BA Head Southern Africa

About the job

Description

ROLE PURPOSE

• Responsible for all the aspects of financial and operational performance of the business; Leads the development and execution of business strategy by focusing on the long term interests of the business in order to achieve profitable growth while creating an industry leading and sustainable position for Syngenta.
• Assume external relationship responsibilities for the Business Area (BA) / Country with local regulators and industry stakeholders.

Main Accountabilities

Strategy – Lead the development of Go to Market and Channel Strategies in order to drive business growth and profitability. This includes defining annual sales targets, resource allocation, developing sales force effectiveness and capabilities; proactively supporting business development and new product launches.

P&L – Drive the annual budget process to ensure at a minimum the achievement of business goals and targets on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.

Pricing – Planning and implementation of price measures to ensure profit targets are met in the changing market environment. Contribute to the optimization and selective alignment of Syngenta’s commercial policies and price structure.

Go-to-Market – Direct the go-to market execution including business development, marketing campaigns, sales and technical support and supervision of the supply chain and customer operations functions. Work closely with Marketing and Crop teams to ensure that appropriate customer segmentation exists and appropriate offers are defined and delivered.

Customer Relationships – Manage the in-market customer services and relationships to deliver excellent customer experience and service levels while ensuring implementation of good forecasting processes. Develop and maintain effective relationships with strategic local and regional customers. Resolves issues with contracts or commercial operational terms.

Market Intelligence – Oversee market research and analysis to review market trends and together with the customer marketing team formulate strategies and plans that deliver top and bottom-line growth.

People Management – Appraise and coach direct and functional reports to ensure strong performance in current roles and continued career development. Work closely with support functions to deliver business goals. Work effectively with a diverse group of people while utilizing global resources to support local needs. Puts a focus on people development and liberating potential and develops a strong local pipeline of talent.

Overarching Accountabilities

• Ensure all relevant Syngenta processes and policies are well understood and implemented by the sales team and where necessary, by customers.
• Ensure compliance with commercial policy/ies of the Business Area , HSE requirements, local legislation and competition law.
• Promote the image of Syngenta, representing the Company with legal authorities, industrial associations and all relevant institutional entities; enforcing ethical business practices.
• Actively develop relationships and networks with outside bodies that have major influence on country business e.g. external markets for products, international marketing boards etc.

Qualifications

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & CAPABILITIES

Critical Knowledge and Experience

• A bachelors degree in Business Administration, Commerce, Agriculture or Agriculture related disciplines preferably with an MBA/MSC
• Minimum 8 years experience in a Commercial Organization at a senior/management level within the agricultural or related industries or FMCG Sector. A good working knowledge of the Agricultural industry in Kenya is an added advantage.
• Proven experience in Sales/marketing as well as managing relationships with key clients.
• Consistent track record of delivering business results in a changing environment.
• Solid knowledge of performance reporting and financial/budgeting process.
• Business acumen partnered with commercial awareness and a strategic mindset.
• Experience in managing a diverse team in a matrix environment coupled up with influencing, persuasion and stakeholder management skills at a senior level across functions.
• Ability to lead and influence diverse groups and motivate them to achieve common goals.
• Demonstrated ability to drive projects to completion and proven project management skills.
• Ability to multi-task and deal with ambiguity and manage change effectively.
• Excellent leadership, organisational, analytical, communication and interpersonal skills.

Critical Leadership Capabilities

• Passion for Customers: With good customer satisfaction measures in place, drives consistent customer focus within teams to ensure that customer needs are met with quality and speed generating excitement and buy-in from customers, suppliers and other business groups.
• Long View: Guided by our code of conduct, creates a high performing environment/culture characterized by delivery on commitments and continuous improvement. Constantly raises performance expectations for self and teams towards business improvement.
• Determined Execution: Takes responsibility for achieving results with self and teams. Trusts and engages team members to focus on key priorities, own the business plan, commit towards the achievement of business goals. Acts on performance issues appropriately.
• Growth for All: Gives and welcomes prompt and actionable feedback. Genuinely cares about people and prioritises the development of individuals and teams as a way of gaining competitive advantage.
• How Matters: Communicates a vision that motivates and inspires the team to achieve excellence. Works effectively at all levels of the organization and influences and persuade across multiple cultures and levels. Appreciates a diversity of thoughts as well as open communication. Celebrates successes and rewards and motivates for higher and sustained performance.