Mohammed Taher Rihawi

Designation Chronology:
• Jan 2015 - Present: Sales Manager
• Sep 2012 - Jan 2015: Oman Branch Manager
• Feb 2012 - Sep 2012: Technical Manager
• Jul 2011 - Oct 2011: Technical In-charge - UAE

Project Portfolio:
• Multi-storied Buildings
• Water Tanks
• Substations
• 50+ Mosques
• Shopping Centers
• Medical Cities

Highlights:
• Established new business development division and recruited knowledgeable and experienced employees to develop the business.
• Successfully set up new sales office in UAE to expand the business.
• Achieved record sales for the company by starting call center and through internet sales.
• As Oman Branch Manager, established the Technical Department, defined Standard Operating Procedures and implemented new formwork systems to enable operational efficiency.
• Achieved the annual target in terms of revenue for the rental division (UAE Region), 2015.

Key Responsibilities as Sales Manager:
Planning:
• Conduct market survey to identify new market opportunities, new projects in existing markets, competitors’ activities, market share and penetration to forecast sales and prepare annual plan, marketing strategies and programs.
• Discuss annual plan with sales and other functional teams to fine tune and present the same to the top management for finalization and approval.
• Share finally approved plan with all branch managers to involve them in initiating action plans and implementing strategies to achieve branch wise targets.
• Assess the performance of sales teams across the region, identify areas of improvement and finalize strategies and actions plans to achieve sales targets in under-performing markets.
Sales Execution:
• Review sales progress as per the plan with the sales team periodically to initiate midterm corrections on strategies and action plans to achieve plan targets.
• Study the discounts structure prevailing in the rental market, competitors’ activities to finalize and approve discount rates to improve revenue.
• Review selling prices from time to time based on costs, competitors’ prices, supply and demand position etc. to decide on and approve revised selling prices.
• Visit and attend all major clients to study and understand their requirements for big projects to offer innovative solutions and most competitive proposals.
• Plan and organize sales promotion activities, implement national sales action plans and programs and monitor their effectiveness.
• Develop and implement system of maintaining records of sales volume, revenue, product mix, selling price, demand and supply, market trends, economic indicators, competitors.
Human Resource:
• Identify manpower and competency gaps in existing as well as for the new branches to recruit sales staff with knowledge, experience and skills.
• Organize and conduct annual appraisal of existing staff at different levels of all the branch offices to identify areas of improvement and counsel them to improve their performance.
• Plan and conduct need based training programs for new employees, including their familiarization programs, and as per gaps identified during appraisal for existing employees.
• Keep abreast of latest developments in the industry, technology and managerial practices by study of journals, participation in training programs, seminars, workshops and networking.
Purchasing:
• Conduct market study to find out current prices, price trends, availability, alternative and new products to prepare annual and quarterly purchase plan and budget.
• Search for new suppliers, assess their technical capability and financial soundness to decide on their enlistment for placement of trial orders and regularization after successful trials.
• Negotiate competitive prices and commercial terms and conditions with the suppliers for all high value purchases to maximize savings.
• Follow up critical deliveries for imported materials as well as for indigenous supplies to ensure that the materials are delivered on time.

