Director I, Sales

MSD; Lüchow; Remote; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

MSD is seeking a Director I, Sales to lead sales, applications and support teams, ensuring targets are met and the region remains profitable. The role shapes the go-to-market strategy, oversees forecasting, and drives key account relationships in a fast-paced, regulated biotech environment.

Travel up to 80% is required, with a focus on strategic initiatives, market expansion, and cross-functional leadership to deliver revenue growth and customer value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Life Sciences preferred; MBA desirable but not required.
• Minimum 10 years of sales management experience; at least 5 years in senior management.
• Experience leading peers and driving new initiatives.
• Minimum 5 years of supervisory experience.
• ISO, GMP and/or biotechnology industry experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead sales, applications and support teams to meet or exceed targets.
• Develop and execute the U.S. sales strategy and territory plan.
• Forecast accurately and manage budgets to achieve profitability.
• Hire, train and develop staff; drive high performance.
• Plan field marketing events to drive funnel health and market penetration.
• Maintain knowledge of market trends and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and codes of conduct.

Skills

Sales leadership

Strategic planning

Budget management

CRM systems

Communication

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences

MBA desirable

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Job description

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director I, Sales is responsible for providing effective leadership to the sales, applications and support/service teams. The primary responsibility is to meet or exceed territory sales targets within budget and manage all commercial aspects of the business. This position provides leadership and direction for all aspects of daily operations, sales processes, and strategic initiatives (short and long range) targeted toward existing and new markets.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for ensuring the team meets/exceeds projected sales targets; control expenses to ensure profitability targets for the region.
• Maintain an accurate sales channel and "go to" market model, to meet or exceed projected sales targets.
• Responsible for accurate order forecasting.
• Responsible for establishing a U.S sales strategy and ensure proper execution by team members to drive desired behaviors in the sales organization.
• Prepare the annual territory sales plan, in conjunction with business partners that details the financial expectations and the associated activities and expectations for the teams to run an effective sales organization.
• Prepare and defend the justification for investments and other changes to the regional team.
• Help identify key opinion and thought leaders in the industry. Works with management to translate to strategies to identify and retain key account relationships.
• Actively plan a range of field marketing activities including attendance at tradeshows, seminars, product launches and regular product specific mail-outs, necessary to drive funnel health.
• Establish and monitor staff performance and development goals, assign accountabilities, set objectives, establish priorities, conduct annual performance appraisals. Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality. Helps identify high performers to groom for potential succession planning.
• Hire, train, develop, discipline/terminate staff as necessary, in accordance with company policies and federal/state regulations, with input from the Human Resources department.
• Lead regular meetings and educational opportunities with team to ensure they are fully informed of company products and activities. Participates in annual and other meetings as needed to ensure sales activities reach the greatest impact.
• Generate and protect a strong customer referral base and utilize effectively to drive market penetration.
• Drive territory commitment to customer satisfaction by overseeing the resolution of issues/complaints and when appropriate escalating the issues.
• Drive efficient business process within the territory including monthly and quarterly country and territory level reviews that result in an action plan to achieve revenue, expense and funnel health targets.
• Maintain in-depth knowledge of the current and future market trends, including funding availability, technology trends, customer applications and competitive technology.
• Ensure compliance with all company, policies, processes and codes of conduct for yourself and your direct reports.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Life Sciences preferred. MBA desirable but not required.
• A minimum of 10 years of sales management experience; at least 5 years of senior-level management experience.
• Experience as a leader amongst peers, presenting ideas and driving new initiatives forward.
• A minimum of 5 years of supervisory experience
• Previous experience working within an ISO, GMP and/or biotechnology industry organization is strongly preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• In-depth understanding of the Pharma/Biotechnology industry and the related academic and research institutions.
• Superior leadership skills with demonstrated knowledge and understanding of staff management practices and processes and the ability to establish accountabilities and expectations and manage performance to achieve results
• Knowledge of business operations, including effective budget development and management processes, as well as the ability to translate strategic thinking into action plans and related outcomes.
• Excellent organizational, planning, and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple and often changing priorities and issues of varying complexity, while meeting time-sensitive deadlines and deliverables
• Superior communication (written and verbal) skills with the ability to translate information into a meaningful, understandable context and message, regardless of the format (e.g., documents, public speaking situations, presentations, etc.)
• Strong business acumen, negotiation and mediation skills, as well as a demonstrated attention to detail and a focus on achieving quality outcomes. Ability to build/foster relationships.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, high-energy, demanding and deadline driven environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity to interact effectively and diplomatically with individuals at all levels of the company, as well as externally both domestic and internationally with key stakeholders, customers, and clients.
• Demonstrated passion for excellence, and proven success delivering to sales/revenue/profit goals
• Attention to detail with a demonstrated commitment to excellence and performance improvement and the drive to deliver quality and value-added results and outcomes
• Aptitude to learn new systems and retain technical information.
• Ability to effectively deal with internal and external customers and staff. Ability to interact with a high level of patience, tact, and diplomacy, and can maintain composure under pressure. Can easily mediate and resolve conflicts
• Demonstrated ethics and integrity.
• Ability to work independently, as an effective team member and with all levels of the company.
• Ability to assess situations and information, think creatively, devise better ways of doing things and/or innovative solutions, apply discretion, and make appropriate judgements
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office with expert Excel skills. Expert knowledge of customer relationship management (CRM) systems, particularly SalesForce.
• Ability to travel extensively.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• This position requires the ability to communicate and exchange information, utilize equipment necessary to perform the job, and move about the office.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• This position is performed in a traditional home office environment.
• Must be willing and able and able to travel throughout region – Up to 80% of the time.