Sales Manager, Cyber Security and NGS

About the Role

ROLE PURPOSE

The Sales Manager - Cybersecurity is responsible for driving aggressive growth of Westcon's cybersecurity portfolio across Rest of Africa through a balanced engagement model:

• 50% End-Customer direct engagement to stimulate demand, influence deal architecture and accelerate pipeline velocity.

• 20% Cybersecurity System Integrator (SI) channel engagement to develop scalable ecosystems capable of consistent revenue growth.

• 30% Vendor & Westcon Regional Sales leaders engagement, alignment and meetings

The role leads a regional team of Cybersecurity Business Development Managers (BDMs), Pre Sales Engineers and Renewals Spacialist, ensuring execution excellence across Customer Engagement, Ecosystem partner recruitment, enablement, deal acceleration, and vendor sales engagement.

The individual will collaborate closely with vendor regional sales leaders across East Africa, Central Africa, English West Africa and French-speaking West/Central Africa, ensuring Westcon's cybersecurity practice is positioned as the preferred Distributor in the region.

Your Key Responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Leadership & People Management

• Lead, coach and manage Cybersecurity BDMs and Pre Sales Engineers across multiple regions.

• Drive a performance-led culture with clear KPIs around pipeline creation, bookings, revenue and GP achievement.

• Oversee technical and commercial capability development of team members.

• Ensure strong alignment between sales, pre sales, renewals, and vendor management teams.

B. Cybersecurity Sales Execution (End Customer + Channel)

End-Customer Engagement (50%)

• Build demand through C level engagement, workshops, demos, POCs and solution positioning.

• Drive adoption of the cybersecurity portfolio across priority industries (FSI, telecom, public sector, tech & services, utilities).

• Influence and guide architectural design in large opportunities to drive vendor and distributor preference.

SI / Partner Ecosystem Development (50%)

• Identify, recruit and enable priority cybersecurity-focused System Integrators across English & French-speaking Rest of Africa.

• Manage tiered partner plans including certifications, enablement, pipeline development, and QBRs.

• Expand partner capability around NGFW, ZTNA, XDR, SOAR, SASE, Cloud Security and other strategic architectures.

• Drive partner compliance with vendor programs including deal registrations, specializations and incentives.

C. Vendor Sales Engagement & Business Acceleration

• Act as the Sales link between Westcon regional teams and cybersecurity Vendor Sales Magers ( RSMs )

• Support multi-country execution of consistent Sales motion and regional/country market-entry plans.

• Engage vendor technical and sales leaders to drive opportunity development and technical alignment.

D. Business Planning, Forecasting & Reporting

• Own Rest of Africa cybersecurity revenue and GP targets.

• Develop regional Sales strategies and execution plans for English and French-speaking Africa.

• Deliver accurate monthly forecasts and reporting on pipeline, major deals, and competitive landscape.

• Conduct regular reviews analysing team performance and market trends.

E. Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work with Renewals Teams to grow annuity and subscription revenues.

• Collaborate with Operations, Finance, and Customer Services to ensure deal flow efficiency and customer satisfaction.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

• Achievement of quarterly & annual Revenue/GP targets.

• Cybersecurity pipeline coverage (3x) and pipeline velocity improvements.

• Number of new transacting cybersecurity End Customer logos onboarded.

• Specific KPIs: Deal registrations, End Customer NNLs, High-Value deal wins

• Quality of engagement with end-customers: workshops, POCs, architectural sessions.

• Team productivity and capability advancement.

Qualifications / Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business, or equivalent.

• MBA (advantage).

Professional Experience

• 8-12+ years of cybersecurity or IT distribution/channel sales experience, with at least 4+ years in leadership roles.

• Proven track record selling cybersecurity solutions across Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Must have experience managing cross-cultural, remote regional teams.

• Strong experience working with global cybersecurity vendors (Palo Alto, Zscaler, F5, Check Point, Fortinet, CrowdStrike, Cisco Security, , etc.).

• Demonstrated success in End-user engagement in East and West Africa.

• Experience running business in English + French-speaking African markets is a major advantage.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

Technical & Sales Skills

• Deep knowledge of cybersecurity architectures: SASE, Zero Trust, XDR, SOAR, Cloud Security, Email Security, NAC, NGFW, and Identity Security.

• Strong commercial acumen with ability to structure complex deals.

• Excellent presentation, demo and workshop facilitation capabilities.

Leadership & Management Skills

• Strong coaching and people leadership; able to drive performance across distributed teams.

• Strategic thinker with capability to translate strategy into operational execution.

• High resilience, problem solving and decision-making ability.

Vendor & Channel Engagement Skills

• Strong partner management and ecosystem development experience.

• Ability to navigate multinational vendor organizations and align business priorities.

Other Requirements

• Fluent in English.

• French proficiency (advantage).

• Must be willing to travel extensively across SSA.

RECOMMENDED INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS

Cybersecurity & Vendor Certifications (Highly Advantageous)

• Palo Alto Networks (PCNSA/PCNSE)

• Zscaler ZCCA IA / ZCCP

• CrowdStrike CCFA / CCSA

• Fortinet NSE 4-7

• Cisco Security (CCNP Security)

• Check Point CCSA/CCSE

• F5 Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) Security

Business / Leadership

• Certified Sales Leadership Professional (CSLP)

• Channel Management Certifications

• Project Management: PMP / PRINCE2 (advantage)

PERSONA & BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS

• High-energy, entrepreneurial and proactive.

• Comfortable working in fast-growing, ambiguous markets.

• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to operate across diverse cultures.

• Ability to influence senior stakeholders (internal, vendor, partner, and customer level).