Key Responsibilities as Oman Branch Manager:
Business Planning:
• Carried out market survey to identify potential markets for growth, competitors’ activities in the area, market share and developed strategies and marketing programs to prepare annual plan and budget.
• Presented proposed annual plan to management to seek feedback for incorporation of ideas and suggestions to finalize the same for approval.
• Explained targets to all the salesmen of the branch as per the finally approved plan to guide them on implementation of action plans and strategies to achieve individual targets.
• Supervised all marketing activities and stores operations, provided technical support and clarifications to guide the sales team to achieve their targets.
• Established branch operations, recruited manpower, provided training to ensure that the branch achieved its target right from the first year.
• Negotiated the prices and commercial terms and conditions with the suppliers with delivery dates, finalized the orders for on time delivery as per requirements.
Client Relations:
• Made presentations to customers on company’s products at their sites and in symposiums, exhibitions and answered to queries.
• Met all clients periodically along with the salesman to seek feedback on customer service, quality of products and expectations, future plan to maintain and develop long term relationship.
• Participated in meetings with the customers to offer best solutions, negotiate best prices and terms and conditions for all high value orders for big projects to ensure target fulfillment and set up delivery timelines.
• Provided post sales customer service by attending to customer complaints, updated company’s database, maintained relations with both existing and potential customers to secure new business.
Functional Support:
• Prepared bill of materials required for the projects and rationalized the list without sacrificing customers’ requirements to maximize profit.
• Coordinated with technical team for submission of best formwork solution to the customer and for inspection and support during erection.
• Ensured return of all materials by customers to warehouse, assessed damages, if any and value of damaged goods, for rental orders.
• Prepared and raised invoices for both new purchases as well as for rentals and ensured realization of payments as per agreed due date from the customers.

Key Responsibilities as Technical Manager:
• Attended client meetings to understand their requirements to work out and propose cost effective solutions with complete technical specifications and safety standards.
• Made detailed calculations to meet customer specific requirements for each project to provide the same to the consultant for verification and clarified queries, if any.
• Checked all the drawings as per detailed calculations submitted to the consultant for meeting client and project specific requirements for approval.
• Visited the project sites to check the quality of actual work done and issue safety certificates before casting and to give comments, if any.
• Reviewed the actual stock position, assessed future needs to decide on quantities to be ordered and released orders accordingly.
• Developed new systems suitable for Oman office to implement the same for improving efficiency and productivity of the staff.
• Designed suitable training programs for new engineers, organized and conducted the sessions to impart practical knowledge on design calculations and drawings.

Key Responsibilities as Technical In-charge - UAE
• Provided technical guidance and support to teams during project execution, liaised with clients to gather requirements, supervised the development of designs and coordinated with stakeholders to incorporate modifications, if any.
• Identified and rectified process and system deficiencies, resolved critical matters in conjunction with the Project Manager and participated in review meetings to communicate project progress to stakeholders.
• Administered the budget and controlled onsite expenses; ensured adherence to the project schedule to prevent delays.
• Coordinated procurement of material, labor and allied services to facilitate completion of work on time, as per quality and in line with clients’ requirements and expectations.

Company Profile: Al Shahbah Company is one the largest companies in Syria manufacturing precast, pre stressed hollow core slabs, blocks and ready mix.

Highlights:
• Successfully achieved different complicated shapes like columns, delta, heavy beams and walls in production.

Designation Chronology:
• Nov 2011 - Feb 2012: Division Production Engineer
• Jan 2011 - Jul 2011: Quality Assurance and Control Engineer
• Sep 2010 - Dec 2010: Trainee

Key Responsibilities as Division Production Engineer:
• Studied the drawings on receipt from the design engineer, calculated the requirements of materials and forms to raise indents and orders for procurement.
• Prepared daily production plan based on requirements and order priorities to ensure that the products are ready for dispatch and sale.
• Checked manpower requirements for different activities for meeting the production plan and accordingly allocated the work to them.
• Supervised production to ensure that the target output is achieved and initiated necessary action in case of any unforeseen problems.
• Inspected the conditions of elements before they are loaded for casting so that there are no defects in the elements which can result in rejections.
• Prepared daily production report with actual output, planned output, variances, if any with reasons for the same and forwarded to the management.

Key Responsibilities as Quality Assurance and Control Engineer:
• Developed quality inspection plan for different parameters and characteristic values, sample size etc. to build quality assurance in the product.
• Inspected quality and dimensions of steel materials at the time of receipt, prepared inspection report to ensure that all quality specifications are met.
• Tested and checked the quality of concrete mixes, maintained test reports for conforming to specifications to give clearance for use before casting.
• Carried out checking of all the forms for proper cleanliness before they are used in casting so that there are no rejections or quality defects after production.
• Prepared report for each element and compared them with laboratory test reports to ensure that they match properly with each other.