Job offer

Country Manager Turkey  M/F
Leading European seed breeding enterprise
Ref. O120298

The company is an independent and major breeding and distribution company of top quality vegetable seeds for professional growers. Their strategic focus is on disease resistance, taste, flavor, size and production development, next to their focus on own specialty varieties. Our client can furthermore be called unique in its shared values being upheld by the management and over 130 employees worldwide and their non-disputed quality brand image in the relevant markets in the world.

Our client cherishes an open culture and short communication lines. Its company culture can furthermore be characterized by creativity, professional freedom and room for personal development.

The position

As the Country Manager (CM) you will be responsible for the Marketing, Sales and Product development in Turkey. You will report to the General Manager located at the central office (HQ) in France, who is responsible for the administrative, financial and fiscal aspects of/in Turkey.  You will execute your responsibilities in Turkey on his behalf and delegated authority. Next to that you will report operationally to the members of the companies’ Management Board (MaB * ).

In the situation as it is today, you will manage and develop the Turkish establishment starting with 1 direct report. It is your responsibility however to build up an adequate team around you in synch with the targeted development of the sales volume in Turkey. Your working location is based in the area of Antalya, Turkey and the position will be defined as a local employment and -contract in Turkey, under Turkish law.

The key responsibilities

  • The development and sales of gardening seeds in Turkey as well as the day to day management of the Turkish organization.
  • Within the frame of the overall corporate strategy you will be the guardian of the commercial strategy of the company in Turkey, as well as the profitability of the Turkish organization.
  • You will closely manage your result areas and performance indicators on cost and results (Revenue, gross margin, cost, financial procedures and directives, conditions of payment etc.)
  • Maintain the relationships with customers, partners and suppliers in Turkey at an excellent level
  • Be personally involved in the management of the distributor network
  • Project / translate the overall corporate marketing strategy to Turkey
  • Supervise and/or negotiate and manage the major agreements/deals.
  • Build up a professional, driven team and management in Antalya  in synch with the sales development
  • Build up, maintain and strengthen a sales network (sales team and distributors)
  • Stimulate and coordinate the product developers and commercial force assigned to the Turkish market.
  • Establish, manage & control the team- and individual targets/performance of your organization in Turkey
  • Coordinate initiatives and daily affairs with the HQ teams of product developers and commercial colleagues.
  • Execute a permanent survey and periodical feed back/reporting on the vegetable seeds market in Turkey.
  • Reinforce the companies’ brand name legitimacy and presence in Turkey.
  • Meet the companies’requirements in terms of periodic reporting to the HQ in France, on the full spectrum of your responsibilities, tasks  and any other subject relevant to your assignment
  • Promote the awareness of and execute a consistent lobby in favor of the company,  with all required and relevant business professional bodies (Institutions, officials, syndicates, exhibitions, etc…)

* MaB: Management Board, formed by the managers  of each corporate department at the HQ in France

The qualifications & experience required
  • A Bachelor degree, or equivalent, in Horticulture, Agriculture or Agronomy, from a reputable university
  • Good knowledge of and minimum 7 years experience in the seeds related horticultural business
  • Knowledgeable with the process and the technical conditions allowing seeds development in
  •     synch with commercial constraints
  • Experience as a manager of a corporate profit center
  • Knowledge of management-, administrative- and financial reporting
  • Understanding of the Turkish accounting situation and possibly the French accounting situation (welcomed)
  • Proficiency level of Turkish in word and writing
  • Good knowledge of English
  • A reasonable knowledge of French. Willingness to learn same is welcomed
  • Knowledgeable with Microsoft windows (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint at least)

The person

You are an energetic, extrovert professional who functions best in a team-based environment characterized by development, creativity and innovation. You have the technical skills required to manage a subsidiary active in the seed sales & development business. You do regard positive sales / commercial results as a logical result of a quality product and good product development. To you, people management is one of the fundaments to achieve satisfactory results on development and sales. You prefer an extravert, operational, active and results oriented hands-on environment, to a static, introspective, office bound environment.

The offer

  • An annual remuneration package, consisting of a fixed salary in line with the importance of this position.
  • A bonus formula will be put in place after the 2nd year, based on performance/s realized.
  • Company car

The Starting date
   
The preferred starting of the new candidate is in the course of the coming months


Your response

Lutgo Global in the Netherlands is the representative of this client for the recruitment, assessment and selection of candidates for this position.
Please send your letter of motivation and CV/Resume to j.meijer@lutgoglobal.com, mentioning vacancy ref. no. INT O120298. For more information, please contact Jan Meijer at this emailaddress, or phonenumber: +31 (0) 297 25 55 70.

A team role and personality test can be part of the assessment and selection procedure.

Candidates contacting the client directly will also be relayed to Lutgo Global, for assessment and final selection.