Country Manager Poland, to fast growing online store

Job Description

We're not like everybody else. Maybe you aren't either? Are you fierce when it comes to maximizing sales, building brands, and bubbling with exciting ideas and energy? Tired of hearing no and staying inside the box? You know you have the potential to create something big, you just need to get the chance. This is your platform! We are a challenger in the beauty industry, and while we have a market leading position in the Nordics, so far, we have only touched the surface of the European market – this is where you come in!

You will be our guide into the local market of Poland, educating us about the local needs and opportunities, and while we excel in the market, so will you.

Lyko is not “just another” e-com or retailer in beauty- we are something else! What does that mean? Take a look at one of many in store happenings from Norway. What do you think about that? We are curious to hear what you think would be your local take on it? Are you seeing it, the Polish version of the Lyko magic? Great, then you gotta keep reading!

We're gonna be the greatest in Europe and believe that a local presence and adaptation are keys to success! You are most likely brave enough to test different ways that turn out to be wrong – we firmly believe that taking these risks are necessary for finding out what's truly right! The only thing we won't budge on is the way you go about things: humbleness, teamwork, and enjoying the ride are all cornerstones of our business culture, and you will be an important bridge to your market!

Your role as Country Manager is to establish Lyko in Poland, focusing on:

• Increasing sales, margins, and profits #deep dives into numbers
• Increasing brand awareness using a marketing strategy that challenges and stand out #from insight to impact
• Building a strong, robust, and thriving local organization # psychological safety
• Ensuring world-class customer satisfaction #WOW

The Team

So, what´s the Lyko status in Poland today? We currently have a small team within customer service, translation, and influencer marketing. Shortly after joining, you will grow this team with competencies within marketing, and supply. We wanna make sure we get the power of local here! And yes, we also have customers shopping from us! And we keep getting more of them, in November this year we doubled the numbers of orders, compared to November last year. Oh my, what will this number be next year, and the year after – Aren´t you keen to join us and find out? Well, not just to find out, but to be a part of making it happen!

As you hear, a lot happening, and a lot more to come! And when you join us, to make this “a lot more to come” happening, you will have the support of central functions, that´s a given, but in the same time, especially in the beginning, a lot will be up to you, taking charge of the movement towards progress. In this context, you will be able to bring your full competence and potential to work, every day, and to move from insights to impact, quick and easy.

The plan for our expansion in Europe, with Germany, Denmark, Poland, Austria, and the Netherlands, is under development. Okay- to be honest, a lot is still in draft mode, and it´s a fact we hope you will find exciting. Surely, you must be beaming with eagerness, to join the other Country Managers and the Head of Expansion, to shoot ideas around the bonfire, on how to successfully bring these plans in to reality. We can´t wait for you to join us on this adventure, as we aim to take over the European beauty market.

Your future manager

So, who am I? Hi! I'm Philip Tropp, Head of Expansion! For me, there's no I in team. I believe in strong teams and that psychological safety is necessary for a team to reach its full potential and level of performance. I like to challenge and see great potential for development when someone says, “we've always done it like this” or “we already tried that”. I'm not from the industry, and hope that you will help me out with industry experience and a wide network but also know-how about your local market, such as trends, language, culture, and what people like and dislike in a beauty company.

Who You Are

Experience-wise, there are several different possibilities that might have prepared you for this role. You have previously grown a plant from a seed – in any field! Maybe you built an organization, a brand, or a business? We don't like long lists of requirements – it's your individual skills that count in the end, but ok, here's our best guess:

• You have experience from the beauty industry and have established great relationships within it. While you know the ins and out of this industry, you are not determined to keep the status quo of it. Let´s change things up!
• Ability to build and develop a brand, with the experience of putting together a solid marketing strategy, and then bringing it to life.
• You have a strong local network and relationships with agencies and influencers. As a relationship builder, you easily identify relevant stakeholders on the partner and supplier side, and know how to get them engaged.
• With a mind for numbers and strong business acumen, you enjoy diving deep into the numbers, analyzing trends, and identifying opportunities.Revenue, sales margin, share of sales; you speak the language and loves to translate it into real business impact.
• Experience from leading others, in some shape or form; formal, informal, project team, full P&L... You know how to create engagement within a team, and you are a true coach as well as learner of your peers.
• You have successfully used your skills in creative problem solving and am not afraid to approach a challenge you haven’t faced before. While you are at it, we hope you share your learnings with the rest of us!
• As our voice in the local market, you need to be fully fluent in Polish, and English.

We think that you, just as us, are on a journey, with the ambition to learn and grow. In the beginning we believe that a lot of your focus will be on operational problem solving, hands on, handle the smallest to the biggest issue, the lot! As we expand, so does your perspective, moving towards a more holistic and strategic business focus.