Associate Director for Salon

Founded in Japan in 1887, Kao is passionate about making a difference in people’s lives with our high-quality products and services to create a Kirei Life for all – a beautiful life that respects the needs of our consumers and customers as well as the planet. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment.  As a company driven by purpose and strong corporate values, we pride ourselves to be listed among the World´s Most Ethical Companies since 16 consecutive years. Our corporate philosophy, the Kao Way, guides us in everything we do – acting with integrity, courageously driving innovation, and treating each other with trust and respect.

Position Profile

The aim of role is to drive continuous and sustainable profitable sales performance through a Country Sales Team existing of Sales Manager, Business Development Manager, Key Account Manager and Sales Representatives in close collaboration with Marketing and Education by identifying opportunities to enhance the profile and image of Goldwell, KMS, Oribe and Varis products whilst maximizing the profitable distribution of the respective brands distributed in the market to Hairdressing Salons, Selective Retailers and E-commerce. This role is responsible to develop and to roll out the Nordic Salon Strategy in collaboration with and as member of the Nordic Salon Leadership Team. This role has a direct impact upon the profitability of the business.

Professional Experience

• Experience working in Sales Divisions as a Leader (min. ASM level) with a track record of identifiable successes in same/similar industry sectors i.e. beauty, health and possibly fashion
• Experience in Team Leadership of a Sales Team of min. 8 – 10 people
• How a Sales Division should be managed and how best to drive continuous sales performance

Other Requirements

• Passionate about customer management and getting new customers
• Able to devise sales strategies and promotions that can be put in place as part of a long-term plan or at short notice to boost sales
• Able to construct deals and write contracts for key clients without compromising margins and company 

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for Net sales development
• Provide Nordics GM with all needed input regarding market/customers/competitive trends/people etc.
• Provide input for budget planning to the Nordic GM
• Represent Salon business internally and externally as “the face of Kao” in Finland
• Lead Sales Teams against agreed strategy to maximum impact to include new account presentations promotional activity plans and new product launch ideas
• Develop and execute different trade term models
• Define and deliver on KPI´s for Sales team and ensure ongoing monitoring
• Responsible to plan and carefully monitor spending of Sales Budget.
• Key responsibility for Key Accounts and wholesale customers in the countries
• Lead on the delivery of successful sales campaigns (in conjunction with Marketing) in line with the Nordic, Regional and Global strategy for existing accounts and new business
• To act as an ambassador of the organisation and maximise any opportunities to promote the name, image and reputation of our business at e.g industry functions, networking events, meetings with new clients
• Compliance: lead the Sales Teams and show exemplary behavior to work in line with the compliance policies of KAO
• Ensure adherence of the team to company established principles including the Business Conduct
• Guide and the Kao Way
• Ensure development of talents in Sales Teams and be the strong Leader of Sales Teams by ensuring clear direction is provided and by setting clear targets
• Responsible for resource and succession planning of the Sales Teams
• Support Sales Teams to ensure profitable sales and distribution targets are maximized and account-abilities and targets are clear

Managerial Responsibilities

Managerial responsibility for Country Sales Team, presently 4 direct reports/total Sales Teams around 14 people (1 Sales Manager, 1 BDM, 2 KAM’s and 10 Sales Reps. Role includes hiring, termination and performance management of the Sales Teams.

Education

• Ideally studied business/sales management at college to graduate/post-graduate level
• Must know in detail how haircare industry works and has useful contacts across the entire sector or has experience of sales functions in similar FMCG businesses

How we work: Having been selected among the World´s Most Ethical Companies for 16 consecutive years, we are a company with a purpose and strong corporate values. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment. At Kao, each employee can actively shape their job and their career. We work collaboratively to achieve our common goals, always aiming to deliver the best for our customers.

What we offer: A friendly and flexible work environment with competitive salaries, benefits package, ongoing development and the opportunity to enhance your skills and deliver tangible results. At Kao your voice will be heard. Your opinion really counts. We believe that change comes from taking opportunities into your own hands, so we value and reward entrepreneurial thinking and innovation.

Hiring Process: Kao embraces the diversity and the individual personalities of its people because we believe it is diversity that makes us strong. This is why we welcome applications from all areas of the global community. 

Want to learn more: If you feel you are as unique as our products and want to find out why 33,000 people across the globe opted for a career with us please visit our Americas website (https://www.kao.com/americas/en/) or EMEA website (https://www.kao.com/emea/en/)

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