Technical Service Group Leader (Flex Pack/Narrow Web) (labels - flexible packaging)

Situation in organization

• Reports to the North America Flex Pack/Narrow Web Business Director
• 8 direct reports (7 Technical Sales Representatives and one Technician)
• Lead the Flex Pack/Narrow Technical Service Team and be liaison with Sales, PLM, R&D, CS, BDM, Marketing and Manufacturing
• Strong interaction with Leadership, Global Market Managers and National Sales Managers
• Member of the Advanced Packaging and Converting SteerCo

Job dimensions

• Executes technical service strategies that support business strategy and drive business growth. Aligned with sales team and business development manager in maintaining current business and closing new opportunities.
• Support customers with product recommendations, customer seminars and training. Lead troubleshooting and complaint resolution initiatives. Lead field trials with current and new products.
• Develop and build effective relationships at customers especially with technical counterparts.
• Include the account manager in all formal customer communications.
• Serve as the lead in communication of current project status at accounts. Overall responsibility for the lab work performed for all customer projects.
• Support new product development and commercialization.
• Build and leverage technical service team expertise to demonstrate value to the customer and competitor differentiation.
• Develop application and end use expertise.
• Ensure cross-functional collaboration between Technical Service and other functions
• Influence strategic R&D programs and feed customer requirements for new product development into R&D programs.
• Collaborates with fellow technical and commercial employees to form a cohesive, global, customer –focused team
• Track metrics for TS team including new product introductions, lab case workflow and management, personnel goals and objectives and progress towards completion.
• Facilitate progress on Quality incidents and investigations between organizational groups

Activities

Fundamental Capabilities

• Planning and Preparation: Effectively plan for customer interactions including agenda setting, clear objectives, and pre-work.
• Adept at presenting to large groups that delivers a concise and clear message to the audience.
• Practice safe work habits in accordance with OSHA, EPA guidelines and Bostik specific EHS expectations.

Prominent Capabilities

• Organize and prioritize Technical Service team’s activities, maximizing lab resources to achieve project goals and customer requirements.
• Support Account Managers to maintain customer base and grow the business.
• Assist sales in making product and processing recommendations. Add value at customers by identifying opportunities to improve quality and increase productivity.
• Coordinate with Product Development and Marketing to assist with qualification and scale up of new products
• Provide product line or market presentations to customers as required.

Technical Service Team Management

• Coaching for Results: Skilled at providing guidance on building on strengths, addressing weaknesses, and developing their capabilities. Able to manage discussions with sensitivity and translating development needs into action. Cultivates talent in the organization.
• Performance Management: Sets clear expectations and holds team accountable. Uses forward looking KPI’s to improve results. Build development plans for the team.
• Technical Strategy and Execution: Ability to define roadmap for growing the business that supports the strategy. Create actionable goals and objective for team to support growth.
• Market Intelligence on Technical trends observed at our accounts: Be the voice of customer (technical team) within Bostik organization. Also identify and articulate changing product requirements, trends and future product design considerations due to changing EH&S requirements.

Context and environment

This job is responsible for supporting the Flex Pack/Narrow Web business; this position is the Technical Service face of the business for NA. They need to be well networked, have strong relationships with all stakeholders including customers, allied suppliers, and industry associations. He/She must also drive the business internally with CS, R&D, Marketing and Operations.

Accountabilities

• Executes technical service strategies that support business strategy and drive business growth. Aligned with sales team on maintaining current business and closing new opportunities.
• Support customers with product recommendations, customer seminars and training. Lead troubleshooting and complaint resolution initiatives. Lead field trials with current and new products.
• Build and leverage technical service team expertise to demonstrate value to the customer and competitor differentiation.
• Develop application and end use expertise.
• Recruit, retain, and develop talent within the PSA technical service organization.
• Maintain Technical Service labs safety, environmental compliance, and pilot plant safe practices. Lead and implement safety initiatives for the labs.

Qualifications / experience required

• Bachelor’s degree required, B.S. in technical field preferred, advanced degree a plus
• Experience in labels and flexible packaging market strongly preferred
• 5+ years of progressive experience in B2B customer facing roles.
• 3+ years managing and developing a sales or technical team strongly preferred
• Track record of proven success
• Ability to work in a self-directed, hands-on environment
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, listening, organizational, and presentation skills
• Strong computer skills (Microsoft environment, Salesforce.com)
• Ability to travel up to 50 % of the time

A career with Bostik offers a collaborative work environment and supportive development to reach your career goals, with benefits starting day one as part of our competitive total rewards strategy. Bostik, an Arkema company, is a leading global adhesive specialist in construction, consumer and industrial markets. For more than a century, it has been developing innovative adhesive solutions that are smarter and more adaptive to the forces that shape daily lives. From cradle to grave, from home to office, Bostik’s smart adhesives can be found everywhere. With annual sales of €2 billion, the company employees 6,000 people and has a presence in more than 50 countries. www.bostik.com. The diversity of our employees is an asset we value and commit to from recruitment through career management. Bostik is an EEO/AA/Drug Free Workplace. The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees in this role. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications