BBS Foods: Director of Strategy, Marketing, and Public Relations

This report assesses the critical attributes and skills required for the Director of Strategy, Marketing, and Public Relations position at BBS Foods, focusing on addressing declining sales and expanding into new markets. It outlines key criteria encompassing knowledge of marketing, public relations, and strategic management, along with essential skills like problem-solving, analytical abilities, and communication. The report also highlights attributes such as confidence, cooperation, creativity, and adaptability. It then evaluates three shortlisted candidates against these criteria, providing detailed scoring and justifications for each. The analysis identifies strengths and weaknesses, recommending a candidate and suggesting a training and development plan to enhance their suitability for the role. The report emphasizes the importance of aligning individual employee behavior with organizational goals to drive growth and expansion, ultimately aiming to guide BBS Foods towards achieving its strategic objectives.

Leadership and Management
Development

INTRODUCTION
1. Executive Summary
This Report intends to identify some key attributes that should be present in a person
selected for the position of Director of Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations. It would
identify and describe the role of Director of Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations in BBS.
This report will also gain an insight into CVs and behavioural characteristics of the three
shortlisted candidates and determine which candidate would best suit the job role as per the
current scenario of company. Initially, the report would recognise the skills, attributes and
knowledge needed for the second most senior post in BBS after the CEO. Later, the report
would reflect upon identifying those selected criteria of skills, attributes and knowledge in any
one of the 3 shortlisted candidates and select him for the new job position of Director of
Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations. It is evident that BBS has seen decline in sales over
last 3 years. Looking at the current scenario of BBS, it is recommended that the company will
selects that candidate who has a strong vision and aligns the individual behaviour of employees
towards the accomplishment of organisational goals of increasing growth and expansion by
reaching into new segments of international markets. Once a suitable candidate is selected, it is
recommended that a training and development plan is made and executed so that the proposed
candidate can inculcate those attributes and skills that are missing in him. With this, the
candidate can be made totally suitable as per the criteria set by management for the role of
Director of Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations in BBS Foods so that he can direct the role
of workforce towards the vision of company.
2. List of key criteria
Sales of BBS Foods have declined in traditional market over last 3 years. To deal with
this, company is seeking new markets for its products. To execute this, management has created
a new position of Director of Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations. This will be the senior
most position after CEO and has its direct reporting to CEO. The person appointed for this post
will be responsible for handling a new department consisting of 50 personnel. For the
recruitment of candidate for this post, a list of key criteria have been developed to analyse the
extent to which selected candidates match the requirements of role. The criteria are decided
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keeping in mind the knowledge, skills and attributes of the person. The criteria decided by
management of BBS are:-
Knowledge Marketing- The person should have sound knowledge of theories of marketing. Also, it is
imperative that he knows the various marketing techniques that can be adopted by an
organisation for promotion of its products and services across international markets and
its application in business. It is important that these strategies are chosen keeping in mind
the current and future scenario of business operations (Bush, 2008). Public Relations- The person to be appointed for the post must understand the
importance of public relation for an entity. He is required to review press releases and
sponsor corporate events to aid the company in maintaining and enhancing its image
among people. The person appointed shall communicate the vision and mission of
company to wider base of audience so as to improve the positioning of company's
products and services in market. Strategic Management- Also, the proposed candidate should have brief understanding of
the strategic options available with the company. He is responsible for analysing,
evaluating and executing business plans in relation to internal and external environment
of an entity. This involves financial forecasting, market and feasibility analysis.
Skills Problem Solving- Being the second most senior post in enterprise, it is imperative that
the person selected for this role has the skill of dealing with any problem or hurdle that
may arise during the course of operations. Analytical Skills- It is significant that the person appointed for such high post has
analytical skills to gain an understanding of the internal and external environment,
pricing and advertising strategies used by competitors etc. and develop various strategies
keeping these in consideration.
 Communication- The person selected should have excellent written and verbal
communication skills. He should have professional speaking abilities and be an
empathetic listener so that he is able to speak in public, groups or via social media.
Attributes
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 Confidence- The selected person should have the self belief to handle a situation with
more certainty of success than failure. Cooperative- The proposed person should have the ability to work in coordination and
cooperation with the fellow team members or fellow employees within the entity. Creative- The person with such a senior job role in marketing and strategic function
should be creative and innovative enough to bring new ideas for promotion of company's
products and services and also enhancing brand image in market.
 Adaptive- The selected person should possess the ability to adapt to changes within or
outside the business organisation(Mintzberg, H., 2004).
As per the description of above criteria for selection of person for the post of Director of
Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations, various skills, knowledge and attributes are allotted
scores as below:-
Basis Total Score 100
Knowledge:
Marketing
Public Relation
Strategic Management
14
13
15
Skills:
Problem Solving
Analytical Skills
Communication
10
10
8
Attributes:
Confidence
Cooperative
Creative
Adaptive
10
5
5
10
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3. Key Elements that should not be taken into account
As BBS company is planning to recruit competent candidate for the post of Director of
strategy, marketing and public relations. BBS company may require different kind of skills and
attributes for this specific post but there are some of key element and quality of candidate that
should not be consider for this post. As the BBS company sales rate is fluctuating due to which
firm is facing huge decrease in sales. Some of the elements that company should not consider in
the selection process are further explained in detail. It is found in profile of ArthurMc Loughlin
is quite witty in nature. Although he scored very high rate in social ability but his witty nature
and over friendly sense of humour is not effective for this specific post and should not be taken
into account. As BBS company is facing decrease in its sales rate due to which its productivity
and profitability is effected badly. In this serious scenario, ArthurMc Loughlin witty nature is not
applicable for the post of Director of Strategy, marketing and public relations (Renz, 2016).
As this post is most senior position in the Management Group after Chief executive
officer, it requires more mature and problem solving person to handle the situation well in order
to formulate appropriate strategies for the firm to increase its sales. It is found in the profile of
Ciaria Canavan, that she was appointed for the role of Head of Strategy for the business without
taking any interview. This practise was inappropriate, as it creates a bias situation for all other
employees who could be better than her in aspects of marketing strategies knowledge, skills and
attitude. Giving preferences on the basis of well – known family background should be avoided.
Thus this practices should not be taken into account.
4. Scoring Criteria for each candidate for the post of Director of Strategy, Marketing and
Public Relation:
Arthur McLoughlin
Basis Rating Justification
Knowledge Planning and
Execution
10 of 15 After reviewing
overall profile of
Arthur Mc Loughlin it
is found that he is
having good
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knowledge of
marketing strategies
and he has represent
Ireland on the Board of
the European
Federation of
Marketing
Associations. In terms
of rating scores on the
basis of business
planning and
strategies Arthur will
be scored 10 out of 15
because his ideas and
strategies were very
beneficial for the
organisation due to
which company's
revenue was increased
to 25 percent.
Marketing 3 of 5 On reviewing the
profile of Arthur
McLoughlin it was
observe that he in good
expressing and
representation. For
marketing the products
an individual should
have such quality in
order to convince and
influence customer to
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buy the product and
services. In relation to
marketing an
individual should have
effective ideas in
order to enhance the
marketing through
promotion and
advertisements. In this
category Arthur will be
given 3 out of 5
because he is great
influencer and have the
capabilities to develop
appropriate marketing
strategy to attract the
customers towards the
products.
Customer and Personal
Services
10 out of 15 After proper analysis
of Arthur McLoughlin
it is found that he has
good potential to
handle the customers
and personal services.
In this category,
Arthur scored 10 out
of 15 as it was
observed in his profile
that he was rated high
for social ability to
influence the people
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well. For the post of
Directors of Strategy,
Marketing and public
Relations Arthur
McLoughlin is suitable
as he is able to link up
with people easily. He
has good effective
connection with the
customers.
Administration and
Management
4 out of 5 After reviewing the
profile of Arthur
McLoughlin he is
having good
managerial skills. He
is well liked by his
staff members and
peers. He has the
capacity to create
positive organisation
culture which very
important to handle
overall administration
and management roles.
