You will hold end-to-end responsibility for building and scaling a new business unit within Priva, focused on the rapidly expanding “Water First” markets. You can combine vision, entrepreneurship, and strong execution capabilities to establish a globally leading position in intelligent and sustainable water management solutions. With full P&L responsibility, you will drive commercial growth, innovation, and operational excellence in a market where water availability, technology, and sustainability are becoming increasingly decisive.

About Priva

Priva is a leading technology company developing advanced hardware, software, and data services for intelligent climate control, energy efficiency, and sustainable water management. With a revenue of EUR 120 million, around 550 employees, 15 local offices, and over 400 installation partners, Priva operates globally in high-tech horticulture, building automation, water systems, and energy solutions. Across these four increasingly critical domains, Priva supports entrepreneurs worldwide in optimizing operational performance and sustainability efficiently, responsibly, and with lasting impact. Aligned with Priva’s long-term vision and strategy, a standalone business unit Water Systems is being established. This unit will focus exclusively on developing and commercializing solutions for sustainable and efficient water management in fast-growing “Water First” cultivation areas where crop performance depends primarily on water availability and quality rather than climate control. High-value crops such as soft fruit are prominent examples. Leveraging existing as well as newly developed technologies, Priva aims to become a global leader in this rapidly expanding market segment.

The Team

Together with a compact and dedicated team you will start your mission to build and scale a fully committed and high-performing organization. The Managing Director joins Priva’s international Executive Management Team, led by the CEO, and further consisting of the Managing Directors of the four business units, the CFO, and the CPTO. This team meets weekly (onsite or hybrid) for operational discussions and monthly for strategic alignment. The culture is pragmatic, open, collaborative, and focused on achieving shared goals.

Job description

This position holds end-to-end responsibility for establishing, positioning, and scaling the Water business unit into a leading player in the global water management market. Key responsibilities include:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the long-term strategy for the business unit Water Systems, identifying market developments, customer needs, and growth opportunities.

Commercial Leadership

• Build and implement a powerful go-to-market strategy.
• Identify and develop promising markets, channels, and service models.
• Lead from the front in market engagement and customer development.

Financial Ownership

• Hold full P&L responsibility and drive revenue and margin growth in line with strategic objectives.
• Ensure accurate forecasting and resource planning, including coordination with shared services such as Finance, HR, Production and supply chain.

Product Development & Innovation

• Translate customer and market needs into a distinctive technology roadmap.
• Lead further technology development to deliver state-of-the-art “smart water control” solutions.
• Strengthen Priva’s positioning as a premium provider in data-driven water management.

Organizational Development

• Build and lead a results-oriented organization by attracting and developing top talent across sales, pre-consultancy, project management, and service functions.
• Contribute actively to Priva’s Executive Management Team to drive collaboration and synergy across business units.

Profile

You are an accomplished professional with a strong commercial and strategic background. You combine entrepreneurial drive with the ability to build and scale an organization in an international environment. You bring the following qualities:

• Visionary leadership with a proven track record of driving business growth, ideally from an early stage.
• Strong commercial and strategic acumen, with a hands-on and pragmatic style.
• Results-oriented, decisive, and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Excellent communicator and relationship builder.
• Ability to inspire, develop, and lead teams in an international setting.
• Affinity with technology and the ability to understand how it drives customer value and performance.

Qualifications

• Academic working and thinking level, ideally with a technical, agricultural, or business-related background.
• At least 10 - 15 years of relevant experience in an international commercial environment.
• Proven experience with P&L responsibility.
• Experience in technology-driven sectors and knowledge of the global agricultural or horticultural industry are strong advantages.
• Demonstrated success in building and scaling business units or market segments.
• International experience and willingness to travel frequently.
• Fluent in English; Spanish is an advantage.

Offer

• Excellent employment conditions with short- and long-term incentive components.
• A permanent full-time contract.
• Company car, laptop, and phone.
• Attractive pension scheme.
• Possibility to work on an invoicing/contractor basis depending on the candidate’s situation.

Location

The position is flexible in terms of home base and requires international and intercontinental travel.

How to Apply

Priva has exclusively engaged CeresRecruitment for the recruitment of the Managing Director Water Systems. For more information, please contact:

• Jan Borgers at +31 6 22 41 25 14
• Danny Fiere at +31 6 49 87 97 87

More information about Priva at www.priva.com. A personality assessment will be part of the selection process.