Country Manager Netherlands (Animal Health)

The organisation

Our client Dechra is an international specialist in veterinary pharmaceuticals and related products. Their expertise is in the development, manufacture and sales and marketing of high quality products exclusively for veterinarians worldwide. They have offices across 21 countries in Europe and North America, export to over 40 countries worldwide and have three manufacturing sites. The Dechra group employs over one thousand people with a revenue reaching more than € 300m.

Their six Dechra Values: Dedication, Enjoyment, Courage, Honesty, Relationships and Ambition reflect the best aspects of behaviour and competence in Dechra. They embrace the values at every level of the business and everything about the business is underpinned by their values. How they talk to the people that matter, the way they always look to do things better and how they think of the people and the animals beyond the product.

Dechra is active in Companion Animal, Equine and Food Producing Animal products. Their key focus therapeutic areas are: Endocrinology, Dermatology, Anaesthesia and Analgesia, Water Medication, Diets and Nutrition and Equine Locomotion. They also support their clients in practice with a wide range of materials and technical advice.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Dechra Veterinary Products BV is looking for a new Country Manager in the Netherlands. AFL Executive Search will assist Dechra in this search, the goal being that the new Country Manager enters Dechra ideally in the first quarter of 2017.

The position

The main role of the Country Manager will be to manage and develop the business in the Netherlands by motivating, coaching and developing the existing team of 6 Sales Reps, 2 Product Managers and 3 Customer Service employees.

In order to maximise sales potential and profitability Dechra needs to gain advantage over competition and to establish the company as a chosen partner for the veterinarians and the related industry (wholesalers, universities, institutes and opinion leaders).

Tasks & responsibilities

• Use the appropriate managerial skills to assist the organization in accomplishing its goals
• Prepare and implement the yearly business plan including budgets to maximise sales and profits
• Develop annual and quarterly plans with agreed targets for the team
• Improve and develop key account management strategies
• Develop and maintain excellent business relationships with key customers and other related persons within the animal health industry
• Negotiate, close and manage contracts
• Attend (international) meetings and exhibitions
• On average you will spend 3 days per week at the office in ´s-Hertogenbosch and 2 days per week you will be present in the field to support the sales team
• The Country Manager NL will report to the Sales Director DVP EU

Candidate profile

Higher education is a must and preferably veterinary medicine or livestock (supplemented with Marketing or MBA is a plus).
You should have at least management experience of a (small) team. Negotiating skills and experience in commercial management are keys to success in this position.

Ideally, you are a professional from the Animal Health business, although someone coming from another related sector/business (for e.g. feed mill or human health) is not excluded.

It is important that you have the necessary technical background, understand the specificity, added value and benefits of Dechra products and you are a good “marketer”. You should have a strong personality to be able to deal as a peer with key accounts. An open vision to the future challenges of the company in the Netherlands is also important.

Languages: fluent Dutch and English. Although the job is within Dechra Netherlands, a Belgian candidate who lives in the northern part of Belgium is also a possibility.

Core competences

• Team builder and coach
• Coordinate and monitor
• Dedicated by being a professional and solution oriented
• Enthusiasm by having fun
• Courage by having a can do attitude
• Honesty
• Innovator and excellent networker by working together and being approachable
• Ambitious by being able to punch above your weight and desire to win

Terms & conditions

• A challenging and varied role as part of a dynamic team in an inspiring international working environment
• An excellent salary and benefits package (bonus, company car, pension plan, laptop, GSM and tablet)

Interested?

You can apply to this position by using the form below, including your curriculum vitae and a covering letter. For more information about this job you can contact Mr. Jos Douven at +31 (0)6 51 94 19 54 or Mr. Sylvain Serra at +33 (0)6 31 00 58 31.

There is an exclusivity agreement between Dechra Veterinary Products and AFL Executive Search GmbH for this search.