Market Development Manager

Responsible to: Regional Manager North America

Department: Market Development Team (MDT)

Salary and benefits: Commensurate with experience

Contract: Full Time is preferable. However, ASC supports remote and flexible working where possible

Location: USA, National role, preferably east coast.

About ASC

ASC is an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2010 to set and operate global standards for responsible aquaculture. Certified farmed products are promoted to consumers through the use of its ASC-logo.

The aquaculture industry is growing strongly and is already supplying more than half of all seafood consumed worldwide, but this growing demand increases the environmental and social footprint associated with this expansion. The ASC certification and labelling programme incentivises improved farming practices by promoting the benefits of responsibly farmed seafood and encourages an industry towards achieving environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

We work across the globe with aquaculture producers, seafood processors, retail and foodservice companies, scientists, conservation groups and the public to make it very easy to recognize and buy farmed seafood that meets the highest environmental standards.

For more information, go to www.asc-aqua.org

Role Summary

The Market Development Manager US, will be responsible for deepening and expanding the uptake of ASC’s certification and labelling program by engaging, servicing and conveying the value of the ASC programme and our brand to commercial partners such as retailers, brands and their suppliers, but also strategic landscape shapers like NGOs or institutions who could endorse ASC.

The position’s top priorities will be enhancing the quality of key commercial partner engagement, building effective working relationships to establish growth opportunities for the programme and driving marketing and communication activities.

Main Responsibilities

Drive uptake for ASC’s certification and labelling program by maintaining and expanding relationships with both Commercial partners like retailers, brands, suppliers & processors / importers and Landscape shapers such as NGOs and institutions. In order to;

• Contribute to building preference and uptake for ASC’s certification and labelling program amongst commercial partners, and foster their commitment to ASC
• Link customer demand towards producers and increase domestic or international producers to achieve ASC certification
• Build trust and awareness around the ASC certification by collaborating with NGOs, other certification programs (ISEAL members) and consumer organisations
• Engage stakeholders in the improvement of our programme
• Represent and promote the ASC externally at various levels in the local market
• Carry internally the expectations and wishes of commercial partners and other stakeholders regarding the further development of the ASC programme back into the organisation
• Strengthen ASCs market intelligence of the region

Support marketing and communication activations:

• Create and lever opportunities of commercial partners in communication and marketing efforts to promote the ASC programme to consumers and build recognition of the ASC label
• Ensure the good use of our label and messaging in the external assets and packaging produced by commercial partners where needed
• Collaborate closely with the ASC global and local marcomms department to support commercial partners in their marketing needs and champion them when reaching important milestones related to ASC

Your measures of success will ultimately be to increase our;

• offer of ASC labelled products with retailers and brands in the market
• uptake of Chain of Custody (CoC) certification and use of the ASC logo
• partner involvement in ASC-led communications and marketing campaigns that highlight ASC’s points of difference and value propositions towards consumers
• endorsement of ASC programme and label by landscape shapers such as NGOs, institutes and other non-commercial partners

Desired Skills and Experience

We are seeking someone who has proven experience in commercial business development, sales or retail buying, ideally within the seafood sector or NGO in the US.

To be successful in the role you would ideally have an established network in the seafood/ sustainability/ retail sector (although not essential) as well as solid knowledge about the role of certification in the (sea)food sector / insight into the evolving landscape of sustainable (sea)food.

For this role, you will need to;

• be open to collecting and internally delivering feedback from commercial partners and other stakeholders pertaining to further development of the ASC program
• have strong focus on the delivery of result-oriented customer service, including expectation management
• use your strong interpersonal and influencing skills to cultivate and manage relationships with partners
• use great communication skills with a natural ability to interact with a diverse range of people, at all professional levels
• enjoy writing / development of campaign management materials both for daily tasks and outreach material
• have natural Organization and Priorities Management skills to support executing outreach sessions and events, Decision making and problem-solving, attention to detail and collaborative teamworking within a remote setting.

It is considered highly advantageous if you bring any additional language skill in addition to English.

Benefits / Work Perks

Join a fun and dynamic global team focused on setting and supporting global standards for responsible and sustainable aquaculture for future generations to come!

You will also get;

• To be part of an organisation who are really making a difference!
• ASC supports remote & flexible working opportunities
• Minimum of 25 days holiday
• Competitive benefits locally
• Workstation grant
• Flexible fitness / wellbeing grant
• Paid time to volunteer, up to 6 days per year
• All staff team retreats
• Employee recognition awards
• 1 free coffee a week, on us!

The ASC works across different time zones so the pattern of hours may vary according to operational needs.

Domestic and international travel and overnight stays will be required occasionally.

Sign me up! How do I apply? 

Please e-mail your cover letter and CV, in English, to: recruitment@asc-aqua.org or apply direct via this advert.

Your CV and cover letter will be considered, and we will make a shortlist of candidates to invite to interview. Sometimes you may be asked to prepare additional written materials, past work examples and / or a presentation. Interviews will generally be held via Teams.

 

ASC take data protection very seriously. We will only use any personal information you may choose to give us in connection with your application for this position. If your application is unsuccessful, we will keep your personal information for 6 months, in case any other vacancies arise for which we think you may be suitable. For more information, please read our privacy policy which can be found here: https://asc-aqua.org/privacy/ 

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer of choice, reflecting the global community and therefore particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.