In this category,
Arthur has scored 4
out of 5 because has
good managing skills.
He prefers to build
good relation with the
team members and
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support them to
motivate them to
perform best at their
roles and
responsibilities.
Although a couple of
time he become
emotional and irritable
when his team fails to
perform duties as
expected by him.
Skills Communication Skills 8 out of 10 In relation to
communication skill
Arthur McLoughlin
will be scored 8 out of
10 as it was found that
during a presentation
to the Board he was
able to influence all
the board members
with his creative ideas
and thoughts.
Analytical Skills 7 out of 10 On reviewing the
profile of Arthur
McLoughlin it was he
has good knowledge of
marketing strategies,
industrial relations and
international marketing
. In terms of analytical
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skills he has been
scored 7 out of 10 that
is based on his profile
that states that he is
having good
knowledge about
marketing field and
and international
marketing strategies .
This analytical skills
may help the firm to
increase their sales
rate.
Interpersonal Skills 7 out of 10 On the basis of Arthur
McLoughlin profile it
is found that he has
effective competent
interpersonal skills
which is important to
influence others. In a
company interaction
with individual is very
important and in this
category Arthur scored
7 out of 100. He is
good enough to have
effective
communication with
others. Moreover, he
is involved in
different activities of
9

an organisation and
believes in practising
good communication
channel among the
employees to avoid
conflicts at workplace.
Attributes Friendly behaviour 8 out of 10 On the basis of profile
of Arthur McLoughlin
it is identified that the
he is very friendly
with his team members
.He has the ability to
develop a positive
culture. He believes in
supporting team
members in order to
achieve organisation
goals and objectives.
Friendly behaviour is
one of most important
trait that should be
incorporated so that
better relations can be
established between
employees and
management. In this
category Arthur will be
scored 8 out of 10,
because of his friendly
nature with superiors
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and team members.
Influencing
Personality
7 out of 10 On the basis of
influencing personality
Arthur scored 7 out of
10 as he is good
enough to influence
others. He is having
influencing personality
due to which he is able
to influence the Board
members at internal
competition. He has
influencing personality
which enable him to
convince others easily.
Cooperative 4 out of 10 In this category Arthur
scored 4 out of 10
because it was
observed in his profile
that sometimes he
become emotional and
irritable when his team
failed to perform their
roles and
responsibilities in
effective way..
Ciara Canavan
Basis Rating Justification
Knowledge Planning and 14 of 15 On the basis Ciara
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Execution Canvan profile she
will be scored 14 out
of 15 as she has
worked at numerous
position due to which
she is having
capabilities to handle
and deal with multiple
functional department.
She is having good
experience that enable
s her to develop
effective planning and
execute it properly.
Due to her effective
planning and
execution the firm was
able to gain 12 percent
increase in their
business revenue.
Marketing 4 of 5 Ciara will be scored 4
out of 5 in the
category of marketing.
She has worked on
different marketing
profile due which she
is able to formulate
effective marketing
strategies. She was
involved in different
departments and has
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good family
background who have
Ireland's oldest chains
of supermarket,
convenience stores
and cafes. As a result,
it will assist company
in making appropriate
strategies for their
business operations.
Customer and Personal
Services
13 out of 15 Scoring which is 13
out of 15 is justified as
she is taking care of
her departments and
because of which
companies get
positives response for
their services.
Administration and
Management
4 out of 5 In this criteria, Ciara
scores 4 out of 5 as is
having great
experience to handle
the administration
responsibilities along
with multiple
management roles.
Skills Communication Skills 9 out of 10 This is very crucial
and important factor
and under this Ciara
was scored 9 out of 10
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as she is having
involvement in various
departments. This
allows her to create
good communication
channel with different
functional department
of the organisation.
Analytical Skills 8 out of 10 In this category, she is
scored 8 out of 10
because of she is
having ability of
taking quick decisions
for different business
operations.
Interpersonal Skills 9 out of 10 Due to her interaction
with other team mates
she is scored 9 out of
10. Interpersonal skills
is one of strongest
intelligences of Ciara.
