European Director Sales Operations

The Company
The organisation is one of the world’s largest sellers of its products and an industry leader in every distribution channel it uses. Worldwide, the company has over 52.000 employees and activities in 43 countries. In Europe, the organization operates in 23 countries with 11.000 employees. European headquarters are based in the south eastern part of The Netherlands.

The Position
The director reports to the VP Contract Sales Europe and is part of the European Contract management team. The total sales force in Europe amounts to 1400 people spread over fourteen countries. The Director Sales Operations is responsible for excellent support to the sales force, to deliver winning offers and bids for the Contract business in Europe. Sales support contains the following dimensions: bid and tender production, complex customer setup, pricing management, sales force automation, incentive compensation and territory management. This would lead to the following assignments:

 

• Drive harmonized development and usage of sales tools and sales training offer across Europe.
• Design and execute all assigned European Contract business sales support initiatives and, in liaison with the IT department and local businesses, arrange all development, analysis and training required for the successful delivery of these initiatives.
• Ensure development and utilization of insights and tools related to pricing and customer profitability that help the sales force win and retain profitable customers.
• Responsible, in conjunction with the US business, for the harmonization of sales support processes within the current improvement project to a global standard.
• As a senior member of the European Contract management team the Director is expected to represent the division in support of the VP Contract Sales Europe.

Requirements

• A university / Bachelor’s or MBA degree, preferably in Economics, Business Management, etc.
• Successful background of 7-10 years in a Senior Management position.
• Proven track record years working in Sales Management, Marketing, Sales Support, Business Consulting and Project management.
• Solid background in operational and IT processes such as CRM systems, SAP and Comsys
• Strong analytical and process thinking skills.
• Knowledgeable in sales techniques and sales training as well as pricing models.
• Strong teamwork and communication skills.
• Fluent in English and Dutch, speaking as well as in writing; other languages are desirable.
• Willingness to travel extensively.