Commercial Manager - IVM

Job Title:       Southern Africa Commercial Manager - IVM

Reporting To:    South Africa Commercial manager

Location:           UPL Office in Clayville (Mid Rand) - Gauteng

Geography:       South Africa, Eswatini, Namibia and Lesotho

ABOUT UPL:

UPL is focused on emerging as a premier global provider of total crop solutions designed to secure the world’s long-term food supply. Winning farmer's hearts across the globe, while leading the way with innovative products and services that make agriculture sustainable, UPL is the fastest-growing company in the industry. Our successes in the field add up to powerful financials. UPL delivers results from protecting crops that translate into attractive investor value. Based on the recognition that humankind is one community, UPL’s overarching commitment is to improve areas of its presence, workplace, and customer engagement.

Our purpose is ‘OpenAg’. An agriculture network that feeds sustainable growth for all. No limits, no borders.

We are one team, for maximum impact. One team with shared goals. We have a laser-like focus on what our customers need and want, on anticipating their future needs, and on how we can create innovative solutions and experiences for them. We think outside the box and go beyond our comfort zone. We believe in agility, we mix the power of speed, with structure from process. And wherever we can, we always believe in having fun

Role Summary

To manage and oversee the IVM (Industrial Vegetative management) business and deliver on the UPL financial expectations. To ensure the business interests of UPL are managed with the IVM sector with customer satisfaction being the primary goal, by managing, organizing and directing employees and establishing, monitoring and managing organizational goals and direction.

Role Responsibilities

Commercial                                                                                                                                

• Manage relationships with all IVM Distributors, and Head office staff and your team members in your geographical scope
• Manage Sales and activities of all IVM products
• Deliver on growth expectations with IVM products to distributors, with ongoing analysis of the region to identify opportunities and make proposals

Set budgets per Sales area in line with top-down budget.

• Manage sales incentives
• Identify and evaluate distribution options

Forecasting

• Manage, analyse and set forecasts of IVM products and forecast accuracy tracking
• Forecast vs. Budget alignment
• Improvement of company forecast accuracy
• Monitoring Price/Volume/Sales/GP (actual vs forecast vs LY) to achieve budget.
• Commercial & Supply Chain Alignment

Technical                                                                                                                                     

• Technical support (technical training of distributor agents, agent/farm visits, field visits and farmer days)
• Complaints handling
• Liaison with Technical Department

Marketing                                                                                                                                   

• Collaboration with Marketing Department
• Marketing Intelligence (Interact with distributors, agents and farmers, getting information about competition and market)
• Submit proposals to Marketing
• Implementation of Marketing Plans

Pricing

• Regular analysis of opposition pricing for your portfolio
• Determine pricing per product and develop pricing strategy
• Manage tender approvals and costing management
• Monitor Tender volumes/pricing as per tender submission
• Monthly Pricelist maintenance

Sales Administration                                                                                                                 

• Sales administration process, orders, stock availability, collection, others

Responsibility Weightage and % of Time Spent Matrix

Internal Stakeholders

• Liaises with Commercial, Development and Marketing on new product launches, technical training, focus products, marketing activities, demonstrations, and field events, etc.
• Liaises with Supply Chain, to ensure forecasting and stock availability

External Interactions

• Distributors, Distributor representatives
• Farmers
• Researchers and industry specialists
• Suppliers

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

Technical Requirements:

• 10 years’ experience in crop protection industry in marketing & business development positions
• BSc Degree or Diploma in Agriculture. BASOS and AVCASA certified.
• If not BASOS and AVCASA certified, will be required to successfully obtain within first year of service.
• Good business/market intelligence and excellent technical skill regarding marketing tools and strategies.
• Broad knowledge of agrochemical & Ag input business with good industry credibility and value chain expertise
• General knowledge of the market and regulatory processes.
• Financial acumen with ability to understand basic financial principles.

Behavioural Requirements

• Change management.
• Communication.
• Creativity.
• Customer focus.
• Individual development.
• People Leadership.
• Result orientation.
• Strategic thinking and forward planning

• Attention to detail.
• Motivated and driven.
• Work well within a team, but also be able to be self-regulate.
• High proficiency in administration and computer programmes.
• Bilingual – Fluent in English and Afrikaans.

UPL Competencies 

• Adaptability & Resilience

           Recognizes and is open to changing circumstances and alters behavior and scales up as necessary; increases personal awareness and               appreciation of individual and cultural differences to create an open, inclusive, and accepting workplace

• Entrepreneurial Mindset 

           Has a creative mindset and ability to think holistically, takes calculated risks and maximizes opportunities

• Results Orientations

         Acts, pursues goals with persistence and achieves results; communicates goals and vision to the team to drive enthusiasm and ambition

• Execution Excellence

        Enhances the speed of execution and builds efficiency in processes, systems, and people; has sharp focus on quality-orientation

• Strategic Orientation

      Demonstrates knowledge of the social, economic, and environmental factors and how they impact the business. Identifies key issues that              could impact the business and develops strategy through an analytical lens / design thinking

• Building Teams and Talent

    Empowers colleagues through knowledge sharing and delegation, quickly establishing rapport; provides recognition for achievements and            accomplishments

• Customer Centricity

    Understands the customer needs and pain points, fulfills the needs and expectations by focusing on creating value for customers.