Technical Services Director

This role is designed to grow sales and profitability of Industrial Wood North America by creating shared value with our customers through:

• Value proposition development & implementation

• Organizational development including training & certification processes

• Resource utilization aligned with Industrial Woods strategic & financial targets and

• Engagement with relevant industry partners.

INCREASE CUSTOMER GROWTH LOYALTY & PROFITABILITY THROUGH TECHNICAL SERVICE

Through the Managers and Supervisors ensure that the team is optimally trained and deployed to increase customer growth loyalty and profitability through the on-site Technical Service provided to our customers. This includes but is not limited to:

• Completing continuous improvement projects grounded in LEAN Six Sigma methodology.

• Ensure all serviced customers have current Work Instructions for optimally handling and processing our materials.

• Appropriate Customer Standards are developed and maintained at the Facilities and that Facilities management is clear on customer CTQs.

• Develop and provide customer training sessions are aligned with Sales and the Customer.

• For Site Techs ensure that daily KPI reporting is in place and analyzed for insights and actions.

• Build & develop executive-level customer relationships with a limited number of very high priority accounts. Ensure that your management team also holds senior-level relationships as well.

• Ensure customer complaints are effectively addressed and take necessary actions for corrective and preventative action as aligned with our enterprise process.

• Develop and administrate the departmental budget ensure a process for managing the return on all investments.

With the Sales leadership team:

• Quantify the value of our Technical Service work and build tools to ensure customer communication tools that validate the impact of our work.

• Ensure that appropriate Technical Service goals are established for all Key and Strategic Accounts and that the Technical Service field teams are positioned to meet or exceed customer expectations.

• Develop & refine Technical Service metrics that are used to measure that successful customer growth loyalty & profitability are tied back to the value proposition elements delivered through Technical Service.

With the R&D Product Management and Quality leadership teams:

• Identify opportunities for product improvements to further strengthen loyalty & retention.

• Ensure the effective translation of product development to customer application success. This should include appropriate engagement in the Stage Gate process.

EFFICIENTLY ONBOARD NEW CUSTOMERS & LEAD COMPLEX PRODUCT TRANSITIONS

Deploy the Transition Team and the field-based teams to efficiently onboard new customers and ensure that existing customers have seamless product transitions. This includes but is not limited to:

• Maintain a team of full-time Transition Techs as well as Field Techs ready to be deployed as major transitions arise. The transition team should also include Project Management resources.
• Together with our customers initiate plan execute monitor & control and close transitions ensure that we minimize timeand cost while maximizing quality and customer satisfaction.
• Ensure appropriate communication occurs with the customer as well as with internal Sherwin-Williams teams.
• On smaller customer onboarding employ the local team to clearly identify CTQs convey them to the servicing Facility establish master standards as appropriate develop ongoing process SOPs and efficiently transition the customer to Sherwin-Williams product.

STAFF TRAIN & DEVELOP A BEST-IN-CLASS TECHNICAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION

• Together with Sales Excellence continue to build and develop the Technical Service Academy including escalating levels of training and internal certification. With PCG L&OD optimize the LEARN platform for use with the Technical Service Academy programs. In addition to technical skills the Academy should include tools like case studies.

• Across the network ensure that we have experts all existing technologies and equipment.

• Identify emerging technology and equipment and ensure that we build training in these skills. This should include collaboration with Design Engineering and key industry partners within equipment integration and system design firms. Collaborate with appropriate partners to maximize the value created through coatings solutions.

• Develop sourcing strategy to ensure that we have a steady pipeline of qualified candidates as roles become available.

• Build a talent pipeline with career progression opportunities for this field-based team.

• Together with Sales Excellence conduct internal training sessions to keep our Sales and Facilities teams appropriately educated on emerging products and equipment.

LEAD STRATEGIC TECHNICAL SERVICE INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN THE DIVISION

• Develop and implement a strategic plan to differentiate Industrial Wood Technical Services across the industry. This should include building and refining our customer-facing Technical Service offering as well as recommendations to Product Management R&D Quality and Sales on other actions to strengthen our customer value proposition.

• Participate as a key member of the Business Team in defining technical activities providing leadership and input for major business decisions impacting customers.

• Conduct presentations to industry groups or customers on new technologies to enhance and support Sherwin-Williams reputation in the Industrial Wood industry.

FORMAL EDUCATION:

Required:

• Bachelors Degree

Preferred:

• Bachelors Degree in Science Math Economics Engineering
• Bachelors Degree in Business related field
• Masters in Business (MBA)

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

Required:

• Experience managing large key accounts with long complex selling cycles (>12-months)
• Ability to work with all levels of the Industrial Wood Organization
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required to effectively communicate and influence specifiers and asset owners.
• Proficient with or equivalent CRM platform

Preferred:

• 5 years of business-to-business sales and/or technical experience in the coatings and/or chemical industry
• Project Management experience
• Lean Six Sigma experience

TECHNICAL/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

Required:

• Proven leadership skills
• Strong Communication and Interpersonal Skill
• Microsoft Office Suite including building succinct compelling PowerPoint presentations

• Ability to read and interpret financial reports particularly Income Statements

Preferred:

• Coatings Industry knowledge
• Building financial business cases and documenting in pro formas
• Experience navigating financial reporting software and analyzing financial performance

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:

• 50% or more