Her interpersonal
skills allows her to
discuss crucial matter
with employees and
influence them to
work effectively.
Attributes Friendly behaviour 6 out of 10 In terms of friendly
behaviour Ciara is
scored 6 out of 10 as
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she has achieved all
the things through
high authority and
authentic leadership.
She is quite introvert
and keeps herself in
privacy.
Influencing
Personality
8 out of 10 In this context Ciara is
scored 8 out of 10 and
it is because her deep
knowledge in different
aspects of business
operation both at
national as well as
international level.
Cooperative 7 out of 10 In relation to this
criteria of cooperative
in nature she is scored
7 out of 10 as she is
able to maintain good
relationship with
superiors and other
staff members.
Angela Redmond
Basis Rating Justification
Knowledge Planning and
Execution
13 of 15 On the basis of
planning and
execution category she
scored 13 out of 15.
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Angela is quite good
in making plans and
execute it. Due to her
efficiency, sales of
the company has
raised with
approximately 30%
annually.
Marketing 3 of 5 In the marketing
category, Angela
scored 3 out of 5.
Marketing activity
managed by Angela
was average in
marketing skills as this
lady has tried to adopt
new latest marketing
tools that resulted in
low sales ratio.
Customer and Personal
Services
9 out of 15 Angela Redmond
owns good
relationship with
customers as it reflects
in the positive
relationship with the
customers.
Administration and
Management
3 out of 5 In this context Ciara is
scored 3 out of 5 as
she believes in taking
initiative to perform
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any tasks that is
crucial for
administration. She
tries to manage all
important roles and
responsibilities that is
important for
management.
Skills Communication Skills 7 out of 10 In relation to
communication skills
Angela is scored 7 out
of 10 and as she is
capable enough in
managing various
task and people
orientation which
requires good
communication skill.
Analytical Skills 7 out of 10 In this context Angela
is scored 7 out of 10
as she has all the
quality of motivating
others to work best at
their jobs along with
good problem solving
skills.
Interpersonal Skills 5 out of 10 In relation with this,
she is scored 5 out of
10 and this is due to
her achieving all
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bottom line goals
which requires good
interpersonal skills.
Attributes Friendly behaviour 7 out of 10 In terms of friendly
behaviour Angela is
scored 7 out of 10 and
the reason behind this
is her good relation
with her team mates
because of which all
goals and objectives
are achieved in
speculated time frame.
Influencing
Personality
7 out of 10 In context with this
Angela is scored 7 out
10 and as her first
impression is
attractive and the way
of talking she uses is
quite pleasing to
influence others.
Cooperative 7 out of 10 In this category
Angela is scored 7 out
of 10 and the reason
behind this is that she
was build good
coordination with
office members and
workers of in NGOs.
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5. Who best Fit for the job
According to main role and responsibility of Director of strategy, marketing and public
relation the recruited candidate should be able to work effectively with different level of
department. This allows to develop effective strategies and policies in order to enhance sales and
profitability of the organisation. In context with BBS they are concerned about the losses due to
which they have introduced new post to enhance their productivity in the market to make high
profit. BBS has short listed three candidates for the post of director of strategy, marketing and
public relation in order to increase sales profitability (Gold and Thorpe, 2016).
According to my concern for this post Ciara Canaven is most suitable candidate for the
organisation. She has good experience and has work at different position. She was involved in
various departments due to which she has having dense knowledge of different departments. As
she was involved in different departments, she has developed good communication channel with
different level of functional departments of the organisation. As she has great command on her
work she was given the role of Head of Strategy business that is somewhat similar to the current
vacancy that BBS Company has generated. In context to her job profile she has worked for 15
years in BBS Food after completing MBA from Harvard Business School. She has closely
worked with the Board and the CEO of the company for developing strategic priorities. On the
analysis of profile of all the three candidate it is observed that Ciara has strongest IQ level in
compare to Arthur and Angela. In context to managerial skills it was identified that she is highly
intelligent and capable in handling marketing strategies and policies.
