West Africa Market Specialist Vacancy at Bord Bia

Our mission is to drive through market insight and, in partnership with industry, the commercial success of a world class Irish food, drink and horticulture industry.

Our roleStatement of Strategy2016 – 2018
The role of Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, is to act as a link between Irish food, drink and horticulture suppliers and existing and potential customers throughout the world.  Our objective is to develop markets for Irish suppliers and to bring the taste of Irish food to more tables world-wide.

With its headquarters in Dublin, Bord Bia has a network of overseas offices in Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, London, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, New York, Paris, Shanghai and Stockholm

Job Title: West Africa Market Specialist

Reporting to: Manager Africa, Bord Bia Dublin

Job Purpose: To assist the Bord Bia Africa Manager in the development, implementation and measurement of Bord Bia’s Route to Market services, to deliver sustainable business lead conversions for Irish food and drink exporters in the sectors of strategic priority in West Africa.

Key Organisational Relationships

Manager Bord Bia Africa, Established Markets Manager, Director of Markets, Food & Beverage Sector Managers, Global Key Account Manager, Talent Development Manager, Director Strategic Planning Food & Beverage, Origin Green, Strategic Insights team and the Marketing and Communications team.

Key External Relationships

Client food & drink companies, key local importers, distributors and customers, industry representative bodies, third party agencies and consultants, local trade media and key opinion leaders

Key Accountabilities

• To contribute to the development and annual review of Bord Bia’s strategy implementation plan in West Africa.
• To deliver Route to Market client services that are instrumental in the growth of Irish food and drink exports to West Africa, in the key sectors defined in the local market strategy implementation plan, in line with the new Route to Markets and Plan to Grow structure.
• To proactively build a network of West African trade contacts in priority sectors across all channels and in various roles (notably buyers, innovation & marketing teams, CSR teams) within identified key accounts to increase the awareness of Ireland’s sustainable food and drink supply base and build the reputation of the Irish food industry with key buyers, importers and other stakeholders in West Africa.
• To localise and implement effective communication tools in line with the new Bord Bia marketing way to ensure optimum reach for Bord Bia’s trade messaging on industry capabilities and our unique sustainability credentials, and Bord Bia’s consumer messaging on our unique product attributes/production USPs in relevant priority sectors via local PR and trade/consumer media buying.
• To become a West African market insights expert, collating and disseminating relevant and timely market and sector information, to partner client companies and to share knowledge with colleagues in line with the best practice set out by The Thinking House.

Main Duties

• Contribute to the development of Irish food and drink client companies’ local commercial marketing strategies in partnership with the sectors and insights teams.
• Help clients implement their plans, through building and managing relationships with the right internal & external stakeholders, whether it be sales teams, agency partners, buyers, merchandisers, distributors or media, as well as measuring their impact in order to correct & optimise them where needed.
• Based on the client segmentation model, assist Irish food and drink clients turn their commercial marketing strategies into effective local implementation & activation plans.
• Set the standard for how clients should engage with their key accounts in West Africa, actively fostering stronger commercially focused relationships between clients and the trade through peer-to-peer key account management, mentoring and wider networking events, including local trade fairs and inward buyer visits.
• Become an expert in West African market insights in priority channels and sectors by attending local industry conference, reading and analysing local industry trade journals, research and reports; and disseminating this information in line with the Thinking House best practice to grow categories exponentially in partnership with the Irish food and drink industry.
• Actively encourage Irish food and drink exporters to consider business opportunities in West Africa by organising market study visits to the region and managing the implementation of Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship assignments in West Africa where relevant.
• Proactively identify, meet and establish relationships with existing West African customers for Irish food and drink products in priority sectors as well as seeking to grow the office’s network of key trade influencers (including media), channel partners and decision makers.
• Develop a panel of local trade experts who can act as business accelerators and mentors to support the Africa team on specific Route to Market projects.
• Facilitating DAFM technical missions by helping DAFM understand the practical issues in West African markets and identifying the right people to meet and liaise with.
• Seek out speaking opportunities for Bord Bia to present Origin Green and position Ireland’s unique sustainability credentials at key industry seminars and forums in West Africa and actively engage and participate in sustainability debates with key opinion leaders in the market.
• Provide input into various internal and departmental reporting mechanisms: Monthly activity reports, market profiles and annual reports. Draft annual plans for the region and budget accordingly.
• Propose and implement multiannual plans in line with job description, strategic objectives, market growth priorities and allocated resources.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications: Degree level qualification in relevant discipline, e.g. Business, Marketing Specialisation in international marketing an advantage Membership of relevant professional bodies e.g. Marketing Institute of Ireland or other appropriate is advantageous
Experience: 3 + years’ experience operating in an export marketing, sales or business development role in Ireland, Britain or international markets Experience building and distilling market insights Successful implementation of high profile marketing events or projects Knowledge of the Irish Food, Drink and Horticulture sector Proven record of working independently in an export market Proven experience of building credible professional relationships with suppliers, trade customers, media, diplomats and politicians both in Ireland and the Marketplace Proven experience operating professionally in different cultures Strong results driven KPI culture; budget management experience

Required Skills: Fluent English with strong French language skills required Yorubu or Hausa also an advantage. Excellent communication and presentation skills with strong verbal and report writing ability in English and French Highly tuned influencing and negotiating skills adapted to the local culture Proven organisational skills and practical application of project management tools and techniques. Proficient business use of the full Microsoft 2013 suite, social and Word Press content management tools and Google Analytics and social media online monitoring tools.

How to Apply

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