Associate Director

Overview:
**Who we are**:
Founded in Japan in 1887, Kao is passionate about making a difference in people’s lives with our high quality products and services to create a Kirei Life for all - a beautiful life that respects the needs of our consumers and customers as well as the planet. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment. As a company driven by purpose and strong corporate values we pride ourselves to be listed among the World´s Most Ethical Companies since 16 consecutive years. Our corporate philosophy, the Kao Way, guides us in everything we do - acting with integrity, courageously driving innovation and treating each other with trust and respect.

**The role**:
As the Associate Director (m/w/d) Education, you will be responsible for developing and implementing the education strategy for the country in line with global and regional direction and for leading the education organization of 40+ employees. In this role you will be responsible for all activities related to the educational support to our business partners and customers in the country to drive our business and services.

As part of the DACH Leadership Team you will further be contributing to the development and implementation of the Company’s strategic direction for growth and expansion. A good and close collaboration with Sales and Marketing and the education counterparts in the region are essential to be successful in this role.

**What you will do**:

- Manage the development of the Education Strategy to support Country Objectives and Strategies (sales & profit). Implement the field & academy Education strategy and action plans, including full time educators and artist deployment to drive company goals.
- Lead and develop the education organization, coach team members, and create an atmosphere of trust and a can-do attitude.
- Create the curriculum and training calendar for face to face and online trainings in the country in line with regional and global strategy and coordinate content, formats, delivery methods and evaluations.
- Interface with key salons, distributors, and industry associations to keep updated on trends and share with country management and region counterparts. Manage and expand network of brand ambassadors, artists, freelancers, partner academies and schools. Develop content for Social Media.
- Define success measures and KPIs for the educational activities. Manage the tracking of all field & academy activities and communicate analysis of educational activities relative to sales generation to the company to country management and region counterparts.
- Organize Education events, shows and trainings. For international events collaborate closely with region and regional counterparts. Manage the Kao Salon academy and Studios and ensure good utilization and occupancy.
- Plan and manage the annual Education financial budget in alignment with Sales, Marketing, Finance and General Manager, including the business building funds (BBF) and accruals. Turn education into a revenue generator.
- Organize the team based on individual strengths.
- Stimulate the team to constantly improve technical knowledge, teaching practice and education contents.
- Empower the Education managers to be the leaders and the point of reference of freelance team for all technical aspects and deep knowledge of products and services.
- Promote diversity and inclusion in the team (employees and freelance).

**What you need**:

- A degree in business studies and ideally an experienced hair stylist
- Working in the Salon industry for at least 5 years
- Alternatively, working in the Beauty Industry (e.g. Make-up, skin care) in Education management position for at least 10 years
- Leadership experience is required (large teams).
- Additional marketing / trade marketing or Sales experience is preferred.
- Experience in digital marketing and social media
- P&L Knowledge / Budget management experience
- Strategic Thinking - ability to analyze, understand core drivers for change and develop holistic plans to execute change and bring about improved performance/results
- Leadership - helping support the Education team for Deliver Groups and Design Teams to deliver against their individual objectives.
- High level of Presentation - to engage large audience, to facilitate interaction between public and guest artists / speakers during events
- Digital knowledge - to collaborate with marketing in social media communication, to create the right Virtual education strategy and plans. Experience with CRM and use of Data to generate insights.

**What we offer**: A friendly and flexible work environment with competitive salaries, benefits package, ongoing development, and the opportunity to enhance your skills and deliver tangible results. At Kao your voice will be heard. Your opinion really counts. We believe that change comes from taking opportunities into your own hands, so we value and reward entrepreneurial