Hire a Country Manager

Recruiting a Country Manager or Director profile is not just about ordinary knowledge. It’s about finding a leader, a manager ready to turn challenges into opportunities. It’s the search for a professional, someone responsible for setting up a brand or product abroad who is ready to propel your company forward and establish lasting partnerships. He or she must have in-depth knowledge of the target country, as well as proven marketing expertise. Archetype can find the best Country Manager profiles, as well as other profiles such as Account Manager, Sales Manager, Technical Sales Representative, etc., for Belgian companies, even on an international scale.

Expertise in finding Country Manager talent

The Country Manager is a professional in charge of launching, developing and managing an offer abroad, from production to marketing. He acts as a link between the parent company and the subsidiary, aiming to increase sales in a foreign context. He/she is responsible for structuring international development, defining subsidiary strategy, team management and competitive intelligence. The ideal profile is a university or business school graduate, with skills in commerce, languages, management and knowledge of the field.

Archetype is a recruitment agency based in Belgium that recruits marketing, sales and management profiles, such as Country Managers. Thanks to our long experience and our network of qualified professionals, Archetype is able to quickly and efficiently identify the best profiles to meet the needs of each client company.

High-performance tools to make research more profitable

To facilitate the selection process of potential candidates, at Archetype we maintain a comprehensive, regularly updated database containing relevant information on each profile, such as education, professional experience and specific skills. Our firm also uses advanced CV analysis techniques to ensure a rigorous and efficient selection of each candidate.

Careful analysis of business needs

At Archetype, we understand that management positions such as Country Manager are very specific and require very particular skills. So, before beginning the search, our experts take the time to study in detail the customer’s requirements, such as the size and structure of the local team, short- and long-term objectives, as well as the sector of activity concerned. This personalized approach enables our firm to propose profiles tailored to the specific expectations and constraints of each organization.

Bringing companies and talent together in a flexible, responsive way

The process of matching candidates with client companies relies on our flexibility and responsiveness at Archetype. In addition to our expertise in human resources, our consultants provide a fast, personalized service.

Carefully structured assessments

To assess the aptitudes and motivation of selected candidates, Archetype generally conducts individual or group interviews, using a variety of evaluation methods.

• The in-depth interview aims to assess the candidate’s motivation, ambition, personality and professional skills.
• Case studies use everyday situations to identify tactical motivations.
• Prior to the interview, a personality test to measure personality and sales skills.
• Candidates also take a sales or management test, developed in-house according to the position concerned.
• Specific role-playing exercises are organized to interact with candidates.

This comprehensive approach ensures that each candidate has the knowledge, skills and mindset required to succeed as a Country Manager.

Personalized support throughout the recruitment process

At Archetype, during the entire recruitment process, we ensure meticulous follow-up of each application, with regular communication to our client companies. Thanks to this close collaboration, our firm is able to quickly adjust its strategy if necessary. In this way, we offer an additional guarantee of finding the ideal profile for every vacancy.

Job offers tailored to the requirements of Country Manager positions

To help companies attract the best talent available on the market, we at Archetype also offer job vacancies specifically designed to meet the needs of executive and country manager positions. These offers are regularly updated and feature the benefits associated with each job, such as professional development opportunities, attractive working conditions and competitive remuneration packages.

Thanks to our expertise in human resources and our extensive professional network, our consultants can also advise client companies on best practices for streamlining their presence on the job market, thereby generating greater interest and commitment from potential candidates. This increased visibility attracts the best profiles and increases the chances of successful recruitment.

When do you need a Country Manager for Belgium?

The role usually opens in one of three situations. A foreign company wants to enter the Belgian market and needs its first person on the ground. A subsidiary already exists and its head is leaving. Or a network of agents and distributors has reached its limits and headquarters wants a local team of its own. Many of our requests come from French companies expanding into Belgium: for them, the Country Manager is the first hire, and everything else depends on it.

Belgium has three regions and two main business languages. A client in Antwerp is not approached like a client in Liège, and a Country Manager who only works in French cuts the business off from Flanders, which accounts for 48% of our recruitment assignments. Our article on how to recruit the right Country Manager to open the Belgian market sets out the selection criteria.

Three decisions to make before the search starts

Each of these changes the profile, the candidate pool and the budget. We raise them on the first call, before any sourcing.

A local hire or an executive from headquarters?

An executive sent by the parent company knows the products, the processes and the people who decide at head office. A local hire brings a network, the country’s languages and a feel for how Belgian buyers work. If you post an employee to Belgium temporarily, the foreign employer has to comply with part of Belgian social law and complete formalities set out on the official Belgian website on the posting of workers (FPS Employment). We compare both routes in detail in should you recruit a local Country Manager or expatriate an executive from headquarters.

