Commercial Director - Agriculture
Company Overview
Our client is a well-established international organisation operating within the agricultural solutions and crop protection industry.The business develops and commercialises a broad portfolio of agricultural solutions, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators, seed treatment solutions and biological crop protection products.
The Position
The Commercial Director France will take responsibility for the commercial strategy and execution of the business across France.This is a senior leadership position combining commercial management, sales strategy, portfolio development, market development and people leadership.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial Leadership & Strategy
- Lead the commercial strategy and execution across France.
- Manage, develop and motivate a team of 14 direct reports.
- Drive sustainable revenue growth and strengthen market penetration.
- Establish commercial priorities, objectives and strategic plans.
- Lead relationships with key customers, distributors and strategic partners.
- Monitor market developments, competitor activity and customer requirements to identify new business opportunities.
- Support major commercial negotiations and strategic customer relationships.
- Collaborate with Marketing, Technical, Regulatory and Portfolio teams to translate market opportunities into commercial growth.
Strategy & Innovation Portfolio
- Contribute actively to portfolio, crop and country strategies.
- Identify and propose new development projects supporting future registrations and business growth.
- Evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of projects alongside budget requirements.
- Identify market gaps and opportunities for new agricultural and crop protection solutions.
- Provide technical and commercial expertise and recommendations to key decision-makers.
- Contribute to short, medium and long-term portfolio strategies.
Product & Market Development
- Develop strong knowledge of the company's crop protection and agricultural solutions portfolio.
- Support strategic marketing in refining product concepts, positioning and value propositions.
- Lead the commercial implementation of new product launches across France.
- Support market trials and facilitate the transfer of technical knowledge to sales teams, customers and commercial partners.
- Gather market and customer feedback to support future portfolio and product development decisions.
- Ensure product strategies are aligned with the needs of the French agricultural market.
People Leadership
- Provide leadership and direction to 14 direct reports.
- Establish clear objectives and ensure alignment between individual, team and business priorities.
- Coach and develop team members to strengthen commercial and technical capabilities.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration and customer focus.
- Support talent development and succession planning across the commercial organisation.
Background & Experience
- Master's degree in Agronomy, Agriculture, Crop Protection or a related discipline.
- Significant commercial leadership experience within agriculture, crop protection, agrochemicals or agricultural solutions.
- Strong knowledge of the French agricultural and crop protection market.
- Proven experience leading and developing commercial teams.
- Strong background in sales strategy, key account management, distributors and channel partners.
- Experience contributing to portfolio strategy, product launches and market development.
- Strong understanding of crop protection products such as herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators and biological/bio rational solutions.
- Ability to combine technical agricultural expertise with a strong commercial mindset.
- Experience working cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Technical, Regulatory and R&D stakeholders.
- Strong negotiation, stakeholder management and strategic decision-making skills.
Languages
- Fluent French speaker.
- Fluent English.
FAQs
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