Strategic Sales & Relationship Manager

This job will provide you with an opportunity to further your career alongside some of the best and most passionate technology experts from around the world in a leading company within the test, measurement and data analytics industry. You will be a strong contributor collaborating closely with colleagues from various business functions.

At HBK, we live up to our three values: Be True, Own It and Aim High. We believe in absolute integrity – it’s how we win for stakeholders, the environment and each other. We believe in teamwork and keeping our promises – to ourselves and others. Finally, we believe in being bold and positive. This is how we perform at our best and achieve greater success.

The position

We are currently looking for a Strategic Sales & Relationship Manager covering automotive in Japan reporting to the Vice President of global key accounts. The position will be based in Japan ideally around the Tokyo or Nagoya areas.

The role requires the development of strategic relationships and value positioning with key customers. The role is global, functioning across all of HBK’s businesses. You will be responsible for developing HBK’s primary relationship with C-suite and Senior Executives customers. As the guardian for HBK’s most important customers, you will be responsible for ensuring HBK continues to develop processes that improve ‘customers experience’.

The role is well suited to a highly motivated and enthusiastic sales leader, with a proven record of successful business development experience and a keen eye for identifying, seeking and engaging new contacts at the most senior levels of our customers and partners.

Primary responsibilities

Your daily work includes:

Influence strategic direction

• Determining voice of customer needs across HBK’s key customer base and help enable HBK to deliver value

• Determine key account needs, initiative drivers, industry and market insights

• Identify focus areas and investment programs that support Customer-HBK partnership growth

• Identify and seek gaps in HBK’s offering through 3rd party technology and business partnerships including potential M&A targets

• Develop an awareness and understanding of the key accounts’s perception of HBK's position

• Champion and share voice of customer data with relevant HBK stakeholders

Position HBK

• Elevate HBK's Business Units’s positioning

• Engage customers at executive and senior levels sharing HBK's value and potential for enabling their organizational growth

• Adding value across the the following industry mega-trends:

• Digitalisation

• Electrification

• Automation

• Virtual test

• aligning with key account customer’s key initiative drivers throughout their product and solution lifecycles:

• Design

• R&D Test

• Production test

• In-Use

Improve customer success

• Support the improvement of HBK’s global key accounts customer's experience

• Seek to identify and share customer feedback within HBK supporting ‘customer experience’ improvement

• Hold HBK's departments accountable to create and manage processes that allow for the receipt and assimulation of VOC, enabling them to develop alignment with the growth initiatives of key customers

• Make it easier for key customers to do business with HBK

Professional qualifications

• You hold a Bachelor’s Degree or higher level qualification.
• Further you have a minimum 7 years of experience managing sales teams, strategic development teams or developing key accounts in a technology based business within the automotive industry

Personal skills

• Developed and diversified communication skills and techniques
• Prepared to identify, seek and engage new contacts whilst demonstrating value that supports long term relationships
• Attitude and capability to operate in a highly matrix hierarchical structure
• Fluency in English and Japanese
• Knowledge of the Japanese Automotive industry and the macro trends that impact the industry
• Knowledge of enterprise development and customer success management
• Commercial awareness and ability to value sell
• High standard of professional integrity
• Coaching and leadership skills
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Ability to establish clear goals and focus on objectives to achieve targets
• Willingness to spend more time with customers than in the office

Ways to stand out from the crowd

• A proven record in growing business

• High aptitude in determining customer needs and demonstrating value

• Practical experience of value selling methodologies such as Miller Heiman

• Experience or a demonstrated capability of team leadership

We offer

Freedom with responsibility is the framework for HBK’s employees. This allows for a good balance between work and family life and for constant development of professional and personal skills in an international and enjoyable working environment.

At HBK, we live up to our three values: Be True, Own It and Aim High. We believe in absolute integrity – it’s how we win for stakeholders, the environment and each other. We believe in teamwork and keeping our promises – to ourselves and others. Finally, we believe in being bold and positive. This is how we perform at our best and achieve greater success.

One company – HBK

On 1 January 2019, Brüel & Kjær and HBM merged their activities into a new company called HBK (Hottinger Brüel & Kjær). With more than 3,500 employees worldwide and production facilities in Denmark, Germany, the UK, the USA, China and Portugal and presence in 80 countries, HBK is a leading player in the test and measurement area. For further info please visit www.hbkworld.com.

HBK is a division of Spectris plc, a UK-based productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company serving leading aerospace, automotive, medical, and other customers. Spectris plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.