Job Description

Commercial Manager

The Commercial Technical Sales Lead – Flavour is a senior, commercial-led regional role responsible for driving sustainable growth of the flavour business across Southeast Asia

The role blends commercial ownership with deep technical credibility, requiring hands-on R&D flavour experience combined with a proven track record in selling flavour solutions
The role holder leads customer engagement through value-based selling, translating technical differentiation, sensory performance, and application know-how into measurable commercial outcomes.

QSR knowledge is a critical enabling capability in this role. While the position does not own QSR accounts, it supports and enables QSR commercial teams by providing technical judgement, flavour strategy input, and feasibility guidance, ensuring higher win rates and stronger execution.

This role serves as the SEA flavour sales authority, interfacing closely with technical teams and customers to position flavour as a strategic growth driver

Key Roles and Responsibilities

Commercial Ownership & Flavour Sales Growth (Primary Focus)

• Own and drive commercial growth targets for the flavour portfolio across Southeast Asia.
• Lead value-based flavour selling, clearly articulating how technical and sensory differentiation translates into customer value, revenue growth, and margin improvement.
• Develop and execute customer growth plans, identifying value drivers, commercial opportunities, and portfolio expansion levers.
• Identify, prioritize, and convert flavour opportunities across multiple categories, including snack seasonings, savoury applications, and adjacent segments.
• Partner with country commercial teams to build pipelines, expand customer penetration, and increase share of wallet through flavour-led solutions.
• Support pricing strategy, value justification, and KPI tracking to ensure commercial discipline and accountability.

  Technical Sales Enablement & R&D-Backed Credibility

  • Leverage hands-on R&D flavour experience to enhance credibility in customer and internal commercial discussions.
  • Interface closely with flavour R&D, Culinary, and Application teams to translate technical capability into compelling commercial propositions.
  • Simplify complex technical concepts into clear, customer-relevant value messages
  • Provide technical judgement on feasibility, performance, and scalability to support commercial decision-making.

• QSR Knowledge, Advisory & Commercial Enablement

  • Act as a technical and flavour advisor to QSR commercial teams, supporting discussions on flavour strategy, application performance, and operational fit.
  • Apply strong understanding of QSR operating models (speed, consistency, cost-in-use, process discipline, scalability) to guide flavour recommendations.
  • Support QSR customer engagements, innovation workshops, and internal reviews as a technical authority, without owning the account relationship.
  • Advise on flavour localization, renovation, and optimization to improve success rates in QSR projects.

• Cross-Functional Leadership & Execution

  • Lead complex regional initiatives by aligning R&D, Culinary, Marketing, Regulatory, Quality, Supply Chain, and Finance around flavour-driven commercial priorities.
  • Act as the bridge between commercial ambition and technical execution, ensuring customer opportunities move efficiently from concept to launch.
  • Operate effectively in a matrix environment, managing multiple initiatives while maintaining focus on commercial outcomes and KPIs.

• Capability Building & Regional Influence

  • Elevate SEA commercial teams’ technical selling capability, strengthening how flavour value is positioned and sold to customers.
  • Serve as a regional reference point for flavour-related commercial and technical decisions.
  • Contribute to SEA strategy discussions as the voice of flavour growth, customer value, and portfolio expansion.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Education and Discipline

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Flavour Science, Chemistry, or a related discipline.
• Advanced degree is an advantage.

Minimum Experience Required

Core (Must-Have)

• 8–10 years of experience in the flavour industry, combining hands-on R&D / technical roles with commercial or technical sales responsibility
• Proven track record in functional / technical sales, driving flavour business growth and customer wins.
• Demonstrated ability to develop customer plans, identify value drivers, and manage commercial KPIs.
• Strong capability in translating technical differentiation into commercial outcomes.

Enabling / Advantage

• Solid working knowledge of QSR operations and requirements, sufficient to advise and support QSR commercial teams.
• Experience in snack seasonings and savoury applications; exposure to coatings or protein applications is a plus.
• Regional exposure across Southeast Asia is preferred.

sCertifications and/or Licenses

Other Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial and customer-management skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility with QSR and food industry customers.

• Proven ability to work in a complex, matrix organization, balancing multiple stakeholders and shifting priorities.

• Agile and highly organized, with strong multitasking skills and the ability to reprioritize quickly in a fast-paced environment.

• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work cross-functionally to drive execution and problem-solving.

• Clear communicator with the ability to simplify complexity and align internal teams around customer needs.

• Results-oriented, resilient, and comfortable navigating ambiguity while maintaining focus on delivery.