What will the role be responsible for?

A Country Manager employed by the subsidiary and one who also sits as a director of the Belgian company do not carry the same liability. You also need to decide how far their authority goes: signing contracts, hiring the local team, setting prices. The answers determine the seniority to aim for. Our article on the legal and commercial responsibilities of a Country Manager covers the question.

What package should you offer?

A Country Manager’s package combines a base salary, a variable element tied to the country’s results, a company car and benefits. If your range is out of line with the Belgian market, we will tell you at the briefing stage: better to know before meeting candidates than after three refusals. For the build-up of the package, read what salary package will attract a high-performing Country Manager.

We’re specialists: Sales, Marketing, Management. Not generalists. When a generalist agency recruits a Sales Director, they read the CV. We know the actual job: the real trade-offs between prospecting and farming, what it means to lead a distributed trilingual team across the Benelux, how to build a commercial strategy that holds in complex B2B. That field-level understanding is what separates a placement that lasts from one that breaks at 18 months.

How we recruit your Country Manager

Our recruitment process was rewritten in 2025 and validated by Federgon, the Belgian federation of HR service providers, of which Archetype is a member (Quality Label Recruitment, Search & Selection). It follows five steps.

1. An in-depth briefing: the first call is there to challenge the role, not to copy a job advert. Within 48 to 72 hours you receive a summary of the requirement, the role scorecard, the sourcing strategy and an employer branding proposal.
2. A sourcing strategy built for each assignment and run in French, Dutch and English by a trilingual recruitment team.
3. Structured screening: in-depth interview, case studies and role-plays, and the KOAN personality test, which we have used for 30 years. Details are on our page on assessment for recruitment.
4. A detailed shortlist: each finalist comes with a scorecard, interview transcripts and a job description validated with you.
5. Follow-up before, during and after the hire: we stay in touch with you and with the new Country Manager throughout the first three months.

A recruitment takes 12 weeks on average from signing the assignment to the candidate signing. More than 75% of the assignments carried through to the end result in a placement; those that do not are cases where the client stopped the project.

Fees and guarantee

We work on a retainer basis only, never on success fee alone. The client commits, and we see the assignment through however long it takes. The rate is agreed before the search starts.

Further reading on the Country Manager role

• How to recruit the right Country Manager to open the Belgian market
• Local Country Manager or an executive from headquarters: how to choose
• The legal and commercial responsibilities of a Country Manager
• The salary package that attracts a high-performing Country Manager
• Country Manager job overview: duties and skills

Frequently asked questions about Country Manager recruitment

What does a Country Manager do?

A Country Manager is accountable for the company’s results in one country. They set the local commercial strategy, lead the team on the ground and act as the link between the subsidiary and headquarters. In a new subsidiary they are often the first hire and recruit the rest of the team themselves.

What are the alternatives to hiring a Country Manager?

Companies usually weigh three options: posting an executive from headquarters, relying on local agents or distributors, or hiring a Country Manager in Belgium. Posting keeps the link with head office but brings Belgian social-law formalities; distributors limit the investment but also your control over the market. We discuss these options with you before launching a search.

How much does it cost to hire a Country Manager through Archetype?

Our fee is a fixed rate, agreed before the search starts, of between 25% and 30% of the candidate’s annual package, including commission, company car and benefits. It is paid in three instalments: 25% at launch, 25% at the second candidate meeting and 50% on placement. A 6-month replacement guarantee is included.

How long does it take to recruit a Country Manager?

Allow 12 weeks on average between signing the assignment and the candidate signing. The timeline depends mainly on the languages required and how rare the profile is in your sector.

Do you recruit Country Managers who speak French and Dutch?

Yes. Our recruitment team works in French, Dutch and English and covers Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia as well as the Netherlands. Language requirements are set at the briefing, because they shape both the candidate pool and the fee rate.

Should you hire a local Country Manager or expatriate an executive from headquarters?

An executive from headquarters knows the company and its products; a local hire knows the clients, the languages and how the Belgian market works. For a temporary posting, the foreign employer has to comply with part of Belgian social law and complete formalities. We compare both options with you before the search starts.

Why choose Archetype to recruit your Country Manager?

Our firm has proven experience in the search and placement of executive profiles and management positions, such as Country Managers. Thanks to our extensive professional network, Archetype consultants have rapid access to the best talent available on the market. More than 75% of our assignments are carried through to final placement, and every hire is covered by a 6-month replacement guarantee.