Moreover, she has depth knowledge about all the aspects of business and other
international markets. She believes in planning and implementing ideas that is beneficial for long
term and gets buy-in through consensus. She believes in achieving things through high authority
and work according to authentic leadership style. Moreover, she is very ambitious and
competitive. Here competent managing decision as Brand Manager has increased the
organisation revenue up to 12%. She is very loyal and honest with working organisation and the
Board of Directors. She was also remarked by Chief Executive Officer to the Director of Human
Resources that she is combination of drive and integrity to lead the company into the future. She
is having ability of taking quick decisions for different business operations. She is having ability
of taking quick decisions for different business operations.
6. Vision, Mission Statement and Statement of Values
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Draft
Bia Blasta Snacks which is a manufactures, markets and distributes snack foods, primarily in
Ireland and the UK. It is observed that sales of its products in the markets has declined over the
past few years. Thus, it is forcing the organisation into seeking new market to improve their
sales productivity and profitability. As Bia Blasta Snacks have been facing decline in their
sales. In order to overcome decrease in sales revenue, board of directors of this company have
decided to create new designation i.e. Director of Strategy, marketing and public relations. The
company has identified and shortlisted three candidate based on their managing skills and
experience along with their leadership style.
Vision of Bia Blasta Snacks is “To become successful and leading food manufacturer,
marketer and distributer in fooding sector in all over United Kingdom and Ireland”.
Mission of Bia Blasta Snacks is “To spread happiness among people by producing quality
food items and increase the sales revenue up to 25% per year”.
Value statement of Bia Blasta Snacks is that “To maintain the highest level of integrity and
concern for consumers in sales and service.
7. An outline Plan
It is crucial to have personal and professional development in order to perform best at
their roles and responsibilities. It helps and always assist an individual in knowing their positives
and negative aspects. This assist them in improving their personality for future performance and
activities. Strong personality and dense knowledge of running administration is important in
order to achieve organisation goals and objectives. For the post of Director of strategy,
Marketing and Public Relations in BBS company I have recommended Ciara Canaven because
she has great experience and practice of marketing department roles and responsibilities.
Moreover, she has depth knowledge of different functional departments.
Along with this, her experience is working in variety of positions in various countries
rose her quickly through the ranks. Apart from this, she has also worked as an Assistance
Account Manager because of which it can be stated that she has a knowledge of finance
background as well. Due to her experience in various role it is found that she is capable enough
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to handle and manage various departments which includes marketing, international business
deals as well as financial statements. Her profile states that she has depth knowledge about all
the aspects of business and other international markets. She believes in planning and
implementing ideas that is beneficial for long term and gets buy-in through consensus Therefore,
because of her active participation and skilful suggestions they have increased company's
revenues by 14 percent. As, she has been switching at different position in organisation, so is
unable to get a stability in her job profile. Things on which she has to work more is be stable
with her job profile as some of the actions require stability in nature. She should try to get stable
at a particular job profile in order to perform more effectively and develop some standard
marketing and international strategies to increase the organisation profitability by enhancing
sales revenue. She has achieved all the things through high authority and authentic leadership, so
she need to enhance her leadership skills so that she becomes capable influencer and can motive
others employees and worker to perform best at their jobs roles and responsibilities. She is quite
introvert and keeps herself in privacy, she should be frank and friendly with the worker in order
to support and motivate them to perform well to achieve organisation goals and objectives. She
should work more on her problem- solving skills in order to reduce conflicts among the
employees and management. Conflicts somewhere directly or indirectly effect the organisation
culture due to which productivity and profitability of the organisations falls down.
CONCLUSION
From above mentioned report, it has been concluded that organisation's mission, vision
and value statements may aid company in doing business at international level. On the other
hand, it is also being summarised that both Marketing and Public Relations plays a crucial role in
improving profit margins and aid in hitting targets of the company. Effective marketing
department can easily look for new trends which can help managers in selecting new candidates
on the basis of requirements of skill, attributes and knowledge. Away with this, training and
development plan can also help managers in fulfilling requirements of employees as per the
needs. This can help in enhancing skills and can make candidates much more effective in nature
while performing tasks.
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