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China Country Manager

The Country Manager is end responsible for the daily management of the business and leads the team of Lotus Bakeries in China. The Country Manager drives the growth, profitability and the overall performance of the company’s operations in China. This role requires a mix of strategic thinking, operational execution, strong leadership and a deep understanding of the details of the business, thelocal market and the broader business environment.
Employee working in the finance team

Job description

Place in the organization chart:

The Country Manager reports to the General Manager Area Asia offices, who reports to the COO of Lotus Bakeries NV. The General Manager Area Asia Offices, has his office in Bangkok (Thailand) and is responsible for the businesses in China, South Korea, Japan and the build of a new Lotus Biscoff factory in Thailand. The Country Manager will lead the Management Team ( Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance and Human Resources). The department heads report direct to the Country Manager, with the exception of the Finance Manager who has a direct reporting line to the Finance & SC Director Area Asia Offices and a dotted line to the Country Manager.

Key Result Areas:

1. Strategic Planning and Execution:

  • Drive the development and execution of a comprehensive business and brand strategy for Lotus Bakeries in China, ensuring alignment with both local market dynamics and global corporate objectives.
  • Lead the creation of an ambitious, growth-oriented annual Action Plan and Budget, focused on expanding the brand's presence and market share.
  • Oversee flawless execution of the strategy with key end customers and distributors, while ensuring the seamless operation of daily business activities to deliver optimal performance and efficiency.

2. Commercial Management:

  • You will define and execute the Channel Strategy, including segmentation, landscape analysis, and prioritization, ensuring alignment with overall business goals.
  • Take ownership of partition analysis, range strategy, and the development of a comprehensive Trade Marketing Plan.
  • You will shape the Customer Strategy and Route to Market, ensuring a deep understanding of the value chain and crafting an effective trade terms strategy.
  • Your role involves overseeing the creation of customer business plans, setting clear targets for assortment, distribution, visibility, and penetration (ADVP).
  • You will translate the actionable ADVP plan into a solid sales forecast (SFC) leading to a strong demand plan and optimized stock management.
  • Track and Trace results through data management, revenue management, and KPI dashboarding.
  • You will build and nurture a high-performance team, fostering a culture of collaboration and achievement.
  • Furthermore, you will cultivate strong relationships with key customers, vendors, and business partners, driving business growth and ensuring customer satisfaction for Lotus Bakeries.

3. Leadership and People Management & Development:

  • As Country Manager for Lotus Bakeries in China, you will lead and develop the management team, fostering a culture of collaboration, high performance, and accountability.
  • You will ensure seamless cross-functional collaboration to achieve business objectives, driving performance and empowering teams to deliver exceptional results.
  • You will maintain regular one-to-one meetings with your direct reports in order to follow up on business matters and to coach and guide them in the best possible way.
  • You will maintain regular communication with the General Manager and the Regional Team members, providing strategic updates on performance, challenges, and growth opportunities.
  • Your role will involve working closely with commercial functions, as well as supply chain and finance teams, ensuring alignment with global goals and contributing to the broader success ofthe organization.

4. Profit & Loss (P&L) Management and Revenue Growth:

  • As Country Manager for Lotus Bakeries in China, you will be fully accountable for the development and execution of a robust promotional plan, sales forecasts (SFC), and demand/stock management, all based on clear KPI’s.
  • You will take full responsibility for the financial performance of the business, including revenue, costs, and profit, ensuring the achievement of financial targets.
  • Your role will involve managing budgets, tracking departmental expenditures, controlling costs, and optimizing revenue generation. You will drive sales growth through the implementation of effective sales strategies, trade marketing optimization, and customer development initiatives.
  • This includes refining our product assortment, enhancing distribution, and maximizing both offline and online visibility (perfect store) while driving penetration through well-executed promotional and sampling plans.

Profile

Education (degree):Bachelor’s degree with a relevant Master (e.g. Business Economics) is a must

Competence profile:

1. TOP Value:

  • Team Spirit
  • Open Dialogue
  • Passion

2. Lotus Leadership Competences:

  • Excellent execution
  • Driving results
  • Improving continuously
  • Strategic thinking
  • Embracing & leading change
  • Making people better

3. Professional Knowledge

  • In-depth & broad

Specific Knowledge:

  • The perfect candidate knows and understands China distribution and retail, on-line/off-line and away from home market and knows how to work and navigate with the different distributors and end customers in the different channels.
  • He/She has a solid network with distributors and key end-customers and know-how and knows when to pull the right “strings” to make things happen for Lotus Bakeries in the market place.

Experience:

  • Around 12 – 15 years of solid sales and marketing experience in the China market
  • Strong experience in FMCG, working with A-brands
  • Strong experience working in an international environment/company
  • Has experience in building and coaching winning teams; inspirational leader of the business.

Language:

  • Fluent (native) in Chinese
  • Fluent in English (both verbally and written)

Personal competences:

  • Strong personality, serious partner in business, perfect sparring partner for customer relations at all levels and in all disciplines
  • Strong communicator, both internally and externally, knows how to behave as a representative of the company
  • Analytical, fact-oriented, solution-oriented (“how can we make this happen”)
  • Hands-on mentality, but also a good delegator
  • Understands the broader picture with an eye for detail
  • People Manager; strong in building relationships and coach/mentor and guide for it’s people
  • Entrepreneurial, high energy level (no 9-5 mentality)

KPI's:

  • Revenue (at SOF China level = also bonus target)
  • EBIT (at SOF China level = also bonus target)
  • Household penetration of Lotus Biscoff cookies & spread (at SOF China level)
  • Personal Targets related to the jobs to be done/key issues of the company
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Offer

Lotus Bakeries invests in people. You will join an international work environment where you are close to the senior management. Ambitious? Our continuous growth offers you real career opportunities. You will receive a competitive salary, in line with your experience. 

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