Chinese Accounts Coordinator

The Chinese Accounts Coordinator owns the commercial relationship between Savannah Cement 2025 Limited and its Chinese speaking customers, principally the contractors, project offices purchasing cement for infrastructure, housing and civil works in Kenya. The role provides Mandarin and English interpretation and translation across commercial, technical, contractual and site related matters, and it coordinates the accounts themselves from first enquiry through order placement, dispatch, invoicing, collection and after sales service. The role also serves as the internal reference on Chinese business practice, advising management on negotiation, correspondence and protocol, and ensuring that nothing agreed with a customer is lost or distorted in translation.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

1.     Act as the principal point of contact for Chinese speaking customers, receiving enquiries, orders, complaints and correspondence, and responding within agreed service standards in the customer’s preferred language.

2.     Provide consecutive interpretation at customer meetings, price and contract negotiations, plant tours, site visits, technical discussions and dispute resolution sessions between management and Chinese customers.

3.     Translate commercial and technical documentation in both directions, including quotations, supply contracts, purchase orders, delivery documentation, test certificates, product data sheets, credit applications, statements of account, correspondence and formal notices, ensuring the translated version is a faithful and complete record.

4.     Coordinate the full order cycle for assigned Chinese accounts: confirm order details and terms with the customer, raise and track the order with Sales Administration, follow dispatch and deliver, and confirm receipt and documentation with the customer.

5.     Maintain an account file and rolling account plan for each Chinese customer covering project pipeline, expected monthly offtake, contract and pricing terms, credit position, delivery preferences and key contacts.

6.     Receive, log and drive to closure all customer complaints relating to product quality, quantity, documentation, pricing or delivery, coordinating the internal response and giving the customer a clear explanation and outcome in their own language.

7.     Gather and report market intelligence on Chinese contractors operating in the country, projects at tender and award stage, competitor pricing and supply arrangements, and shifts in customer buying patterns.

8.     Prepare weekly and monthly reports on the performance of Chinese accounts covering volumes, revenue, collections, complaints, service levels and pipeline, and present the position at sales review meetings.

9.     Support prequalification and tender submissions to Chinese funded and Chinese executed projects, preparing and translating company profiles, certifications, quality documentation and pricing schedules to the format the customer requires.

10.  Coordinate customer visits to the plant and to the head office, including scheduling, protocol, site induction, hosting arrangements and follow up communication.

11.  Advise management and colleagues on Chinese commercial etiquette and communication norms, and prepare them ahead of significant customer engagements.

12.  Set up and maintain simple customer service standards for the segment, covering response times, order acknowledgement, complaint turnaround and periodic customer feedback, and report performance against them.

13.  Carry out any other commercial, customer service or translation duties assigned in support of the growth of the Chinese customer segment.

Key Outputs / Deliverables

1.     Accurate and timely interpretation and translation across all customer meetings, negotiations, site engagements and written correspondence, with no commercial commitment misstated or documentation delayed for want of translation.

2.     A complete and current account file for every Chinese customer, holding contract terms, pricing, credit position, project pipeline, contacts and correspondence history, available to management on request.

3.     Orders for the segment placed, dispatched and documented within agreed lead times, with delivery documentation complete and accepted by the customer at first presentation.

4.     Customer complaints logged, investigated and closed within the agreed turnaround, with demonstrable reduction in repeat complaints and evidence of customer satisfaction from periodic feedback.

5.     Weekly and monthly account performance reports delivered on schedule, giving management a reliable view of volumes, revenue, collections, service levels and the project pipeline for the segment.

6.     Measurable growth in the volume, value and number of active Chinese accounts, and retention of existing accounts across successive project phases.

Professional Qualifications, Knowledge, and Experience

Education:

i.  Bachelor’s degree in International Business, Business Administration, Marketing, or a related field.

ii.  Demonstrated Mandarin Chinese proficiency at HSK Level 5 or above, or an equivalent standard, with the ability to interpret consecutively in commercial and technical settings.

iii.  Professional qualification or certification in sales, customer service, credit management or supply chain is an added advantage.

Experience:

i.  At least five (5) years’ experience in a client facing translation, account management or customer service role serving Chinese speaking customers in a commercial environment.

ii.  Of the five years, at least three (3) years must have been gained in the construction industry, covering building materials, contracting, civil engineering, infrastructure or a closely related sector.

iII.  Practical experience running customer accounts end to end, covering order processing, dispatch coordination, invoicing and collections, preferably within an ERP environment, with SAP an added advantage.

Iv.  Experience working with Chinese contractors, state owned enterprises or trading houses operating in Kenya or the wider region is a distinct advantage.

Key Competences

       i.         Full professional fluency in Mandarin Chinese and English, spoken and written, with the confidence to interpret live in a negotiation without losing meaning or nuance.

      ii.         Sound commercial judgement

    iii.         Strong customer orientation, with the patience and composure.

    iv.         Cultural fluency in both Chinese and Kenyan business practice

      v.         Accuracy and attention to detail in contracts, pricing, quantities and documentation

    vi.         Strong organisation and follow through

   vii.         Clear written and verbal reporting, and the ability to brief management concisely

  viii.         High personal integrity and discretion

    ix.         Self-starting and mobile, willing to travel to project sites and to work to customer timelines where operations require it.