BALKAN HAZELNUT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Job Location: ​Aleksa Šantić​

Serbia (Aleksa Šantić, Belgrade), with frequent travels to neighbouring countries 

Company description

Ferrero is a family-owned company with a truly progressive and global outlook and iconic brands such as Nutella®, Tic Tac®, Ferrero Rocher®, Raffaello®, Kinder Bueno® and Kinder Surprise®. As the love for our brands continues to grow, so too does our global reach. Represented in more than 50 countries, with products sold in more than 170, the Ferrero Group is loved by generations around the world. The secret to our global success? 40,000  dedicated employees who celebrate care and quality to craft a business, careers and brands we are proud of. Join us, and you could be one of them.

Diversity Statement

Ferrero is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all of our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at Ferrero. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative and highly rewarding.

About the Role:

AgriSerbia is a subsidiary of Ferrero Hazelnut Company (HCo) dedicated to the promotion and development of modern hazelnut supply chains in Serbia and neighbouring Balkan countries.Established in 2014, AgriSerbia has so far achieved the creation of a 600-hectare hazelnut farm in Aleksa Santic and the establishment of a network of outgrowers in various Serbian regions, for a total of approximately 4,000 hectares of hazelnut groves. In neighbouring countries, primarily Romania and North Macedonia, promotional activity of HCo has contributed to the development of an additional 4,000 hectares of hazelnut groves.

The progressive entry into production of new plantations in Serbia, Romania and North Macedonia has allowed us to have confirmation of the good production capacity of hazelnuts in the agro-climatic context of the region which, added to the presence  of a strong sector of medium-large sized agricultural companies, confirms the great development potential of a modern and high-performance hazelnut sector. Encouraged by the positive outlook, HCo has confirmed its commitment to supporting the development of hazelnut supply chains in the region, through the strengthening of farmer aggregation structures and partnerships with large agricultural business groups. To implement the revised development strategy, a new position will be opened in AgriSerbia for a “Balkan hazelnut development manager” to strengthen the agro-economic dimension of the HCo team operating in the region.

Main Responsibilities:

Overall tasks and responsibilities:
The Balkan Hazelnut Development Manager will be based at AgriSerbia Farm in Aleksa Santic (Sombor municipality) with an intensive presence in different Serbian regions and in Romania, and North Macedonia. 
You will be responsible for supporting the Head of Agribusiness of HCo and the General Manager of AgriSerbia in designing and implementing the development strategy for the hazelnut sector in the Balkans, focusing on the economic dimension of the crop and the structuring of organized territorial value chains.
In particular, the mission of the Balkan Hazelnut Development Manager will be expressed through the following components:
1.   Agro-economic studies
Conduct in‑depth agro‑economic and organizational analyses related to hazelnut production and the development of regional agricultural supply chains. The objective is to provide institutional and private stakeholders with robust analytical insights to guide investment decisions in hazelnut orchards and territorial supply‑chain development.
2.  Strategic planning 
Based on the current development status of different regions of Serbia, Romania, and North Macedonia in collaboration with the Agronomy Department of AgriSerbia, consultants employed by HCo in Romania, and the agronomy experts of our business partner in North Macedonia, identify possible priority poles of development based on verified agro-climatic and socio-economic characteristics and identify, for each territory, the main private and institutional stakeholders, large scale investors, farmers and farmers' groups and any other operators directly and indirectly involved in possible development initiatives. Analyze possible forms of public or private financing to support the development of large and medium scale plantations, and farmers' aggregation structures. Prepare, or update, development plans indicating targets, activities, investments and possible medium-term production and organisational scenarios. 
3.  Promotional activities 
Based on the agreed development strategy and the subsequent annual work plans, develops suitable communication and promotional initiatives focusing on:
- Developing a Ferrero-compliant communication strategy based on media and corporate communication instruments.
- Development of information tools such as brochures, technical booklets, leaflets.
- Organize, with General Manager, strategic prospecting activities, key investor meetings, and target fairs and conferences where large investors meet for deal-making and market research. Organization of promotional events such as seminars & workshops, farmer's meetings, etc.., to actively involve stakeholders into the hazelnut sector.
- One-to-one meetings with interested investors to provide a comprehensive and transparent overview of the hazelnut farming business.
4.  Supply chain development 
The ultimate, and most qualifying, objective of the Balkan Development Manager is to develop efficient and sustainable hazelnut value chains based in the concept of regional Hazelnut Districts with good hazelnut orchards at large and medium scale, as well as the adequate aggregation structures capable to provide technical support to small scale farmers, assure efficient inbounding and post-harvest operations for the hazelnut production. 

Who we are looking for:

A person with high moral standing and a strong sense of belonging, qualities necessary to fill roles of representation and responsibility. Availability to frequent business trips. Excellent communication skills with experience in public speaking.

Required qualifications:

• Second cycle University degree in economics, marketing, finance or business
• Minimum 10 years of relevant working experience in area of agribusiness development
• Advanced English and Serbian, fluency in Romanian would be an advantage

Special skills:

• Development and innovation of local agricultural supply chains and production systems
• Marketing and development of agro-industrial value chains
• Corporate communication and Institutional affairs
• Executive presence with strong managerial capacity, enabling efficient coordination of diversified teams of professionals

How to be successful in the role and at Ferrero:

 Consumers, quality and care are at the heart of everything we do. So, to be successful at Ferrero, you’ll need to be just as consumer and product centric as we are - dedicated to crafting brilliant results for consumers around the world. 

Strong analytical mind, attention to details on one hand, and ability to cooperate with employees at all levels and great organisational skills on the other, would be key to success.  Employee contribution and engagement at Ferrero is based on the individual, team and organisation dimension, so you should have the ability to work independently, as a part of the team and build good relations with stakeholders at all levels.  Being flexible and dealing with a dynamic working environment as well as the ability to embed new knowledge and skills in existing competencies will definitely help you to become high performer here. 

Contacts

Recruiter: Tanja Stupar

Line Manager: Jorge Acevedo