Ella’s Kitchen was set up by Paul Lindley to promote healthy eating amongst babies and young children. We’re a highly entrepreneurial and values driven company which has achieved impressive growth to over £80m turnover, with a team of 90 employees based at Ella’s Barn near Henley. Our baby and toddler food pouches can be found in key retailers across the UK as well across Scandinavia and BeNeLux, in a handful of other European and Middle Eastern markets and the Far East. We are a brand recognised for its high quality ingredients and ethical credentials which are visible throughout our supply chain and in our social and charity work. Ella’s is part of the Hain Celestial group and we are very proud to be an accredited B’Corps and included in the Sunday Times Best Companies top 100 list 5 years in a row!

Already having achieved rapid growth to date, Ella’s is about to embark on an exciting new phase of development, to bring out more ranges of products and reach a wider international audience. With an ambitious growth target, we are looking for a talented person to join the team.

You will be joining a team of people who meet personal and business challenges with hard work and a smile. They not only see things as they are and ask why - but see things that never were and ask why not.

At Ella’s Kitchen, we are guided by our values; they set the tone of our culture and we look out for newbies who will be a natural fit to our values and complement and contribute to our business.

Location: Ella’s Barns, Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames

Reports to: Runs International Deals (International Sales Controller)

Direct Reports: 1 – Helps Make Deals Around the World (International Account Executive)

Contract: Full time, Permanent

Purpose of role:

• You will manage the following markets, via distributor model:

o Benelux (supported by Account Executive)

o China

o Hong Kong

o Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam and any other new Far Eastern markets, both direct and indirect (through existing distributors)

• Your Account Executive will manage directly (with you being senior contact):

o Iceland

o Dubai

o Malta

• Inspire, excite and motivate your international distributors, so that they live our values, understand our brand + are set up to deliver growth

• Contribute to achieving our growth aspirations by delivering revenue and profit targets from effectively managing your key international markets, through their budgets, product ranges and strategic priorities

• Take responsibility for quickly developing a strong understanding of your markets, their retailers, shoppers, trends, opportunities and challenges, by listening to your distributors and other partners, seeking out sources of information and with market visits where appropriate

• Use your knowledge and expertise and that of your distributors to shape your strategies to maximise market potential

• Nurture and develop your direct report, build their knowledge, skills and confidence in all things international account management

Role activities / responsibilities:

In the Barns:

• Know your customers and the markets they operate in – be identified as the market/distributor expert

• Manage budgets effectively, keeping customer P+L’s on track, communicating performance accurately, + ultimately achieving commercial targets

• Lead cross functional working groups on China and Benelux so projects are prioritised and delivered on time to brief

• With your team members, educate Ella’s Kitchen about our markets, their cultures and nuances, making sure we think about them in the right way to get the best results

• Play a pivotal role in the strategies, projects, team identity + morale of the Deals teams

• Present clear commercial recommendations to the business on market opportunities and priorities

• Represent the International team in key internal cross functional forums

• Work with our Safely (Technical) team to produce the required documentation to meet market regulations

• Work with our Clockwork (Operations) team to support strong, consistent and efficient service

With Our Customers:

• Negotiate + agree sales + investment budgets by customer, that deliver against our internal commercial targets, setting us up for sustainable growth

• Build + agree amazing annual commercial plans that motivate our customers, excite our consumers + delivers to maximise market opportunities

• Work closely with our International customers to live + breathe the Ella’s Kitchen brand + values in their market

• Work closely with Making Friends Around the World so that your commercial plans are supported with strong and relevant marketing and media activation

• Make sure we’re the brand that challenges customers, but isn’t the painful one to deal with – listen, communicate + respond to challenges in a timely fashion

People:

• Lead, motivate and develop your team; making sure your team member has a clear ‘Grow Me’ plan and is regularly working towards achieving these goals

• Proactively lead priorities to manage workload effectively, be compassionate and empathetic to balance wellbeing + personal development with the needs of the team

• Lead by example by knowing your stuff – internal goings on, numbers, our distributors and the market

• Be credible internally, with our customers + with the wider Ella’s team

• Be able to take a step back + look at things differently

• If there’s emotion involved, great, but be able to take it out of situations to make sure we’re making the right decisions

• Share best practice with your fellow Dealers + wider business

• Be a vital team member – don’t sit back, get involved + share all the great stuff you know to help us all improve + grow

• Take part in any other Ella’s meetings to engage stakeholders + communicate your plans

• Never be afraid to ask for help or want to learn how to do something differently

• Live our values both internally + externally

NB

In this role, you will need to travel around the world to meet our customers – estimated 10 - 15days p/year

You will need to:

• Have solid experience gained in a commercial, customer-facing role

• Have prior international FMCG account/market management experience, ideally Far East experience

• Have a good operational understanding of international logistics and operations

• Have awesome relationship building skills

• Have excellent commercial + numeracy skills

• Have an analytical mindset: be able to assess risks/opportunities, make recommendations + to say no if + when it’s needed

• Be a brilliant communicator + networker

• Be a leader + driver of success in your area

• Be an active thinker, able to make the time to think about what we’re doing

• Be proactive + autonomous, especially when you’re travelling

• Be able to thrive in an entrepreneurial, fast paced environment

• Challenge and Influence others

• Ability to “never never give up” + find solutions to challenges

• Be a strong project manager + have the tenacity to see projects through to the end

• Have a great grasp of MS Office (Excel in particular)

• Demonstrate your ability to live + breathe our values: We Want to Win, We’re Business Minded, We’re Childlike, We Think Differently, We’re Good to Each Other

• Be passionate for the brand + what Ella’s stands for – improving children’s lives through healthy relationships with food.

And what you’ll get in return:

Bucket loads of training and development, supporting your career pathway

Competitive salary

• Discretionary bonus scheme

• A Box of Treats, including private medical, dental, pension, life assurance, 25 days holiday and the ability to buy more, high street discounts, amazing wellbeing events, Give It A Go days… to name but a few!

• A really awesome place to come to work … our beautiful Barns in the Oxfordshire countryside, but the flexibility to achieve a good work/life blend