Title
Business Unit Director, Coatings and Construction
Reports to
Managing Director
Purpose of the role
The Business Unit Director owns the Coatings and Construction business unit end to end, operating as the general manager of the business. This means full P&L responsibility for the unit, including revenue, gross margin, operating costs and EBITDA, together with accountability for the growth strategy, the team and the key external stakeholders of the business.
The role leads all commercial, marketing and technical activities within the business unit, sets the direction for profitable growth, builds and develops a high performing team, and acts as the company towards principals and customers in the Coatings and Construction market in Canada. Success is measured on the financial performance of the business unit, the strength of its principal and customer relationships, the quality of its pipeline, and the development of its people.
Key responsibilities
Business ownership and financial performance
- Own the full P&L of the Coatings and Construction business unit, including budgeting, forecasting, pricing, margin management and cost control, and deliver quarterly and annual revenue and profit targets.
- Conduct regular analysis of performance against plan, including variance analysis, pricing effectiveness, product line profitability and working capital drivers, and take corrective action where needed.
- Lead the annual strategy review for the business unit and maintain a rolling 1 to 3 year plan for profitable growth, including product segmentation, market positioning and portfolio choices.
Growth and commercial leadership
- Define and execute the growth strategy for the business unit across Canada, including new business development, market expansion and identification of new principal opportunities.
- Develop sales and marketing goals, objectives and key performance metrics, and direct account management activity in the field to deliver them.
- Own the go-to-market approach and value proposition of the business unit, ensuring marketing content and customer-facing materials are relevant, current and increasingly digital.
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with key customers and principals, acting as the senior counterpart in the market and leading principal reviews and negotiations.
- Represent the business unit at industry events, conferences and customer engagements that strengthen the brand and generate opportunities.
Digital and data driven ways of working
- Champion the adoption and consistent use of digital tools, including SalesAssistant and the CRM, and embed digital ways of working in daily commercial routines.
- Ensure pipeline, opportunity and customer data in the CRM is complete, current and actively used to steer the business, and hold the team accountable for data discipline.
- Use data and analytics to drive decisions on pricing, account prioritisation, pipeline conversion and resource allocation.
People and organisation
- Lead, coach and develop the business unit team, including performance evaluations, development plans, succession planning and talent acquisition.
- Build a high performing, collaborative culture in line with company values, and ensure key personnel, customer service, supply chain and finance are aligned behind the strategy and plans of the business unit.
- Collaborate with the executive team on short and long term business plans, and represent the business unit within the Canadian leadership team.
Stakeholders, operations and compliance
- Develop structured routines to gather continuous feedback from customers and principals and translate this into improvements in service and relationship quality.
- Collaborate closely with Customer Service, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Regulatory teams to deliver best-in-class service levels, safeguard competitiveness, and ensure the company maintains full compliance with all applicable regulatory and business obligations.
- Promote the mission and values of the company internally and externally and act as a role model for ethical business conduct.
- Other duties as may be assigned.
Core competencies
- Business acumen and P&L management, with the ability to translate market insight into profitable growth.
- Strategic thinking, combined with the pragmatism to execute and deliver results.
- Leadership and people development, including coaching, performance management and building strong teams.
- Customer and principal orientation, with strong relationship building at senior levels.
- Negotiation and influencing skills across customers, principals and internal stakeholders.
- Decision making and judgement, including under pressure and with incomplete information.
- Digital fluency and a data driven mindset, with genuine curiosity for new tools and ways of working.
- Resilience, adaptability and accountability in a fast moving, entrepreneurial environment.
Work conditions
- Regular travel across Canada to visit customers, principals and team members, with periodic international travel for principal meetings, industry events and group engagements.
- Ability to prepare, attend and conduct presentations to customers, principals and internal audiences.
- Flexibility to work outside standard office hours when the needs of the business require it.
