies aligned with both commercial and public health market dynamics.
Serve as the primary point of contact for healthcare institutions, commercial laboratories, and regional distributor partners.
Drive business growth across key private and public healthcare providers, including Commercial Labs, Hospitals, Clinics, and Alternative Care Settings.
Conduct regular engagements with clinicians, lab directors, procurement leads, and policy makers, positioning Cepheid as a trusted diagnostics partner.
Collaborate with the Marketing team on demand generation campaigns, scientific workshops, and customer events, ensuring execution excellence.
Support distributor partners by evaluating performance, facilitating training, and ensuring adherence to the Channel Partner Toolkit (CPTK) process.
Maintain strong sales forecasting discipline using Salesforce (SFDC), providing visibility on pipeline, funnel activity, pricing, and market trends.
Work cross-functionally with Customer Care, Service, and Technical teams to ensure high service quality and instrument uptime for your accounts.
Champion the Danaher Business System (DBS) and funnel management principles to continuously drive process excellence and performance.
Complete all assigned training modules on time and ensure compliance with Cepheid and Danaher policies.
For team leaders: Ensure timely and full training completion for all direct reports.
Education & Experience
Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Medical Technology, or a related field.
Minimum 5 years of experience in the diagnostics, medical device, or healthcare industry.
Demonstrated success in managing key accounts and developing long-term business relationships.
Strong financial and commercial acumen, especially within B2B healthcare markets.
Skills & Competencies
Ability to lead complex sales cycles, manage multiple stakeholders, and influence buying decisions.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills in both clinical and commercial environments.
Adept at cross-functional collaboration and leveraging internal resources to support customer success.
Highly organized, self-driven, and motivated by results.
Willingness to travel locally and regionally up to 50%.
Multi-lingual: Fluent in English; additional languages are an asset.
Experience managing P&L and budgets.
Advanced proficiency in Salesforce CRM or other sales tracking tools.
Understanding of molecular diagnostics and public health procurement models.
Join our winning team today. Together, we’ll accelerate the real-life impact of tomorrow’s science and technology. We partner with customers across the globe to help them solve their most complex challenges, architecting solutions that bring the power of science to life.
For more information, visit www.danaher.com.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences, Medical Technology, or a related field
- At least 5 years of experience in diagnostics, medical devices, or healthcare
- Demonstrated success managing key accounts and developing long-term business relationships
- Strong financial and commercial acumen in B2B healthcare markets
- Ability to lead complex sales cycles, manage stakeholders, and influence buying decisions
- Exceptional communication and presentation skills in clinical and commercial environments
- Cross-functional collaboration skills
- Advanced proficiency in Salesforce CRM or other sales tracking tools
- Experience managing P&L and budgets
- Understanding of molecular diagnostics and public health procurement models
- Fluency in English
- Additional language proficiency
Danaher Corporation Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Danaher Corporation and has not been reviewed or approved by Danaher Corporation.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical plan options alongside dental, vision, life, disability, and mental health support. Wellness initiatives and support programs such as an EAP and vaccination or fitness offerings add breadth beyond core insurance.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits include a 401(k) plan with employer matching and options such as pre-tax and Roth contributions. Broader financial rewards such as performance bonuses and access to equity or an employee stock purchase plan are also described.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave and family-building support are described as available, including maternity and paternity leave and fertility assistance. Childcare and eldercare support are also highlighted as part of the overall package.
Danaher Corporation Insights
What We Do
Danaher is a global science and technology innovator committed to helping our customers solve complex challenges and improve quality of life around the world. A global network of more than 25 operating companies, we drive meaningful innovation in some of today’s most dynamic industries through our operating companies in four strategic platforms: Life Sciences, Diagnostics, Water Quality and Product Identification. The engine at the heart of our success is the Danaher Business System (DBS), a set of tools that enables continuous improvement around lean, growth and leadership. Through the ingenuity of our people, the power of DBS and the impact of our meaningful technologies, we help realize life’s potential in ourselves and for those we serve.
