SAP - Business Development Manager

We are seeking an experienced Business Development Manager – SAP to drive growth of SAP-led business in South Africa. The role will focus on building pipeline, generating demand, and expanding SAP opportunities across key industry groups, while maintaining strong relationships within the SAP South Africa ecosystem, including SAP Sales teams, Country Leadership, and partners.

The successful candidate will combine strong SAP domain knowledge, local market connectivity, and proven business development capability to create and convert opportunities into a sustainable pipeline.

Key Focus Areas

• Business Groups: Public Sector, Retail, Mining, Utilities, Oil & Gas
  
• Partner Engagement: SAP customer and partner relationships
  
• Growth: Pipeline build, lead generation, and demand creation
  

Key Responsibilities

SAP Business Development

• Drive growth of SAP services and solutions across South Africa and Africa
  
• Identify, qualify, and develop new SAP-led opportunities
  
• Own end-to-end pipeline development from lead generation to deal closure support
  
• Align SAP offerings with customer business priorities and industry needs
  
• Work closely with SAP Global Practice to bring Global SAP capabilities, best practices, tools and accelerators for customers in the region.
  

Industry Coverage

• Focus on strategic industries:
  
• Public Sector
  
• Retail
  
• Mining
  
• Utilities
  
• Oil & Gas
  
• Develop deep understanding of industry-specific SAP use cases
  
• Engage industry stakeholders to position SAP-based transformation solutions
  

SAP Ecosystem & Partner Engagement

• Maintain strong working relationships with SAP South Africa Sales teams
  
• Engage regularly with SAP Country Leadership and Account Executives
  
• Collaborate with SAP and ecosystem partners on joint pursuits and go-to-market initiatives
  
• Support co-selling, partner-led opportunities, and joint account planning
  

Customer Engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with senior customer stakeholders
  
• Lead business development conversations with CIOs, CFOs, and business leaders
  
• Position SAP solutions as enablers of business transformation and value realization
  

Pipeline & Demand Generation

• Drive lead generation and demand creation activities
  
• Work with marketing and alliance teams on campaigns and account-based initiatives
  
• Track, manage, and forecast sales pipeline
  
• Ensure disciplined opportunity qualification and progression
  

Internal Collaboration

• Work closely with industry BDMs, presales, delivery, and solution teams
  
• Provide market and customer feedback to shape offerings and GTM strategies
  
• Participate in pipeline reviews, forecasting, and business planning
  

Requirements

SAP & Domain Expertise

• Strong understanding of the SAP portfolio (S/4HANA, Industry Solutions, Cloud, Digital Core, etc.)
  
• Solid knowledge of the SAP partner ecosystem in South Africa
  
• Ability to articulate SAP value propositions across industries
  

Business Development & Sales Skills

• Proven experience in pipeline building and opportunity generation
  
• Strong commercial acumen and understanding of enterprise sales cycles
  
• Experience working with complex, multi-stakeholder deals
  

Relationship & Stakeholder Management

• Well-connected within the SAP South Africa ecosystem
  
• Strong customer-facing and partner-facing skills
  
• Ability to influence without authority in a matrixed environment
  

Professional & Personal Skills

• Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills
  
• Results-driven, proactive, and highly accountable
  
• Comfortable working independently with minimal supervision
  

Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Technology, Engineering, or related field
  
• 8–12 years of experience in SAP business development, alliance management, or enterprise sales
  
• Demonstrated experience working with SAP South Africa
  
• Strong understanding of the South African enterprise market
  
• Fluency in English
  

Preferred

• Experience working for an SAP partner, system integrator, or consulting firm
  
• Existing relationships with SAP account teams and industry decision-makers
  
• Experience across one or more target industries (Public Sector, Mining, Utilities, Retail, Oil & Gas)
  

Success Measures

• Growth in SAP-qualified pipeline
  
• Number and quality of new opportunities generated
  
• Strength of relationships with SAP and customers
  
• Conversion of pipeline into revenue