Technical Sales Advisor - Belgium and Netherlands

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Tessenderlo Kerley International (www.tessenderlokerley.com) supplies value-added liquid, soluble and solid plant nutrition in order to support growers in realizing efficient and sustainable agriculture . Our divers product portfolio combines essential nutrients, improves soil health and increases water infiltration while maximizing nutrient uptake to address the challenges of modern agriculture.

We are the leading producer of sulphur-based plant nutrition. Tessenderlo Kerley International was the originator of Thio-Sul®, the first liquid thiosulfate fertilizer and SoluPotasse®, the best-in-class, water-soluble grade of potassium sulfate (SOP).  We offer a wide portfolio of products designed to meet the growing demands of today’s agricultural professionals.  Within Europe, our products are manufactured at 3 strategic locations in order to provide the best service to our customers. All of our products are manufactured to the highest quality standards and thoroughly tested by our staff of expert agronomists to ensure products meet the high expectations of today’s farmers.

Tessenderlo Kerley International is part of Tessenderlo Group (Euronext: TESB), a global industrial group that focuses on agriculture, valorizing bio-residuals, machinery, mechanical engineering, electronics, energy, and industrial solutions for water management. At the heart of the strategy of Tessenderlo Group lies the conviction that “Every Molecule Counts”:  in everything we do, we seek to further valorize our products and our processes, and to add value to everything we do. For more information about Tessenderlo Group, our people, our brands, and our results, please visit www.tessenderlo.com.

You are responsible for developing the position of Tessenderlo Kerley International in the fertilizer market in Belgium and The Netherlands. You focus on the sales of Tessenderlo Kerley’s high quality crop nutrition products. You co-develop the sales strategy, collaborate on selected business development initiatives and deliver on sales volumes and margin targets. You develop excellent relationships with the distribution channels and selected farmers to provide precise plant nutrition solutions for sustainable agriculture. Also, together with your colleagues, you lead the technical-agronomical development to support sales growth.

Sales and agronomical responsibilities

• Develop and propose sales- and development strategies, refine after alignment with the Marketing and Sales Director Europe and implement.
• Gather deep knowledge of the market, developments in the value chain and competitor movements.
• Identify and develop the company’s unique selling propositions and differentiators to grow sales and acquire new customers.
• Identify opportunities and reinforce the value proposition of Tessenderlo Kerley’s crop nutrition solutions.
• Propose distributor strategies, implement agreements and work closely with selected distributors to find win/win solutions on volumes and margins.
• Propose and implement marketing and promotional activities to stimulate sales.
• Accountable for administrative sales and technical tasks, for capturing data and responsible for demand forecasting and advice on demand planning.
• Develop, maintain, update and actively utilize a network of technical & sales contacts to promote the technical and agronomical benefits of the solutions as to develop sales.
• Provide technical support to customers (i.e. distributors, growers).
• Together with the agronomy colleagues, manage a program of product field trials to promote the benefits and the value proposition of the product portfolio.

Budget

• Prepare an annual sales and marketing budget and submit periodic reports as required by the hierarchical managers.
• Meet sales, financial and technical objectives.

Stakeholder Management

• Engage actively in relevant industry organizations, cross-functional associations and seminars/conventions/events that provide educational, networking and lead generation opportunities.
• Identify and develop your network with new partners, customers, logistics providers, etc. and raise opportunities for improvement.
• Establish relationships with the different players in the valuechain,  monitor their needs, detect markt trends, capture feedback from competitors’ and market evolution in order to evaluate the impact on the overall sales strategy.
• Develop, catalogue and maintain an archive of publications relating to the product portfolio.

Safety

• Actively contributes to a safe working environment and good practices for all employees and related companies (distributors, customers,…).
• Accountable for personal safety and that of local staff.

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Your profile

• Bachelors’ Degree in Agronomy/Agriculture/Agricultural engineering (or equal by experience).
• Minimum 3 to 5 years commercial experience or background in agriculture (experience in fertilizers or/and crop nutrition is a plus).
• Comprehensive knowlegde of agricultural practice and main crops in the area (specific expertise in fertilizers management is a plus).
• Knowledge of IT software: Microsoft 365 and social media channels (LinkedIn, …).
• Required language: Dutch, English. Knowledge of French is an advantage.

Personal attributes

• Able to contribute to and work in a multicultural team but at the same time being self-motivated and willing to work alone for extended time periods.
• Able to develop sustainable relationships with the different stakeholders and build strong networks by using your excellent communication and people skills.
• Through your entrepreneurial spirit, recognizing opportunities and taking initiatives to  develop the market.
• Organized, disciplined, numerate and fact-based decision taking.
• Have excellent problem solving skills.

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• Location: Belgium.
• We offer a full-time open ended contract and a motivating salary package with fringe benefits.
• You will be working in a challenging, international environment with growth potential and the chance to broaden your network and experience level.
• You will be working in a team with the right attitude and spirit to let you grow and succeed in your job.