Business Unit Manager Flexibles

As the largest pureplay adhesives company in the world, H.B. Fuller’s (NYSE: FUL) innovative, functional coatings, adhesives and sealants enhance the quality, safety and performance of products people use every day. Founded in 1887, with 2023 revenue of $3.5 billion, our mission to Connect What Matters is brought to life by more than 7,000 global team members who collaborate with customers across more than 30 market segments in over 140 countries to develop highly specified solutions that enable customers to bring world-changing innovations to their end markets.

Responsibilities include:

• Delivering annual budget in sales CM & gross margins.
• Ongoing New Business Development
• Account Management
• Margin management
• Price Management complying with FLIP
• Building OEM and allied supplier partnerships
• Channel Management & implementation of right channel strategy
• Maintaining market and opportunity data in SFDC
• Successful commercialization of new products/services
• Global and regional coordination of strategic accounts/markets as appropriate
• Management of P&L, gross margins and Working Capital as necessary
• Closely aligning activities to ensure profitability, NWC with operations, finance & supply chain
• Aligning with operations, finance for key CAPEX investments, office management , warehouse & logistics
• Engaging with HR to define, manage and implement key people related policy in line with HBF standards
• Coaching direct & indirect teams and driving a culture of high-level performance
• Recruiting the best talent and driving people processes like talent management and succession planning with an eye to build a strong commercial team that would support implementation of business strategy.
• Personally, building strong business relationships with key decisions makers in all key customers – developing new business, trust & loyalty.

Key Metric Options (agreed annually)

Territory Sales Plan

Profitability management

Contribution Margin

Volume

Price

Win / Loss Ratio

Development Metrics (TBD)

PRIMARY DUTIES

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Accountability
• Customer Focus
• Performance Excellence
• Change and Risk Taking
• Innovation
• Teamwork

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Develops strategy and an account plan for short and long term to defend and grow the account, optimize profitability, and manage risk
• Accountable for delivering annual business results, aligned with business plan, sales, CM and volume

• Negotiates pricing and margin (aligned with the business) using value selling and the flip pricing tool to capture the optimum price and margin for HBF
• Owns the contact matrix, ensuring that the expectations of all parties are set and met, internal & external

CUSTOMER FOCUSED

• Drive customer intimacy by delivering HBF’s value proposition tailored to meet the needs of the customer
• Identifies customer needs and translates into opportunities.
• Promote, quantify and expertly sell value, which differentiates HBF in the market and adds value to our customers
• Consistently deliver value to our customers to realize customer loyalty and minimize erosion
• Provide insight to the customer through expert application of skills and knowledge.  Anticipate current and future needs of the customer through deep understanding of the customer’s business
• Demonstrates the ability to teach the customer on current market trends and issues, and is able to be a strategic partner to our customers on key issues such as industry and raw material trends

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE (including BUSINESS ACUMEN)

• Consistently manage activities to ensure all EHS requirements are followed
• Implement business pricing strategy, in consultation with business director, expertly delivers price increases and maintains the business
• Leverage all sales processes, including salesforce.com.
• Identifies and prioritizes new business opportunities and communicates forecasting needs to the business
• Intimately knows the industry, including developing new business pipeline
• Manage time by balancing effort between existing business and new business pipeline
• Understands competitive landscape and how to position HBF for advantage
• Develops and owns cross-functional relationships across the strategic account from the C-suite to plant level
• Manage impact on profitability by promoting the right products, negotiating terms and conditions, providing reliable forecasting, and managing the impact on working capital
• Manage T&E expenses to budget

CHANGE AND RISK-TAKING

• Adapt easily to a dynamic environment and maintain high levels of motivation and engagement
• Credible leader in the sales team and positively influences  change
• Creatively consider solutions for customers with a willingness for calculated risk-taking to win

INNOVATION

• Partners with Technical and R&D to ensure voice of the customer is received and acknowledged in the HBF R&D pipeline. 
• Accountable for transferring HBF innovation back to the customer, in collaboration with R&D.
• Promote and sell innovative HBF technologies that create competitive advantage and optimize value for customers and HBF

• Collaborates with Global director and VP to develop & business strategy
• Coaches and influences team members to implement the strategy
• Coordinates all supporting resources for customer, including technical, field sales, R&D, quality, customer service, etc
• Expertly communicates across the business on all internal and external activities, in line with the strategic plan. Provides monthly updates to all stakeholders
• Partners with, field sales, customer service, supply chain, and R&D to establish priorities, service levels and deliverables

• Negotiating: Master negotiator and is sought out by others within the organization to handle or advise the most complex customer situations. Consistently negotiates solutions with maximum value for customer and HBF.
• Managing a portfolio: Manages fewer, but larger strategic, customers. Service levels are agreed and maintained per direction of the strategic account manager.
• Demonstrating strategic intent / Being Innovative: Engages the customer in the development of strategic plans with customer buy-in for implementation. Contacts are senior leaders inside the customer and HBF contacts are aligned functionally
• Presenting: Expert presenter, who tactfully responds when faced with on-the-spot questions or challenges during or after presentations, and always progresses the agenda and teaches the customer.
• Questioning / Listening: Accurately assesses underlying causes and/or concerns of customers' through enhanced listening skills; listens for potential using skills of deduction to customers' issues and concerns.  Always in the here and now.
• Communicating: Delivers accurate, clear, and concise messages that inform and frequently persuade audiences to take action. Adapts to the needs of diverse audiences and/or complex situations.
• Prospecting: Aligns inside resources, including R&D, to longer-term business opportunities inside existing strategic customers.
• Being a team player: Rallies account teams in delivering action plans for customers. Able to communicate team effort and value back to the customer.

• Customer Knowledge
  • Understands long-term impact of market drivers. Has a long-term view of HBF's opportunity as aligned with customer strategy
• Products & Value
  • Operates as a resource and consultant to the customer in use of products and services
  • Delivers agreed value plan with customer
• Sales Process & Sales Tools
  • Expert user of all sales tools and processes and brings benefit to the customer as a result of this (e.g. usage reports)
  • Seeks to introduce new and better ways to serve the customer
• Trends in Market & Industry
  • Uses expert knowledge of trends of market and industry to differentiate and teach the customer
• Supply chain & Customer Service
  • Has deep understanding of customer value chain and how HBF impacts the customer
  • Selectively engages experts in supply chain to bring value to customers
• Business  Acumen
  • Able to negotiate and have meaningful business conversations at all levels inside customers.
  • Teaches the customer alternatives and helps them to avoid land mine

Multiple

• Large, regional accts, single & multi-site + large-complexity headquarter sites.

• 4 year college degree, with a preference for technical/mechanical or marketing
• Minimum of 10 years of industrial sales experience; could consider marketing or technical experience as alternative, with consistent at or above target performance
• Must have a valid driver’s license and be willing to travel.
• Travel time depends on size/geography of the territory.
• Excellent presentation, communication, and negotiation skills
• Demonstrated strategic capabilities
• Proven leadership and team building skills
• Experience in the adhesives or chemical market or other industrial business to business organizations.
• Understand how to drive growth & manage complexities.
• A solid grasp and knowledge of B2B marketing and its tools and how to apply them in the Industrial adhesives market
• Have deep understanding of operations.

H.B. Fuller is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and proud to have created a collaborative culture where employees around the world are seen, heard, and respected. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, or marital status or status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected classification.

H.B. Fuller does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or staffing firms. To conduct business with H.B. Fuller, a written service agreement must be executed by Human Resources prior to submitting any information relating to a potential candidate. Without a signed service agreement, H.B. Fuller shall not be obligated for payment of any fee or compensation.