Regional Business Manager Apac

**Company Background**:
Our Client is one of the world's leading rice food companies, with a proud history dating back to 1950. Headquartered in Australia, the Group is a vertically integrated business with operations across the globe, including in the U.S., the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific. Our client delivers value-added and specialty rice food products to consumers in over 50 markets. With a strong focus on innovation, sustainability, and quality, SunRice aims to nourish and meet the diverse needs of customers worldwide.

**Overall Job Scope**:
The **Regional Business Manager - Asia Pacific**will drive our client commercial success across key Asian markets, including North Asia and South East Asia. Based in Singapore, this senior role is responsible for delivering top-line growth, developing market entry strategies, building distributor and customer partnerships, and overseeing local execution of brand and trade strategies. The role plays a pivotal part in expanding our client's footprint in APAC and aligning commercial operations with corporate strategy.

**Key Responsibilities**:
**1. Commercial Leadership**:

- Manage and grow sales in North Asia (approx. 148,000t / $140M NSV) and South East Asia (approx. 27,500t / $27.3M NSV).
- Lead pricing, distribution, and promotional strategies to drive profitability and brand equity.
- Execute market entry and growth strategies, including B2B2C models.

**2. Market Development & Partner Management**:

- Build and maintain strong relationships with distributors, retailers, and government stakeholders.
- Identify and onboard new partners in emerging markets.
- Collaborate with the Consumer Markets and Category Marketing teams on regional product initiatives.

**3. Team Leadership**:

- Manage a small regional team, including country-level commercial managers and business development staff.
- Foster a high-performance culture aligned with our client values and leadership behaviours.
- Provide coaching, feedback, and development planning to drive team capability.

**4. Operational Management**:

- Oversee regional forecasting, budgeting, and sales planning processes.
- Monitor sales performance against targets and take corrective actions as needed.
- Ensure compliance with our client's operational, financial, and ethical standards.

**5. Strategic Alignment & Governance**:

- Align regional activities with the our client Global Rice strategic plan.
- Maintain adherence to anti-bribery and corruption policies and ethical business conduct.
- Represent SunRice at trade events, industry meetings, and cross-functional forums.

**Required Qualifications & Experience**:
**Education**:

- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or Agriculture (required).
- Postgraduate qualification (MBA or equivalent) is advantageous.

**Languages**:

- English fluency required. Proficiency in Mandarin, Cantonese, or Japanese is highly regarded.

**Experience**:

- At least 10 years of commercial leadership experience in the FMCG or food sector in APAC.
- Proven track record in sales, business development, and distributor/channel management across Asia.
- Experience engaging with government bodies, handling trade negotiations, and managing regulatory challenges.

**Key Competencies**:

- Strategic commercial thinking and financial acumen.
- Strong leadership and cross-cultural management.
- High-level negotiation and communication skills.
- Project management and cross-functional collaboration.
- Results-driven with a focus on execution and accountability.

**Geographic Scope & Travel**:

- **Coverage**:North Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan), and South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Hong Kong).
- **Travel**:Estimated 50-70%, including regular regional travel and trade delegations.