Strategy Manager

De Heus supplies high-quality animal feed and provides customers with knowledge about nutrition, animal health, animal husbandry, and livestock breeding, which allows customers to improve efficiency and companies to develop sustainably. The company has seen explosive growth in recent years thanks to successful growth in new and existing markets, paired with international acquisitions and joint ventures. The growth in so many different, dynamic markets brings with it a wide range of strategic issues. As the right hand to the Group Director Strategy & Business Development, the Strategy Manager will play an active role in analyzing and developing these issues.

About De Heus

Royal De Heus is a family business with a rich history that is considered a leading player in the international market. The company was founded in 1911, initially focused on the Netherlands, but since 2002, the company has also broken onto the international scene and grown into one of the largest family businesses in the Netherlands. De Heus currently has more than 90 production sites in over 20 countries, including 10 in the Netherlands, serving 75 countries. They employ more than 10,000 people worldwide.

Making safe, healthy food sustainably available and accessible is at the top of De Heus’ worldwide agenda. Over the next few decades, the global population will grow to an estimated 9.8 billion people in 2050, which means that the need for safe and healthy food will continue to grow with it. That means food chains need to become both more efficient and more sustainable. With the Responsible Feeding program, De Heus is doing their part to make that a reality. The program includes developing safe and sustainable food, establishing sustainable food chains, improving standards of living in local communities, and creating a safe and inspiring working environment.

De Heus’ strong international growth and the dynamic context of food chain developments worldwide naturally give rise to a wide range of strategic issues around further expansion, organizational development, opportunities to make agri business more sustainable, innovation, and collaboration within the value chain. The Strategy & Business Development team, which the Strategy Manager will join, works closely with company and senior management to chart the course for De Heus on these issues.

Vacancy: Strategy Manager

The Strategy Manager reports to the Group Director Strategy & Business Development but is expected to take on projects independently. Experience in strategy consulting and stakeholder management is crucial to success in this role. The position has a broad, international scope, and visiting the various business units is an integral part of the job.

The Strategy Manager will work closely with senior management and support the business. De Heus has a decentralized structure and each business unit has its own challenges, which means there are plenty of interesting issues to tackle in the various markets. The Strategy Manager will deal with things like setting the growth strategy for each country or region, possible portfolio expansion to other animal species or activities, organizational development, and growing the company’s pioneering role in the supply chain sustainability, all topics that will allow you to have a direct impact on the company’s future.

“This role is so interesting because of the broad scope of strategic issues you get to handle. You’ll also get plenty of exposure because you will work closely with senior management around the world. If you show the initiative, you can have a significant impact, and many opportunities within the organization will open up to you.” – Janneke Haverkamp-Dijkhuizen, Group Director Strategy & Business Development

De Heus is a family business with international reach. At De Heus, they work hard and get things done fast, so an entrepreneurial attitude will certainly help. It is important that the Strategy Manager has an affinity for the sector and industrial environments, gets excited about a wide range of strategic issues, works effectively with others but still is able to work independently, and to roll up their sleeves when needed. If you prove your mettle, there will be interesting and possibly even international growth opportunities over the long term.

Interested?

De Heus is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy. To express you interest, please contact Imke Peters at imke.peters@topofminds.com.