Sr Director, Commercial Operations

Thermo Fisher Scientific • Waltham, MA

5d

About The Position

The Senior Director, Commercial Operations leads commercial excellence, sales force effectiveness, and data-driven decision-making across the organization. As a forward-looking strategic partner to senior Sales and Commercial Leadership, this leader anticipates business needs, identifies emerging performance trends, and turns data and market intelligence into actionable recommendations that improve commercial execution and support sustainable growth. The role develops analytics, operating mechanisms, forecasting capabilities, and leading indicators to surface opportunities and risks early and enable better-informed commercial decisions.

The Senior Director advances the use of artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, automation, and modern sales technologies to improve seller productivity, forecasting accuracy, pipeline management, customer and opportunity prioritization, and commercial effectiveness. The role leads a diverse, distributed team and collaborates with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Digital/IT, and other partners. Key areas of oversight include sales planning, performance management, sales compensation, territory alignment, commercial analytics, CRM effectiveness, forecasting, pipeline management, and sales enablement technologies. The position calls for a collaborative, commercially minded leader who can influence stakeholders and lead organizational transformation in a global, matrixed environment.

The salary range estimated for this position based in Massachusetts is $192,700.00–$275,000.00. The position may also be eligible for a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. The stated schedule is standard office hours, 40 hours per week, and the role requires approximately 20–25% travel.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Science, a related technical discipline, or another relevant field.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in sales operations, commercial operations, sales effectiveness, commercial excellence, analytics, or a related discipline.
• Significant leadership experience, including responsibility for leading teams and enterprise-level commercial initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a strategic, forward-looking advisor to senior Sales and Commercial Leadership and proactively identify trends, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions.
• Experience with Salesforce.com or a comparable CRM platform.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI, advanced analytics, predictive methodologies, or automation to commercial or sales processes.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience with revenue planning, business performance management, and sales compensation design.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving capabilities, including the ability to turn complex information into concise, actionable business recommendations.
• Experience optimizing sales processes and leading large-scale change-management or organizational-transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to lead distributed teams and work effectively in a global, matrixed organization.
• Strong project and program-management skills, including the ability to manage multiple strategic priorities simultaneously.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and executive-engagement skills.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and collaborate across functions, regions, and cultures.
• Ability to travel approximately 20–25%.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting complex scientific, technical, healthcare, life sciences, or similarly regulated markets.
• Experience implementing AI, machine learning, predictive analytics, or automation capabilities within Sales or Commercial Operations.
• Experience leading commercial-transformation initiatives across multiple businesses, regions, or customer segments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a proactive strategic advisor to Sales and Commercial Leadership, identifying emerging trends, performance gaps, risks, market dynamics, and commercial opportunities.
• Translate commercial data and market information into executive insights and actionable recommendations.
• Develop and execute the Commercial Operations strategy in alignment with business objectives, growth priorities, and customer needs.
• Establish commercial analytics, dashboards, KPIs, and performance-management frameworks, advancing predictive and prescriptive insights beyond retrospective reporting.
• Improve sales forecasting processes, methodologies, tools, and governance; identify pipeline gaps and forecast risks; and recommend actions to Sales Leadership.
• Strengthen accountability for opportunity management, forecast quality, pipeline development, and execution in partnership with Sales Leadership.
• Develop scenario modeling and predictive capabilities to assess potential commercial outcomes and actions needed to achieve growth objectives.
• Champion the responsible use of AI, predictive analytics, automation, and emerging technologies across Commercial Operations and the sales organization.
• Identify, prioritize, and implement AI-enabled solutions and next-generation sales tools to improve productivity, forecasting, opportunity prioritization, and decision-making.
• Partner with Digital/IT, data, and technology teams to develop scalable, secure, and sustainable solutions; establish governance and measures for responsible use, adoption, and value.
• Monitor emerging commercial technologies and recommend innovations that could create competitive advantage or improve sales effectiveness.
• Lead initiatives to improve sales force effectiveness, productivity, and accountability.
• Lead sales planning, including territory design and alignment, resource deployment, capacity planning, quota setting, and performance measurement.
• Develop and administer sales compensation and incentive programs aligned with strategic and financial objectives.
• Simplify commercial processes, eliminate inefficiencies, improve customer and employee experience, and promote scalable best practices adapted to local market requirements.
• Optimize CRM platforms, sales technologies, and enablement tools to improve adoption, data quality, forecasting, pipeline visibility, and execution.
• Establish adoption and effectiveness metrics for commercial tools and improve the seller and sales-leader experience, including by addressing workflow friction.
• Develop the Commercial Operations team as strategic business partners and foster curiosity, innovation, analytical rigor, continuous improvement, and accountability.
• Lead change management and organizational transformation, ensuring effective communication, stakeholder alignment, and sustainable adoption.
• Manage multiple strategic initiatives with strong governance, execution discipline, and stakeholder communication.
• Build partnerships across Sales, Marketing, Finance, Digital/IT, and other functions to advance enterprise commercial priorities.

Benefits

• Choice of national medical and dental plans and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs.
• Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement.
• At least 120 hours of paid time off (PTO) and 10 paid holidays annually.
• Paid parental leave, including 3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave.
• Accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy.
• Competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan.
• Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), offering eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount.
• May be eligible for a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior