Senior Sales Manager for Northern China

Company Description

Louis Dreyfus Company is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods. Our activities span the entire value chain from farm to fork, across a broad range of business lines, we leverage our global reach and extensive asset network to serve our customers and consumers around the world. Structured as a matrix organization of six geographical regions and ten platforms, Louis Dreyfus Company is active in over 100 countries and employs approximately 18,000 people globally.

The Senior Sales Manager is accountable for sustainable growth of the LDC Specialty Feed business in Northern China. The role leads regional commercial strategy, develops strategic and key accounts, manages the sales team, and connects customer needs with R&D, product, supply chain and management resources. Based in Shanghai, the role serves as both the commercial leader for the North China market and a cross-functional link for solution development and new-product commercialization.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities

1. Regional Strategy and Business Growth

• Develop and execute the commercial strategy for Greater North China in alignment with the overall Specialty Feed

business priorities.

• Own regional sales performance and growth delivery, translating business objectives into account, pipeline and territory plans.
• Identify priority segments, applications and opportunities, and allocate commercial resources according to business potential.
• Monitor market, customer and competitor developments and convert insights into clear commercial actions.
• Maintain disciplined sales forecasting, opportunity management and performance reviews.

2. Strategic and Key Account Development

• Lead the acquisition, development and retention of strategic customers and high-value opportunities across the region.
• Build senior-level customer relationships and develop a strong understanding of customer applications, operational needs and decision criteria.
• Lead value-based and solution-oriented selling, moving customer conversations beyond individual products toward differentiated applications and business outcomes.
• Coordinate complex customer projects from opportunity identification through technical validation, commercial negotiation and implementation.
• Ensure account plans clearly define growth opportunities, stakeholder strategies, value propositions, risks and next actions.

3. New Product and Solution Commercialization

• Bring regional customer and market needs into product and innovation discussions at an early stage.
• Partner with R&D and product teams to assess technical feasibility, commercial potential and project priority.
• Coordinate sample trials, customer feedback and product refinement to improve speed and quality of commercialization.
• Develop launch and adoption plans for new products and solutions in the North China market.
• Capture application learnings and support replication of successful solutions across customers and regions.

4. Cross-functional Leadership

• Work closely with R&D, product, supply chain and marketing teams to secure timely support for customer opportunities.
• Align internal stakeholders on customer requirements, priorities, commercial terms, supply considerations and project milestones.
• Act as the regional commercial voice in portfolio, application, industry and key-account discussions.
• Balance customer responsiveness with business value, operational feasibility and long-term strategic fit.

5. Sales Team Leadership and Capability Building

• Lead, coach and develop the North China sales team, setting clear priorities, expectations and performance standards.
• Build team capability in strategic account planning, value selling, project management, opportunity qualification and sales forecasting.
• Conduct regular pipeline and account reviews and provide hands-on coaching for critical opportunities.
• Use joint customer visits and cross-functional project work to strengthen commercial and technical effectiveness.
• Promote collaboration, accountability and knowledge sharing across the regional and national sales organization.

6. National Collaboration and Best-practice Sharing

• Collaborate with other regional teams on national customers, cross-regional applications and industry solutions.
• Introduce successful approaches from other markets into North China and share locally developed applications with the wider organization.
• Ensure North China customer insights are represented in broader business planning and portfolio decisions.

Key Interfaces

• Internal: Regional commercial leadership; R&D; product management; supply chain; finance; marketing; and other regional sales teams.
• External: Strategic and key customers; technical and procurement stakeholders; channel or business partners where applicable; and relevant industry networks.

Qualifications

Experience

• Substantial B2B sales and commercial leadership experience in feed, animal nutrition, specialty chemicals or a comparable solution-led industry.
• Demonstrated success in building strategic accounts, developing new business and managing complex, multi-stakeholder sales opportunities.
• Experience leading and developing a sales team, including structured account, pipeline and forecast management.
• Proven ability to work effectively in a multinational, matrixed and cross-functional environment.
• Experience participating in new-product development, application projects or commercialization is strongly preferred.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong commercial judgment and the ability to translate market insights into focused growth plans.
• Consultative and value-based selling capability, supported by credible technical understanding and curiosity.
• Excellent strategic account management, negotiation, influencing and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to lead complex projects across commercial, technical and operational functions.
• Strong people leadership, coaching, prioritization and decision-making capability.
• Clear written and verbal communication in Chinese and English, suitable for customer engagement and cross-border collaboration.
• Comfort with regular travel across Northern China and other locations as business needs require.

Education：Bachelor’s degree or above in animal science, nutrition, chemistry, business or a related discipline. A relevant technical background combined with strong commercial experience is preferred.

Leadership Competencies

• Growth orientation: Creates focus around the most valuable markets, customers and opportunities.
• Customer value creation: Connects customer needs with differentiated technical and commercial solutions.
• Enterprise collaboration: Mobilizes resources across functions and regions to deliver results.
• Commercial discipline: Maintains robust account plans, pipeline quality, forecasting and execution follow-through.
• People development: Builds team capability through clear expectations, coaching and practical exposure.
• Learning agility: Converts customer feedback and market insights into improved products, solutions and ways of working.

Additional Information

Diversity & Inclusion

LDC is driven by a set of shared values and high ethical standards

Diversity is part of our DNA. LDC strives to create a diverse and inclusive work environment where people can thrive regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity or background.

 

Sustainability

Sustainable value is at the heart of our purpose as a company

We are passionate about creating fair and sustainable value, both for our business and for other value chain stakeholders: our people, our business partners, the communities we touch and the environment around us

What We Offer

- A dynamic and stimulating international environment, which embraces diversity, equity and inclusion.

- Learning & development opportunities.

- Competitive compensation and benefits.

- Insurance systems & schemes.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

LDC is driven by a set of shared values and high ethical standards, with diversity and inclusion being part of our DNA. LDC is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity, equity and inclusion.

LDC encourages diversity, supports local communities and environmental initiatives. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

Sustainability

Sustainable value is at the heart of our purpose as a company

We are passionate about creating fair and sustainable value, both for our business and for other value chain stakeholders: our people, our business partners, the communities we touch and the environment around us.