Performance Specialties Sales Representative - France & Benelux

Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious problem solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?

Are you always solving?

Then we'd like to meet you and bet you'd like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Performance Specialties Sales Representative to join our Specialty Additives business in Europe. This is a highly visible and impactful commercial role within the Company.

This is a remote position based in either the Benelux region or North of France, responsible for managing customers and business development activities across Benelux and France, reporting to the Sales Leader Europe, Performance Specialties.

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Manage Performance Specialties business and customer relationships across France and Benelux.
• Identify, develop, and convert new business opportunities within the assigned territory.
• Execute Ashland's commercial strategy at the accounts under his/her responsibility.
• Deliver business objectives for assigned customers and territory, including sales volume, revenue, profitability, and growth targets.
• Develop strong relationships with key customers, distributors, and industry stakeholders.
• Proactively seek information regarding customer strategies, product developments, market trends, and competitive activities.
• Coordinate activities related to customer development projects and collaborate closely with Regional R&D, Business Development / Marketing, Regulatory, and Customer Service teams.
• Support the growth of Ashland's technology platforms and drive the adoption of innovative solutions within target markets.
• Actively contribute to and support Ashland's New Product Introduction (NPI) objectives by identifying opportunities, generating customer engagement, and accelerating commercialization.
• Provide market intelligence and customer insights to help identify new product and application opportunities.
• Contribute to regional market and account plans and support their implementation.
• Actively contribute to the organizational goals by taking initiative, executing on goals and focusing on performance and safety
• Improve the organization capacity and capabilities through building collaborative relationships, optimizing diverse talent and utilizing positive communications and influence with others

In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of commercial experience in specialty chemicals.
• Demonstrated experience of driving growth in the specialty chemicals industry, preferably including cellulose ethers and applications such as coatings, adhesives, inks, ceramics or related industrial markets.
• Proven sales experience in a B2B environment.
• Strong customer-facing and relationship management skills.
• Ability to understand technical concepts and translate them into compelling commercial value propositions.
• Strong negotiation and problem-solving capabilities.
• Fluent in English and French, both written and spoken (ideally also fluent in Dutch)
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel regularly throughout France and the Benelux region (approximately 50%).
• Valid driver's license.
• Demonstrated responsible and ethical behavior at all times
• The ability to help the company drive greater value through understanding the business, making complex decisions and creating the new and different

Key Skills & Personality Traits

• Adaptable, flexible, and inquisitive.
• Strong ownership mindset and accountability for results.
• Highly self-motivated and capable of working independently.
• Action-oriented with a passion for growth and customer success.
• Strong collaboration and teamwork skills across functions and geographies.
• Ability to influence stakeholders at multiple organizational levels.
• Technical communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technologies clearly.
• Experience using CRM systems and standard business software tools (Salesforce.com, Microsoft Office, Power BI).
• Integrity, resilience, perseverance, empathy, and a positive attitude.
• Demonstrated ability to succeed in a technical, relationship-driven business environment