Head of Global Sales (m/f/d)

Mannheim
CDI - Contrat durée indéterminée
Temps plein

We are an international leading company for functional ingredients for humans and animals. Our production sites are located in Germany, Belgium, Chile and Italy. We market our products in over 75 countries with an international sales Network. BENEO is a member of the Südzucker Group.

Your Tasks

1. Strategy & Performance Steering

Define and steer the global regional sales strategy in alignment with BENEO Group’s commercial objectives and a clear growth engine logic, in order to ensure sustainable growth, profitability, and market expansion across all regions.
Align regional sales strategies, business plans, pricing approaches, customer segmentation, customer journey frameworks, and commercial priorities across EMEA, ASPAC, and the Americas, in order to ensure a coherent and efficient global market approach and support value creation.
Drive the achievement of global CM1, turnover, volume, and profitability targets, in order to contribute to BENEO’s overall financial performance and long-term value creation.
Monitor regional business performance, market developments, customer trends, and competitive activities, in order to identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and support strategic decision-making.

2. Leadership & Organization

Lead, coach, and develop the Regional Sales Directors and their organizations with a strong focus on accountability, in order to ensure high-performing teams, strong leadership capabilities, and consistent execution of commercial priorities globally.
Support and challenge regional organizations in resolving escalated customer, operational, or commercial issues, in order to maintain strong stakeholder relationships and business continuity.
Drive organizational transformation and change management initiatives to transform the sales organization into a growth engine and align with future business needs and commercial priorities.

3. Commercial Excellence & Execution

Evolve and drive commercial excellence as a core performance engine through data-driven decision-making, performance management, customer segmentation, revenue growth management (RGM), and disciplined sales processes.
Oversee the translation of global account strategies into regional execution plans, in order to strengthen customer relationships, maximize growth opportunities, and ensure alignment with strategic account objectives.
Ensure harmonization of Group commercial standards, commercial processes, pricing frameworks, payment terms and incoterms across regions, in order to enhance operational efficiency, consistency, and governance compliance.

4. Customer & Market Impact

Strengthen customer partnership and market understanding to identify growth opportunities and improve consumer experience globally.
Monitor market developments, customer trends, and competitive activities, in order to identify opportunities and support strategic decision-making.

5. Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

Lead the commercialization of BENEO’s product portfolio in close collaboration and co-definition with Regional Market teams and the Global Marketing, Product & Innovation Teams.
Drive the exchange of best practices, customer insights, and market intelligence across regions, in order to strengthen BENEO’s commercial effectiveness and competitive positioning globally.
Partner closely with the BENEO Board, Südzucker Board and Südzucker Group stakeholders to shape and execute BENEO’s geographical expansion strategy.
Collaborate and co-define with peers across Südzucker Group divisions to define, harmonize and align commercial excellence standards, golden rules and best practices group-wide.

6. Governance & Representation

Ensure implementation and adherence to Südzucker and BENEO’s Corporate Governance Code, Code of Conduct, and internal policies across all regional sales organizations, in order to guarantee compliance and responsible business conduct.
Represent BENEO towards key customers, strategic partners and industry stakeholders globally, in order to strengthen BENEO’s market presence and long-term partnerships.

Your Profile

Thinking Level and/or Experience required for the role:

Master’s degree in Business Administration, Food Technology, Biological Sciences, or related field
Long-time Sales experience and international leadership experience in the food ingredients or related B2B2C industry.
Proven experience in leading international sales organizations and managing complex global customer environments
Demonstrated success in driving transformation and change management initiatives within global commercial organizations
Strong experience managing organizations through three or more management layers
Extensive exposure to multiple sales channels including Wholesale, Brick & Mortar, Key Account Management, and Distributor Management
Ideally exposure to at least two different industries and/or different company cultures and business environments
Experience working successfully in matrix and multicultural organizations

Technical Skills required for the role:

Strong commercial and strategic acumen
Deep understanding of international sales and account management
Strong customer-centric and profitability-driven mindset
Strong analytical and financial management skills
Ability to translate strategy into execution and measurable business results
Effective reporting and stakeholder management
Strong leadership and people management capabilities
Excellent communication and negotiation skills
Fluent in English; additional languages are an advantage

Behavioural competencies required for the role:

Consumer & Customer oriented
Profit oriented / CM1 driven
Strategic and global mindset
Leadership and coaching capabilities
Entrepreneurial spirit
Decisive and diplomatic leadership style
Strong collaboration and influencing skills
Inspiring and motivating leader
Change management and organizational alignment
High resilience, adaptability, and execution focus
Growth-oriented and customer-centric leadership mindset
Role modelling the BENEO Values