Marketing Director Austria & Switzerland – Knauf Insulation

Issue Date : 11/01/2010

Company Profile

The Knauf Group (www.knauf.com)

Established in 1932 in Perl an der Mosel in Saarland by the brothers Dr. Alfons Knauf and Karl Knauf, Gebr. Knauf Rheinische Gipsindustrie was the nucleus of the Knauf Group (www.knauf.com) which operates worldwide today. After the Second World War a new beginning was made by building a gypsum plant in Iphofen in Northern Bavaria, which is still the headquarters of the Group today. The Group which is owned by the two lines of the family, Dr. Alfons and Karl Knauf, was run as a family business by the two cousins Baldwin and Nikolaus Knauf until recently. Since mid 2008r, there are two Group CEO's, Mr Manfred Grundke and Mr Hans-Peter Ingenillum.

A multinational producer of building materials and construction systems, the company is operating more than 150 production sites in over 40 countries and is one of the world's leading manufacturers of building materials. Knauf has a workforce of 22,000+. Last year, the turnover was in excess of EUR 5.5 billion.

A strong characteristic of Knauf is the courage for visions, innovation and investments as well as simple decision-making processes and a wealth of ideas on the part of its personnel.

Originally a producer of conventional gypsum, Knauf has developed into a group of companies in the industrial sectors of dry wall installations, insulation technology and plastering. Another extensive segment is moulded and injection moulded parts as well as other related activities.

Closeness to customers, the establishment of long-lasting, special customer relationships by offering first class advice and appropriate expert service for top-grade products and systems: this has been the Knauf way to market. For this purpose it is necessary to have state-of-the-art plant technology that is subject to an ongoing development process.

However, the future also lies in the hands of talented and highly motivated employees. An important aspect is the "family culture" which prevails in the company: Learn from one another, hold together, pass on knowledge, assume the role of mentor, take fast and direct paths and press for special achievements. All of these are facets of the company culture.

Knauf Insulation (www.knaufinsulation.com)

As part of the Knauf Group, Knauf Insulation represents one of the most respected and progressive names in insulation worldwide. With 30 manufacturing operations in Europe, Russia, UK and USA, the annual sales revenue is in excess of EUR 1 billion and with nearly 5.000 employees.

The company is the fastest growing insulation manufacturer in the world with a wide range of insulation products to meet the growing demand for energy efficiency and acoustic performance in new and existing homes, commercial buildings and industrial applications. Our products include glass mineral wool, rock mineral wool, wood wool expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene. Knauf Insulation is committed to sustainable development and conservation of the environment manufacturing its products from recycled materials.

Knauf insulation is divided into 6 regions: North America / Northern Europe / Western Europe / Central Europe / Eastern Europe and Russia & CIS countries.

The headquarters for Austria & Switzerland is located in Fürnitz/Austria which is in the vicinity of Klagenfurt and these countries fall within Central European region. The company wants to further develop and optimize the marketing & sales strategies and activities which are being carried out across the Austrian market. Furthermore, the company is also looking to significantly increase its presence in Switzerland and is in the process of developing a new market entry strategy.

REPORTING TO

Reporting to the Managing Director AT & CH

KEY OBJECTIVES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The position and key responsibilities

Reporting to the Managing Director AT & CH and member of the Management Team, the Marketing Director is responsible for developing and implementing business and marketing strategies and roadmaps to ensure the company achieves its business goals of maximizing return on capital, profit and growth. Entrepreneurial spirit and a will to succeed attitude are essential for success in this position.

The main task for the Marketing Director is to support the growth of the overall insulation market across the territories (‘growing the pie'). As insulation is the most efficient and effective measure to reduce energy consumption in buildings and is contributing massively to energy efficiency, there is a great chance to gain awareness for this amongst key audiences and to develop solid strategies for capturing this huge potential.

Of course, the aim for Knauf Insulation - and for the Marketing Director specifically - is to ensure that they gain the vast majority of this growing market (‘part of the pie' or better known as ‘market share') by simply outperforming competition. This should be achieved through our strong brand awareness, our wide range of solutions, our innovations, our high quality products, our service level, etc.

The other main task for the marketing groups is to build the ‘Knauf Insulation' brand as the main and leading brand for insulation materials.

More specifically, the Marketing Director will be responsible for:

1.          Developing overall business and marketing strategy for Knauf Insulation business in Austria & Switzerland;

2.          Driving brand strategies and developing innovative communication strategies & activities to build the Knauf Insulation brand name;

3.          Obtaining solid market and business intelligence across the regions;

4.          Developing and implementing medium and long-term strategies and relevant value propositions by understanding the dynamics and potential opportunities of the construction industry;

5.          Creating overall marketing strategies by utilizing market data, financial data, competitor data, trend data and by making assumptions about future competitor actions and future trends in the market;

6.          Implementing segmentation approach in region and developing range of solutions for all main applications within buildings by driving new product development process and carrying out product portfolio optimizations across the different technologies (glass, rock, wood and foams) and across our different manufacturing sites;

7.          Development and implementation of marketing strategy to achieve business objectives, revenue, volume and profitability targets

8.          Developing pricing strategy including  list price management and recommendation on sales discounts and rebates;

9.          Effective lead generation from target markets and subsequent communication to the sales force;

10.      Forecasting of product volumes in line with expected market conditions;

11.      Communication of product and market management strategy to the Sales Force and Customer Service;

12.      Liaising with customers regarding joint marketing initiatives & promotional campaigns;

13.      Managing of external agencies (market research/advertising/PR);

14.      Developing smart lobbying strategies & activities on national level and supporting direct lobbying actions on local level;

15.      Managing & coaching the Marketing staff as well as support the building of capacity and capabilities for marketing staff in the markets.

He or she will develop and sustain relationships with all levels and functional areas within the organisation and needs to identify and address pro-actively all key issues and opportunities for the company. 

WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

The ideal person

The person we are looking for has at least 10 years of relevant working experience of which minimum 5 years of managing a marketing team. Ideally, the person has gained this marketing experience in a business-to-business environment. Some experience in a consumer marketing environment would definitely be a plus.

The person we seek will be at ease operating effectively in an environment influenced by a management, which is highly entrepreneurial, driven by creativity and initiative, where the individual is the driving force. Integrity, organizational commitment and the ability to make decisions based on clarity of thought and persuasive argument is critical. This calls for results orientation, refined leadership skills and the talent to work at all levels, internally and externally in a fast-paced environment.

With a high energy level, strong convincing and verbal skills and a healthy level of curiosity, the Marketing Director is flexible and creative and able to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.

Languages

The person will be fluent in German and English.

Education

The person will hold a university degree (preferably economics/technical) and ideally possesses a postgraduate qualification such as an MBA (business).

Location

The role will be based in Fürnitz/Austria.

Remuneration

Remuneration will be attractive and certainly sufficient to motivate a highly qualified candidate consisting of a competitive base salary and a bonus plus usual company benefits.

Outlook

The company's growth will inevitably create significant opportunities to progress for an individual demonstrating outstanding skill and the desire and potential to progress to more senior positions.

REQUIRED LANGUAGES

German : fluent

English : fluent