Director of Commercial Operations

Formica Group North America•Sharonville, OH

102d

About The Position

The Director of Commercial Operations leads customer-facing commercial operations, with responsibility for improving sales efficiency and effectiveness and delivering excellent customer service. Reporting to the Vice President Sales, the role leads the Customer Service and Inside Sales teams and serves as a strategic and operational leader, building and optimizing the systems, frameworks, and programs that support a high-performing sales organization. In partnership with Manufacturing, Marketing, and Finance, the Director ensures sellers have the capabilities, insights, incentives, and operating discipline needed to drive consistent, profitable growth. The role aims to optimize the cost of acquiring and serving customers through an integrated, data-driven approach supported by robust analytics. Formica has invested in people and infrastructure to manage its commercial process, historically relying heavily on territory-based outside sales to engage customers and prospects and drive product specification. The business plans to maintain this approach while expanding engagement and commercial relationships further down the value chain. The Director will help mature a systematic, data-driven commercial model using proven technologies, process best practices, and an optimized organization to grow the business and Formica’s market position, particularly in residential markets. The Director leads customer service and inside sales; owns commercial technology requirements and prioritization; partners with IT and Analytics to deliver systems, analytics, reporting, and training; directs sales forecasting and planning and contributes to S&OP; and provides insights to inform sales strategy and resource deployment. The role also develops the sales operating model, including sales skills and methodology, strategic account management, account prioritization, and strategic account reviews.

Requirements

Demonstrated proficiency with AI.
Expertise in CRM systems and commercial automation.
Experience with commercial technology stack architecture and internal tools product management.
Knowledge of data analysis, BI analytics, and reporting tools.
Knowledge of 360-degree customer views and customer satisfaction measurement.
Skills in process optimization, strategy development, sales and operations planning, sales forecasting, and reporting.
Capability in training, knowledge development, and change management.
People management and development capability.
Strategic and highly execution-oriented approach.
Data-driven approach, strong business judgment, and intellectual curiosity.
Ability to work effectively amid ambiguity and transformation.
Credibility with senior leaders and frontline sellers.
Collaborative, pragmatic, and outcomes-focused approach.

Responsibilities

Lead customer service to drive high customer satisfaction with an optimized overhead footprint; define and measure team KPIs and SLAs, measure and resolve customer satisfaction issues, systematize service activities to support a 360-degree customer view, create an integrated inside sales–outside sales–customer service value stream, and optimize approaches with Operations.
Manage and develop the inside sales team and optimize customer and opportunity engagement with field sales. Define inside sales’ role, enable seamless inside-field sales engagement and a 360-degree customer view using technology, collaborate with Marketing on customer journeys and appropriate use of automation, leverage approximately 500,000 annual inbound inquiries, support sales velocity, and define and measure team KPIs.
Own requirements and prioritization for commercial technology selection, investment, deployment, and adoption. Evaluate new technologies, rationalize systems and tools, integrate with other systems including the marketing technology stack, and oversee administration, training, and data quality, compliance, and governance. Collaborate with IT on deployment, maintenance, and improvement of systems such as ERP, CRM, CustomerSat, BI, and CDP.
Partner with IT and Analytics to enable and produce commercial analytics for the lead and opportunity funnel, orderbook, and revenue. Provide regular reporting and dashboards for commercial teams and management to support decisions, effective execution, and company growth objectives.
Develop monitoring and methodologies to analyze sales metrics, generate insights, support decisions, and identify process improvements.
Enable training so sales teams understand and effectively use systems and reporting resources.
Create sales strategies and develop budgets, policies, and procedures to support the sales infrastructure.
Collaborate with area and regional sales leaders to develop and execute sales management disciplines and processes for sales excellence.
Direct sales forecasting and planning, actively contribute to the S&OP process, and own sales performance reporting and outlook by segment.
Drive sales strategy and resource deployment through analytical thought leadership and business insights about market conditions, competitors, and Formica’s market position, and help establish strategic growth priorities.
Design, implement, and evolve the sales operating model, including the sales skills framework, sales methodology, and supporting tools.
Design and lead the Strategic Account Management framework and account prioritization, ensuring consistent account planning and opportunity management.
Build and govern the Strategic Account Review process, including its cadence, metrics, and executive reporting.