International Operations Director

Start-up Maykers is the online marketplace for the agricultural industry and growing fast. The International Operations Director lays the groundwork for its international expansion by setting up shop in each new country. This exciting opportunity is ideal for a seasoned strategy manager with a natural inclination for execution and getting things done.

About Maykers

Maykers is an online marketplace that connects farmers and their partners to make the business of farming more successful. In today’s world, the business of farming is complex. Farmers must be smart and resilient to stay profitable. Empowered by more than a hundred years of agriculture experience, Maykers’ mission is to make farming simpler and more valuable by building connections across the entire agriculture ecosystem. The platform is a one-stop shop that makes selling, finding, and buying professional products based on fair prices and clear conditions easy, time-efficient, and transparent. This allows farmers to focus on optimizing their business.

The Maykers’ trading platform encourages farming partners (dealers) to bring their own distributors and suppliers. Every month, new products and suppliers are added. Apart from facilitating a farmer’s success, Maykers is supporting dealers and suppliers in digitizing their business models. In addition, for existing retailers, the marketplace offers an exclusive shop-in-shop that provides direct access to thousands of farmers.

“These are exciting times for Maykers: we’re challenging the status quo in a very traditional market.” – Alexander Ketelaar, Co-founder & Managing Director

Maykers is a start-up and also part of the Kramp Group, Europe’s largest specialist in spare parts and accessories for the agricultural industry. Backed by this large corporate, Maykers benefits from the necessary budget and sector expertise, while working on a stand-alone basis. This structure does require broad stakeholder management. The company’s head office is based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and the organization is growing fast.

Vacancy: International Operations Director

The International Operations Director is crucial in Maykers’ further European expansion. The company is aiming to enter several new countries this year and the following years. In each country, the International Operations Director will essentially be responsible for setting up shop.

On the one hand, this concerns the marketplace, such as the legal entity, payment methods, and platform localizations. On the other hand, it requires the integration of Kramp as a seller, including assortment selection and pricing. The International Operations Director puts the initial country structure in place by leveraging their own execution power and by connecting the right people in the organization to get the work done. An example would be connecting a local marketeer with the platform tech team. As soon as the country organization is up and running, it is handed over to a local Country Director.

The International Operations Director directly manages an execution team of five to six people, a project manager, and the customer support team. In addition, collaboration with the Kramp organization is expected to increase, and strong stakeholder management is key. In each new country, Kramp will be integrated into the Maykers marketplace yet local know-how on e-commerce is not always on hand. Moreover, the International Operations Director works with the Kramp Board of Directors and therefore at the intersection of Maykers and Kramp. Overall, this requires someone who is decisive and clear-minded.

“The International Operations Director wears a strategic hat and an implementation hat: setting up shop in each new country in a way that supports our ambitious growth.” – Jerome Hermans, Co-founder & Managing Director

Overall, this position involves both execution power and strategic thinking: setting up the country organizations, cross-fertilizing throughout the organization, and defining how Maykers can scale its international business successfully. This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned manager with a natural inclination to execution to take an industry revolutionizing start-up to the next level and put it on a global map.

Arnoud Klerkx (Chief Digital Officer Kramp Groep) vertelt bij het BNR programma De Veranderaars hoe Kramp Groep (moederbedrijf van Maykers) de digitale transformatie in de landbouwsector. versnelt: “De landbouwindustrie is veel moderner dan mensen denken.” Luister het hele interview hier:

Interested?

Maykers works with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, contact Annelijn Nijhuis via annelijn.nijhuis@topofminds.com