Account Manager, Food Ingredients Middle East

Job Summary

Responsible for driving sustainable profitable sales and market share growth by identifying the customer needs and opportunities, establishing solid customer relationship, leading, coordinating and reporting IFF activities and promoting relevant solutions aligned with corporate strategy. For any sales activities within defined territory, category, coordinated and/or global accounts.

Ensure financial targets are met and business key performance indicators is constantly evaluated and goals achieved; develop and maintain sustainable relationships between internal stakeholders and external customers; prepare account plan and report relevant market information; collaborate with internal departments to explore innovations and new concepts related to customers’ products and on-going projects; monitor market development in terms of competitors, products, and trends; partner with operation team and all supporting departments to ensure customer satisfaction in terms of service, quality, and supply.

Responsibilities/Description

• Understand Middle East food ingredients market and customer ecosystem including activities, strategies, brands, markets, consumers via different sources
• Develop multi-level cross-functional customer relationships with key customer decision makers/influencers
• Contribute/lead commercial negotiation (e.g., core listing, annual pricing, payment terms, rebates/cost savings agreements, supply contracts)
• Maximize potential advantage to IFF while delivering optimal solutions to customer (GP improvement, catalogue optimization, complexity reduction, etc.)
• Ensure customer supply chain requirements, processes and KPIs are well communicated to IFF Operations to ensure we meet customer needs
• Understand customer regulatory requirements/changes and update data to GRA and input to project management system
• Acts as the main customer point of contact in all matters along with actively and smartly managing the activities of the supporting Depatments within the Business area of responsibility.
• Demonstrate IFF Culture Principles and live our values
• Manage and/or mentor junior team members/peers, and onboard and coach new team members
• Influencing stakeholders to align on shared objectives
• Lead projects through effective communication, and collaboration with key external and internal stakeholders (Sales Leadership/Marketing/Design & Creative Teams/Sales Support and Customer service)
• Ensure objectives are aligned to the business and personal development plans are in place
• Proactively solicit and give feedback to nurture high performing teams
• Demonstrate leadership courage by challenging the status quo and holding self and others accountable to always doing the right things
• Develop commercial strategy for allocated customer portfolio
• Build and execute account plans successfully
• Responsible for setting clear commercial targets (Top Line/GP/win rate/grow and maintain healthy Pipeline/Grow Market share) with the manager / Achieve new wins / grow market / market share aligned with the regional strategic plan
• Define and suggest the required account resources, investment, and relevant service model to support the account
• Effectively communicate the account plans with stakeholders including internal and external team members
• Review/update the progress of account plans versus KPI targets
• Ensure accurate monthly sales forecast to allow for effective operations planning and financial analysis
• Conduct retrospective reviews on projects wins and losses
• Review brief and ensure all objectives and parameters are clear
• Influence customer brief definition to IFF’s advantage
• Organize a formal commercial kick off with relevant stakeholders and finalize action plan, objectives & timelines with clear deliverables and key milestones and update Project Management System
• Liaise with Global/Regional/Category stakeholders on overall plan, strategy, and deliverables
• Evaluate and decide on final submissions with Scent Design Group and Creative teams
• Effectively promote the most appropriate IFF product solutions / portfolio aligned with the brief
• Generate proposal/price aligned with category margin guidelines or pricing officer
• Prepare presentation materials and staging submissions with stakeholders that maximizes IFF commercial advantage and resources
• Monitor and ensure cost-to-serve of projects adhere to guidelines
• Communicate project results and conduct retrospective reviews on projects wins and losses
• Update Project management system and issue adoption report in a timely manner
• Manage volumes/timing expectations and liaise with Operations to ensure supply chain readiness
• Defend and grow accounts whilst actively scouting for new customers, transforming leads into profitable business opportunities
• Accurately forecast and update sales forecast tool (SFT) to capture performance vs budget, business risk & opportunities, new wins
• Monitor & Provide Account sales performance (monthly / quarterly / annually) and provide strategic project updates to Manager
• Implement price increase in line with country/region strategy
• Lead internal and external teams to win projects
  
  

Requirements

Experience:

• Approximately 5-7 years of experience in sales and/or marketing preferably food ingredients or flavors business within the Middle East Region.
• Strong track record at a similar level with a passion to succeed in commercial
  
  

Skills

• Customer centric with B2B management experience
• Analytical with the ability to deal with financial concepts/processes(pricing/margin/forecasting)
• Creative and innovative thinking
• Project management with effective collaboration and orchestration skills
• Strong communication, presentation, storytelling, and negotiation skills
• Understanding of digital marketing and ecommerce environment
• Effective business English with a global mindset and ability to work with different cultures
• Digital savvy with an ability to leverage online resources
• Ability to gather and leverage competitive market intelligence
  
  

Training / Certifications

• Essential: Bachelor’s degree (Business administration, Food Science, General Science and/or Chemical Engineering)
• Preferred: Concentration in Business, Marketing, Food, Chemistry, or Biology
  
  

Master's Degree

We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more