Company information

As the world leader in serving science, Thermo Fisher Scientific is a driving force in the research, healthcare, industrial and applied markets, generating $25 billion in annual revenue. No other company can match our range of customer touch points—technologically, geographically or commercially. We help customers in finding cures for cancer, protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe and moving forward with thousands of important projects that improve millions of lives. At Thermo Fisher, we give our 70,000 extraordinary minds the resources and opportunities to make significant contributions to the world.

How you will make an impact?

The Portfolio Management in The Research & Safety Market Division Europe (RSD-EU) is responsible for the pan-European product portfolio that Fisher Scientific offers to its wide customer base.

The Director, Portfolio Management will work with the VP, Portfolio Management and Global Category counterparts to develop portfolio, category, and supplier strategies. He/She will translate those strategies into local (Europe) business strategies and programs to drive revenue and profit for the division and corporation. He/She will lead a team of portfolio management professionals and work cross-functionally with internal teams such as Sourcing, Supply Chain, Data and Content Operations, Third Party etc. to meet customer needs.

What will you do?

Be accountable for the engagement, performance, compensation and development of the team. As a Role Model Leader:

• coach, set goals and delegates effectively to stretch and develop individual and team competencies;
• Actively support the development of team (3 - 9 direct reports) to increase the talent, and ultimately ‘bench strength’ of the broader portfolio management team.
• through regular observation, appraise and monitor, encourage and drive high standards of performance, pro-actively addresses behavior and performance which is not meeting standards.
• Develop and execute a European portfolio/supplier strategy for the group of product categories he/she manages. This should encompass portfolio expansion, product margin improvement, supplier funding and support of ‘Share of Wallet’ initiatives.
• Create a Supplier/Product strategy that drives the establishment of a consistent pan-European portfolio which drives maximum commercial advantages for the RSD business and a consistent customer experience (product, price & service). This includes building a robust Private Label portfolio as appropriate for the category.
• Continually assess product/market opportunities/gaps as they relate to the category. Be responsible for new supplier development activities that add new products and categories that will supplement the portfolio and drive profitable revenue growth. Ensure that new launches by their team are delivered in a consistent manner through use of standardized product launch packs using an agreed pan-European process.
• Develop and implement business plans with a significant focus on increasing sales and margins. These include coordinating supplier blitzes in the field, coordinating new product launches and working with the marketing teams on promotional materials and other selling tools. From a margin standpoint, management of list price strategy and customer discount structures (PPG’s), in conjunction with the Strategic Pricing function.
• Ensure that European strategies and the team’s activities are aligned with Global Portfolio Management strategy. Equally, ensure those agreed strategies are communicated with other functions (Sales, Marketing), such that they can execute them at a European/regional level.
• Actively champion the STP (Supplier Tiering Program or successor) as it relates to their category. Externally, through preferential focus on preferred suppliers – meetings, securing promotional campaigns, joint sales engagement activities, etc. Internally, through championing preferred suppliers with Sales & Marketing colleagues that results in tangibly better performance than non-STP suppliers in the same category.
• Work closely with Sourcing on the (annual) negotiations with suppliers in their portfolio to secure the most advantageous position for the company regarding pricing, product delivery and supplier support for the products, without compromising the company’s commitment to its clients. Such negotiations should ultimately be focused on increasing profitability for the corporation.
• Establish strong, commercially effective relationships with the European senior leadership team of the key suppliers in their categories (business, sales and marketing leaders).
• Maintain strong relationships with the suppliers either remotely or by traveling to their locations, as relevant, and represent the company at industry events and tradeshows
• Leverage broader industry experience and personal networks to support the more effective execution of portfolio strategies and achievement of company goals.
• Support operational improvement activities, through close working with the relevant functions, such as Compliance, Finance, Customer Service and the Supply Chain function. These efforts should be centered on increasing the customer experience, driving improvements to operational efficiency and ensuring the activities of the Product Management function meet regulatory requirements. Where appropriate, these should be backed up through the inclusion of relevant terms in contractual and / or service level agreements with suppliers.
• Liaise with cross divisional partners to ensure the development, execution and alignment of commercial strategies that supports the profitable growth of the corporation’s products & the strengthening of its brand in appropriate markets.
• Be a change agent for RSD Europe, lead change management activities with regards to people, process and system optimization

How will you get there?

• Bachelor’s degree in business, operations, or a scientific field. An advanced degree in business or science is preferred.
• Extensive Commercial experience with direct supervisory and/or team leadership experience. Remote management skills, or team leadership across a multi-country environment
• Excellent interpersonal, customer centricity, problem solving, and can-do attitude
• Flexibility to address immediate priorities and still manage deadlines with longer-term projects and strategic initiatives.

Non-Negotiable Hiring Criteria:

• Fluent English.
• Willingness to travel 15-20%, some international is expected.
• Relevant experience in at least two (and preferably more) of the following areas:
• Prior commercial experience in a portfolio management, sales, procurement merchandising or marketing organization
• A technical background in science, engineering or research, to include an awareness of technology trends and the evolution of scientific applications.
• Previous experience with portfolio management
• Industry-related experience in laboratory products or life sciences