Commercial Director - Durban, South Africa - Kerry
Description
The Commercial Director for our retail and industrial channels (Southern Africa market) will have a proven entrepreneurial track record in the food industry, specifically in the Ingredients and Flavours (Taste and Nutrition) business with experience across our EUMs. This person will ensure that sales targets are met by expanding Kerry's customer base and satisfying customers' needs through providing high quality service and supply partnerships within the region. The successful candidate will lead and manage Kerry's respective key accounts, P/L, budget process, risk management, supply assurance, project pipeline, product strategy and provide best in class process excellence.
This person is expected to hold a strategic view and approach on how to support and develop our ingredients business across all EUM's. The successful candidate needs to be embedded in the local culture of doing business to be able to build strong relationships and technical expertise in the ingredients business to understand customers' requirements to promote key deliverables of our product range.
Key responsibilities
• Ownership and leadership, with P/L responsibility, for South Africa - utilize business plans and operational levers to target key market segments, growth accounts, industry dynamics, raw material risks, trends, gaps, and timelines for executions of key strategies.
• Strategize effective Route to Market and execute leveraging cross functional teams: country sales teams, R&D, manufacturing, procurement, supply chain, QC/QA and finance to grow Kerry's market footprint.
• Identify and develop successful insight sales and messaging for the commercial teams as key points of differentiation that demonstrate and teach customers new ways of thinking about doing business with Kerry.
• Direct and manage pricing strategies to ensure margin management that outlines price increase initiatives and/or strategic pricing decisions to meet business operating profits.
• Develop, manage and lead a solid project pipeline with deep knowledge of each of the key projects and the health of each project and its probability for success to determine if additional investments/resources are required.
• Develop and execute a business plan for Industrial defined by commercial and operational strategies that assure strategic alignment to the company's overarching business plan, technology initiatives and financial objectives.
• Deliver new product wins, sales and margins.
• Develop and execute account plans that outline customer strategies, requirements, sales forecasts, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement objectives.
• Work closely with Country GM and Technical Staff in different APMEA locations.
• Support & coordinate 1Kerry approach to Customers and adopt Kerry ways of working.
Qualifications and skills
• At least 10 years in the ingredients and flavours business or the FMCG industry
• Proven track record of market development, building a base business and achieving sustained growth in the food or flavours & ingredients business, preferably in a multinational environment
• Food techno-commercial background in the ingredients and flavours business
• In depth knowledge of the food industry & legislation
• Experienced in working with Senior level R&D, Procurement, Marketing, and QA
• Experience in developing customer and territory budgets.
• Up to date knowledge of key competitors and their activities within the region
• Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to lead, motivate and develop talent.
• Excellent language proficiency in English
• A bachelor's degree in business, Economics or Finance
Competencies Required:
• Ability to work cross-functionally.
• Excellent multi-tasking skills
• Effective organizational and managerial skills
• Proven strong negotiation skills and project management experience.
• Strategic capabilities and ability to lead step change in organization performance.
• Ability to create entrepreneurial passion.