The Company
Our Client is a multi-billion-dollar global chemical manufacturer with a presence in a number of countries around the world. Headquarters is in Atlanta, GA, technology centers are located in North America and Asia and manufacturing is in multiple countries. This well-established organization serves customers in multiple industries.
Working closely with their customers, they deliver high quality products while positively impacting the world we live in. They are a diverse, inclusive community of employees who endorse sustainability, environmental protection and social responsibility.
Their vision is to be the most respected, sustainable and dynamic business in their segment by balancing process, product and people.
The Position – Marketing Manager
Reporting to the Director, Sales & Marketing (who reports to the President, North America), the Marketing Manager is responsible for all marketing in the region. This individual will take a leadership role in developing the strategy, then implementing programs, working closely with the North America Sales Organization, as well as the Global Sales and Marketing teams. He or she will have a significant role in the organization’s transformation to become more market driven.
Professional Responsibilities:
The Marketing Manager will implement a customer-centric growth strategy, developing deep expertise of customers, potential customers, opportunities, capabilities, competitors and pricing, placing customers and market needs at the center of business activities. He or she will contribute to the transformation from a product-driven to a market-driven culture, relying on data analytics and research as decision support tools.
Specific responsibilities:
- Develop and deploy data analytics, custom market research, customer and process/product knowledge to understand the market/potential and define the future for the business.
- Develop a customer-focused marketing strategy that identifies and segments customers and potential customers, and establishes their importance as a customer based upon volume, potential, product mix, profitability, sustainability as well as the customer’s supplier strategy as it applies to our organization.
- Understand production capabilities and gaps that might prevent serving the market of the future; collaborating with associates to build a business case for obtaining required assets.
- Analyze profitability by product and recommend a product strategy that aligns with and is a component of the overall marketing strategy.
- Design market research studies and generate insights to understand behavior at all stages of the value chain; use findings to champion product development efforts, marketing plans and pricing.
- Define and implement processes to gain knowledge for creating a 1-3-5 year marketing strategy and near-term plans. Develop and implement the annual marketing plan.
- Collaborate with sales and technical teams to create and execute account-based marketing strategies and plans.
- Develop and manage a business intelligence system that monitors current and future trends, risks and challenges.
The Person
The Marketing Manager must have good balance between analytical skills and innovative thinking to create actionable information from data; the interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with a diverse group of associates, customers and suppliers; the desire to use expertise to lead change; the agility to adapt; and the leadership potential to take on greater levels of responsibility within the organization.
Competency (Experience/Knowledge/Skills):
Leadership: Candidates should have 7-10 years’ experience, with the last 5 in marketing roles that were market and customer-centric, within significant B2B manufacturing organizations, where they were responsible for developing/expanding a market-driven perspective. Chemical industry experience is strongly preferred.
Business Acumen: Candidates must have a strong business perspective (specifically, the economic fundamentals of supply and demand), reflected in their ability to identify/ gather data, analyze it, and make a business case of opportunities for the future. They must have strong financial acumen and natural curiosity to dig deep into relatively unknown areas.
Specific Experience: Prior work experience should provide candidates:
- Ability to create and champion a data-driven perspective, and knowledge of obtaining data in an environment where there is not a great deal of data readily available.
- Strong relationship building skills.
- Ability to work effectively and influence at all levels.
- Strong communications skills, verbal and written.
- Strong analytical skills.
- Ability to use IT solutions.
- Basic knowledge of Sales, Finance, Logistics, Manufacturing and Quality.
- Ability to provide significant input in developing, guiding and implementing a long-term strategy.
- Sensitivity to cultural differences, regionally as well as globally.
Education: An undergraduate degree is required, preferably in engineering/chemistry or marketing a MBA is highly desired.
Compatibility (Personal)
This position requires a person who is action-oriented, motivated to be part of a progressive organization where he/she makes a significant contribution, willing to take responsibility for and accept accountability for results.
Decisions should be made based on data and facts, although the ability to understand people and what’s important to them is also required. This person should be skilled at making ideas become reality, and convincing/influencing others. Analysis will be an important part of his or her decision process.
The successful candidate must be emotionally mature and have a great deal of self-motivation. They should have a high level of self-confidence. He/she must have the ability to adapt to various situations while keeping the overall goal in perspective.
Internal Interfaces:
- A. Regional Sales Managers
- Technical Services Manager
- Customer Service Team
- Global Sales and Marketing Teams
- Supply Chain Team
- Manufacturing Plants
- Finance Organization
- Technology and Innovation Group
External Interfaces:
- Customers
- Trade Associations
- Market and Data Reporting Organizations
Mindset/Attitude. Candidates must be passionate about building a new function from concept, creating it as they go, keeping the general long-term organizational goals in perspective. He/she must be attracted to the challenge of operating from a “blank canvas” as they build this function, and have beliefs that result in a commitment to excellence. Examples are:
- understand the customer and their business;
- always seek to be a better supplier;
- always be committed to improve;
- have a bias for action, take personal responsibility for delivering results;
- be a model of ethical business practices;
- hold themselves to high standards of performance;
Location
This position is located at the Client’s headquarters, in Atlanta, GA.
Compensation
A compensation package reflecting the individual’s experience and track record will be offered. It will consist of a competitive base salary, along with an incentive plan that rewards the high performer.
Position Benefits
This position provides an opportunity for an individual to enter a well-established, strong Organization and make a lasting contribution. The individual with the ability to create and develop a new role that is significant in the organization’s culture change, the interpersonal skills to convey the value of data, and insight into the organization’s capabilities will be a significant contributor. This position offers high visibility and potential succession opportunities.
Larry C. Shoemaker lcs@shoemakersearch.com April 2, 2019
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