Regional Director, North HF

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Regional Director, North, for our Heart Failure Division (HF), you will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction to ensure the achievement of financial, operational, and strategic objectives across the region. You will be responsible primarily for commercial operations including sales and country marketing organizations for Heart Failure in the North comprised of Benelux, UK/I & Nordics.

This position ensures that operations in their assigned geographic area work in accordance with corporate procedures and within the local legal, regulatory and cultural framework with the support of country, regional and global finance, regulatory/quality, clinical, marketing, human resources, communications, legal and IT organizations.

ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership: Sells the vision of sustainable business growth for Abbott to all stakeholders by showing the value to them, as well as the business, for working to achieve it.

Strategic/ operating plan process:

• Develops the region North growth vision and overall strategy
• Ensures alignment of North Plans with Regional and Global Vision and Strategy
• Encourages the participation of Division and Function Heads in order to analyze and document strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats relevant to the geographic organization and develops aggressive business plans that foster growth, speed to market, profitability, building world-class organizations and promote innovation and learning
• Assesses the foreseeable risks and ensures Region North plans have appropriate contingencies built in
• Communicates requirements of the Global and EMEA & APAC Strategic Plan to managers across North in a way that encourages understanding, acceptance and commitment to execute as required

P&L responsibility:

• Actively manages P&L in order to adapt quickly to evolving business requirements
• Controls costs in line with annual expense operating plans while making the business case for further investment where required to achieve the strategic goals of the geography
• Monitors and controls cash flow and inventory levels as planned in collaboration with

Sales leadership team and finance:

• Responsible for sales and overall business effectiveness: helps regional sales managers/country managers ensure that their sales teams apply a consultative sales process to become customer's business partner maximizing the attractiveness of Abbott in the eyes of the customer
• Monitors overall use of Abbott physical resources, intellectual property and human capital in North to ensure business value is maximized
• Objectively assesses capabilities of the organization and identifies potential for development in terms of Abbott competitive advantage, market coverage, brand image and cost structure
• Actively maintains up to date understanding of global Abbott products, services and branding developments that could be relevant to the geography
• Approves performance targets and determines the level of support required for regional sales managers/country managers to achieve the annual targets in line with Abbott expectations.

Market Trends:

• Keeps abreast of market and emerging technical trends in all relevant therapies
• Keeps abreast on market dynamics in terms of healthcare budgets and re-imbursement legislation for the geography
• Keeps abreast on Abbott market opportunities and threats, including competitors' offerings in the geography
• Supporting his/her direct reports to document market information related to the area
• Studying available literature and building networks with subject matter experts outside Abbott to inspire innovative thinking about ways to grow the business.

Building and maintaining relationships with external decision influencers:

• Works in close liaison with sales leadership team in order to understand and monitor activities and plans of government healthcare institutions, industry associations, pressure groups, regulatory bodies, medical/scientific societies and sources of technical innovations relevant for region North
• Builds and maintains relationships with key opinion leaders to encourage their continuous input on conventional therapies and technologies, emerging technologies and patient requirements
• Represents the Abbott brand and competitive advantages to decision influencers in the most positive way

Clinical Study Participation: assists clinical organization in driving participation in critical clinical studies to enhance the scientific image of the company and promote adherence to clinical best practice throughout the geography.

Resource Planning and People Management:

• Specifies the headcount and budget guidelines within which the regional sales managers/country managers will work to build and staff their teams

• Encourages cross-functional co-operation to drive business growth and discourages wasteful silo-thinking within the geography
• Works in close liaison with regional sales managers/country managers to attract, recruit, retain, and develop talented team members

Performance Management, Forecasting and reporting:

• Agrees to performance targets and support required with direct reports
• Sets criteria for the design and application of the performance management system for all eligible staff in the geography

• Selects and monitors key performance indicators relevant to achievement of agreed targets
• Urgently intervenes to take corrective action when necessary to confront crises, unexpected changes, poor performance or non-compliance within the geography
• Ensures regional sales manager/country manager and marketing manager set up and follow, with discipline, systems to gather operational information, develop forecasts and budgets and report to EMEA & APAC and Global as required

Compliance: builds a compliance culture throughout the North region ensuring that all managers and functional specialists are aware of, and comply with, their statutory or regulatory responsibilities. Ensures company policies and procedures are followed at all times.

ABOUT THE REQUIREMENTS

• Education: University Degree or equivalent in economics, business and/or medical field
• Experience: 15+ years management experience within the healthcare environment
• Market knowledge: Comprehensive knowledge of the local (country/geography in scope) healthcare market, industry knowledge, physician and institutional customers and KOL management, pricing/contracting strategies and regulatory/reimbursement environment.
• Financial performance: Proven track record (e.g. 2 of 3 prior years meeting financial Plan target) of delivering above market growth in mature and/or innovative markets (depending upon geography/industry) and taking share from competitors.
• Management success: Demonstrated ability to manage large field sales, marketing and sales operation organizations (50% or more of the size of the position) and revenue 50% or more of the position and quickly adjust direction and resources in a dynamic and rapidly-changing market. Demonstrated success being a change agent; leading an organization by changing the focus of the organization.
• Working across a matrix: Demonstrated effectiveness to work across a matrix organization and build relationships and network with key internal (region, division and within the company) and external stakeholders (customers, payers, industry associations, strategic partnership players, etc.)
• Strategic Execution: Development and implementation of business strategies, monitoring of outcomes to ensure targets are reached and that competition is outperformed.
• Building high performance teams and managing multi-disciplinary organizations in a matrix organization
• Strong leadership skills with strategic thinking ability
• Cross cultural and cross functional sensitivityOutstanding verbal and written communication, influencing and negotiations skills

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