Versele is a leading manufacturer of high quality food and care products for pet and performance animals with 10 factories in 3 continents. We sell our strong brands in over 85 countries thanks to our team of 1.100 colleagues with a true passion for animals. Our group headquarters are based in Deinze near Ghent. We produce more than 95% of our products in house starting from the best raw materials until the final packed product.
After more than 90 years of expertise since our founding, we are still a rock solid family owned company with a unique culture based on respect, passion and engagement. Our track record of strong growth continues in our long term ambitions based on innovation, high investments, regional expansion and of course our dedicated teams.
Every day, we are nurturing the bond between people and over 25 Million animals with the best nutrition and care products. We take our responsibility to improve the wellbeing of people and animals seriously through a wide range of initiatives. Next to that, we contribute to a better planet through local sourcing, lower CO2 emissions, energy and waste reduction.
In the United States, Versele oversees four core company brands: Versele, Higgins Premium Pet Foods, Cavalor and Roudybush.
· Versele and Higgins Premium Pet foods operate out of Miami, FL and offer a wide assortment of food, treats and supplements for birds, small animals and pigeons. They are committed to providing pets with the highest quality nutrition free of any artificial flavors, colors and preservatives.
· Cavalor operates out of Dalton, GA and produces a complete line of premium horse feed, supplements and care products. They are focused on addressing the unique nutritional issues and challenges in the equine industry and are considered a leading nutrition solution provider.
· Roudybush operates out of Sacramento, CA and is a specialized bird food manufacturer. It offers science-based pellets, nectars, squab, and other diets for companion birds.
Role:
The sales operations leader is a crucial function within the HQ channel and sales department reporting to the global Senior Sales Manager :
Helps increase the performance of our global and local sales teams (> 120 people) through the implementation of sales processes, (digital) tools and business intelligence (data collection, analysis, systems and target setting)
guides the commercial organisations through the digital transformation
supports the customer service departments in their approach, task prioritization, processes and tools
He/she has the drive to create an organizational transformation and knows what it takes to get everyone on board.
He/she never loses the customer journey and experience out of sight and creates a sustainable competitive advantage through sales excellence.
He/she applies a good balance between strategy, innovation and execution to move along in the digital space.
Responsibilities:
Strategy & community
Develop the global Sales Operations strategy together with the key stakeholders
Propose an implementation plan based on quick wins, ROI and sales growth
Promote and support implementation of sales operations initiatives within the regions and countries
Develop, coach and lead the sales operations department
Monitor new trends and tools and define relevance and impact for Versele
Collect and share best practices
Sales and country support
Lead customer back office: information requests, customer meetings, sales meetings, nego tabs, …
Customer complaints
Support pricing team and assure implementation (price lists, conditions, invoicing, …)
Work closely with Trade marketing to assure smooth implementation and execution of our year plans at HQ and in the countries
Lead Sales forecasting
Make forecasting based on trends, launches/relaunches, distribution and promotion
In close collaboration with trade marketing and supply chain/planning
Fire sales
Co-Lead Versele sales and customer service processes with supply chain, regional and channel leaders:
Finalize Versele Sales processes (IT and MT), and adapt them to a continuous changing environment and country reality where necessary
Train our local sales leaders together with regional, country and channel leaders
Drive, adapt, implement, test new global initiatives and tools
Ensure usage and adoption of processes and tools (SANCOC, customer reports, …)
Lead from sales side in digitalization of order to cash
Support senior supply chain manager in customer service approach. E.g. make a joint recommendation on telesales + pilot and roll-out
Lead for (Sales) Business Intelligence
Roll-out Sales dashboard, train and support towards sales teams
In a 2nd step, develop new KPI’s, dashboards and reports for the business development teams that generate insights to improve their efficiency and effectiveness
Define our BI approach to drive the performance of our global business development teams in coordination with Business Control and IT team
Represent the sales/channels view in our group data
Lead and support Digital transformation for the sales departments :
Help the organisation to adopt tools in the digital space and be the ambassador for digital adoption
Co-lead new CRM tool: set-up, train, follow-up
Co-lead new MyVersele Customer project: set-up, test, upgrade, change request, train, …
Support training and change management of digital tools to enable adoption and usage by the business development teams
Monitor adoption and propose corrective actions where necessary
Work in full interdependence with CRM, e-sales and customer marketing
Stay up to date with all (digital) evolutions
Initiate and implement specific AI projects
Sales lead for marketing automation and performance marketing. Work with sales, e-sales and marketing to advise and assist in targeting and campaign execution
Lead Customer mapping – lead generation and segmentation :
Lead the customer mapping approach
Coach and support implementation in the countries
Co-own the customer database
Define and implement quantitative and qualitative customer segmentation linked to performance marketing
Lead selling out data approach, train and support implementation
Organizational relationship
Internal
Reporting to global Senior Sales Manager
Be a partner of Senior supply Chain manager and Marketing Manager
Be a key facilitator and enabler for the global channel and local sales teams and even broader of all business development teams (sales, marketing, technical advisors, customer service, supply chain)
Lead sales ops team
Active participation in Commercial steerco, sales meetings, …
External
Stays close to the customer reality (direct and indirect) going regularly in the field with sales people and responds to opportunities in a changing market environment
Screen potential partners to improve our customer experience, services and efficiency
Learn from other (non-competing) companies
Profile:
Master degree (economics, sales, marketing, statistics, information management, IT, digital, …)
A great passion for customers and sales
Very strong analytical skills and a passion for numbers
Passion for digital in a fast changing world with at least some affinity with the technical aspects
Good communication skills
Strong drive to make things happen
International environment and people management experience
Fluent in Dutch & English, other languages are an asset
Technical Skills
8-15 years of experience in sales and sales operations (sales processes, digital tools, data management, ….)
Project management
Feels at ease with tools and systems, but also understands the processes behind
Is familiar with CRM systems, BI and marketing related tools (e.g. marketing automation , …)
Offer:
Flexible working hours: you benefit from flexible working hours, allowing you to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Salary: a competitive salary in line with the market, depending on your profile and experience.
Electric company car with charging card: you will receive an electric company car including a charging card, enabling sustainable and comfortable mobility.
Fringe benefits: we offer group insurance and hospitalization insurance, ensuring you are well protected.
Meal vouchers: you receive meal vouchers worth €10 per worked day.
Growth opportunities: opportunities to develop yourself within a large, ambitious, and international family business where your contribution truly makes a difference.
Meaningful job: the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of pets and their owners worldwide.
Strong team spirit: you will work within a driven and passionate team in a dynamic and growing sector.
Innovative environment: a collaborative workplace that values your ideas and creativity.
Warm family atmosphere: with fun team activities such as the Versele-Laga Run in Deinze, the Versele-Laga Classic cycling event, and much more.