Account Manager

JOB DESCRIPTION

Responsibilities
• Understand specific 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
• 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(CI/Marketing/Creative Teams/formulation etc.)
• 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 (Sales/GP/New Win/Grow Market share) with the manager / Achieve new wins / grow market / market share aligned with account 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 3-5 years of experience in sales, sales service, product development, or marketing preferably fragrance, cosmetics, FMCG, flavors, chemical or ingredients industries
• 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)
• Strong interests in product development, consumers, and market understanding(Marketing/R&D/CI)
• Sound fragrance knowledge and olfactive skills or skin care and biochemistry knowledge, where applicable
• 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