Job Summary:
1. The Commercial Director is responsible for the commercial activities of the entities in the Asia Pacific Region, with a strong focus on Chinese Airlines. In this function, the Commercial Director reports to the Regional Chief Commercial Officer, Asia Pacific, and the Managing Director, of Asia,
2. The Commercial Director is responsible for customer relationship management, particularly with the Chinese customers, for the region and the Group. The Commercial Director interacts with affiliates of the Group, is involved, supports, and oversees the business development activities.
3. The Commercial Director collaborates with an organization of professionals in commercial, who have responsibility for sales, customer service, service delivery, commercial strategy, new business development, contract negotiations, pricing, marketing, and commercial analytics.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
· Setting the vision and executing of the Commercial strategic plan, including development and execution of account strategies; bid pipeline management; network strategy development; expansion of integrated gategroup product portfolio; key customer relationship management; contracting adherence to corporate standards; and pricing strategy.
· Establishing infrastructure necessary to deploy the Commercial strategy including building, developing, and leading a motivated, robust, and effective sales, service, and delivery organization; establishing protocols and resources for scenario-driven, fact-based decision-making; and ensuring internal functions of the organization are aligned to meet strategic commercial objectives.
· Instituting effective communication at all levels of customer and operational interaction. Responsible for the development of existing and future customer relationships.
· Supporting the Regional Chief Commercial Officer, Asia Pacific about the organization's strategic management function, in drafting, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable the region to achieve long-term objectives.
· Directing select strategic planning and business development projects as they arise from concept development to implementation.
· Developing and maintaining a productive, professional, cross-functional relationship with operations, brands, and corporate counterparts.
· Driving culinary and retail product development/innovation functions to drive business growth and market share.
· Manages the successful implementation of high-impact, high-visibility business development projects for traditional airline business, non-airline business, and inter-company projects.
· With sales force, develops bid strategy, sales approach, and negotiating tactics for obtaining new or retaining existing business taking into account profit and contract objectives.
· Directs the development of and presents thoughtful and persuasive sales proposals and internal strategy documents to customers and senior management.
· Selectively engages in contract and pricing negotiations with customers including developing term sheets, reviewing contract proposals, analyzing customer proposals, and developing recommended counterproposals.
· Establishes and maintains senior-level relationships with customers, industry influencers, and key strategic partners.
· Represent the company at industry events, meetings, and in the press and media as necessary.
· Serve as a key member of the -Asia Pacific Team, supporting the Chief Commercial Officer, Asia Pacific, and other senior leaders in implementing and upholding the gategroup mission, vision, and values.
· Assist in driving delivery of the company’s long-term strategic goals as well as ensuring day-to-day activities accurately reflect near-term priorities.
· Oversees completion of business case analyses for new customer or product strategies with a focus on new integrated product offerings developed in coordination with company affiliates.
· Identify and deliver existing or potential new business opportunities. Consults with customers and prospects to identify business development opportunities that meet customer needs.
· Establishes and implements strategic planning initiatives, marketing efforts, and sales process improvements to meet sales objectives and support overall strategic direction.
· Drive development/evaluation of market research to generate network and customer strategy recommendations to meet changing market and competitive conditions.
· Oversees product positioning and pricing strategies to produce the highest possible long-term profitability for a newly expanded product portfolio.
· Ensures internal standards/compliance are in place/adhered to for tender management process, sales reporting, contracting, and marketing collateral.
· Actively recruit, develop, and retain talent while rigorously applying the performance management process.
· Participate actively in building the budget for Asia Pacific.
Tasks:
· Day to Day management of the Commercial Team as needed.
· Standardization of workflows and procedures within the team.
· Implementation of “new” Front Office roles – “Understanding the customers’ needs and being proactive’.
· Explore new business opportunities.
· Continue to exploit Margin management.
Qualifications
Education:
· Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university required; Business, Economics, Math or Engineering majors required.
· An MBA with concentrations in Finance, Economics, Management Strategy, or Marketing preferred.
Work Experience:
· Minimum of 10 years of work experience with progressive responsibility, ideally encompassing marketing, business development, strategic planning, sales, and/or operations.
· Prior experience in airline, airline catering, and/or strategy consulting industry highly preferred.
· Senior-level management track record of successfully delivering against sales or growth targets; developing successful organizations; and negotiating complex, large-scale business-to-business deals.
· International experience and familiarity working in multi-cultural environments.
Technical Skills: (Certification, Licenses and Registration)
· Excellent presentation and communication skills, both written and oral.
· Demonstrated ability to manage and develop team members.
· Proficiency in structuring the work of others, designing research/analytic approaches, formulating recommendations, presenting findings, and following through on implementation.
· Deep understanding of quantitative analysis, research, and packaging of findings.
· Ability to develop integrated customer solutions, ensure customer satisfaction, and strengthen customer relationships.
· Aptitude to support the team in work planning, problem structuring, idea generation, and advanced financial and business analysis.
· Proficiency in the development and preparation of multi-million dollar proposals including financial oversight, presentation development, etc.
· Ability to negotiate win-win outcomes with customers and partners, sometimes under adversarial circumstances.
· In-depth knowledge of sales and marketing techniques and finance principles.
· Ability to anticipate, analyze and solve practical problems/issues at both a strategic and functional level.
· Team Player.
· Willingness to travel.
· Proficiency in MS Office with particular strength in Excel and PowerPoint.
· Has a passion for the service industry.
Language / Communication Skills:
· High command of written and spoken English and Chinese is a must.
· Other Languages spoken of advantage.
Job Dimensions
Geographic Responsibility: gategroup network where Chinese customers are flying to with a specific focus on Asia Pacific
Type of Employment: Full-time, fixed term
Travel %: Frequent travel required, also on short notice
Internal Relationships: with other departments
External Relationships: with customers
Work Environment / Requirements of the Job:
· Extended work hours
· High degree of confidentiality
· Exposure to kitchen operations
· Domestic and International customer experience in an operational setting
Budget / Revenue Responsibility: (Local Currency) Budget for Commercial
