Director Of Commercial Strategy And Contract Negotiation

Black Progress Executive Staffing is looking to hire a Director of Commercial Strategy and Contract Negotiation for our client - the world’s leading cloud platform for regulatory, financial, environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) reporting.

The Director of Commercial Strategy is a leadership role responsible for leading our commercial strategy efforts, driving growth, and maximizing profitability. This role is critical in shaping the company’s future and impacting our company’s growth and success by developing and executing effective strategies that align with our business goals and objectives. The ideal candidate possesses strong leadership skills, a deep understanding of commercial strategy, experience building the policies and framework for scaling commercial strategy operations, and a proven track record of people management and negotiation.

This role works closely with cross-functional teams, including Sales, Legal, Product Management, Marketing, Accounting, and other operational teams, to identify new business opportunities, optimize commercial structures, promote positive business outcomes, and ensure the overall success of our commercial efforts.

What You'll Do

People Management:

• Foster a high-performance culture within the team, promoting professional development, knowledge sharing, and accountability.
• Act as a liaison between the commercial strategy team and executive leadership, ensuring alignment with the company’s overall vision and objectives.
• Encourage a collaborative and innovative environment that promotes idea generation, experimentation, and continuous improvement within the team.
• Lead, motivate, and inspire a team of commercial strategists by providing guidance, coaching, and mentorship while fostering a high-performance culture.
• Develop training programs and provide strategic guidance to enhance the team’s knowledge and skills in commercial strategy, market analysis, identifying business opportunities, and developing actionable recommendations.
• Set clear goals and objectives, establish swimlanes and performance metrics, and provide regular feedback to ensure the team’s success, professional growth, and successful implementation of commercial strategies.

Develop and Execute Commercial Strategy:

• Research and analyze customer needs, market conditions, and competitive landscape to inform and refine negotiation strategies and maximize values for both parties.
• Translate market insights into actionable plans that are scalable and trackable.
• Join Sales and Product leadership in defining target accounts, customer segments, and value propositions, as well as gather competitive intelligence and customer insights to identify new business opportunities and potential areas for growth.
• Collaborate with cross-functional leaders across the organization to design and execute strategic market positioning and commercial structuring strategies.
• Build a framework in partnership with cross-functional stakeholders (Sales, Value Management, Deal Desk, Accounting, Legal, etc.) that defines roles and responsibilities, rules of engagement, commercial guidelines, and policies.
• Develop comprehensive commercial strategies to capitalize on market trends, improve market positioning, and drive revenue growth while considering market dynamics and customer value perception.

Negotiations:

• Support team in driving complex contract negotiations with key external and internal stakeholders, ensuring mutually beneficial and balanced outcomes for both us and our clients.
• Act as a subject matter expert in customer negotiation strategies, providing guidance and support to team members and internal teams to improve their negotiation effectiveness.
• Serve as the key escalation point for high-level customer negotiations, working closely with direct reports and Sales leaders to develop and execute effective negotiation strategies at the account level.
• Develop strong relationships with internal business partners to expand business opportunities, enhance collaboration, and drive revenue growth.
• Identify potential risks and proactively negotiate risk mitigation strategies to protect the company’s interests while still delighting our customers.
• Ensure all contractual terms and conditions are favorable and aligned across internal stakeholder teams and within the company’s risk tolerance and policies.

Productivity Management and Analytics:

• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), financial metrics, and market trends to assess the success of commercial strategies and make data-driven recommendations.
• Partner with Sales leadership to conduct comprehensive business analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of commercial strategies and initiatives, identifying areas for improvement and refinement.
• Provide regular reports and presentations to the executive team, highlighting the performance of commercial initiatives and outlining future opportunities.

What You'll Need

Education

• Undergraduate Degree or equivalent combination of education and experience in a related field.

Skills

• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
• Excellent listening, written, and verbal communication skills with ability to synthesize and effectively articulate concepts to stakeholders
• Dedicated to excellent customer service and efficient time management while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, changing environment
• Can quickly identify gaps, demonstrate excellent critical thinking capabilities, and act quickly with strategic and creative problem-solving
• Ability to remain courteous and kind while also direct and honest during high-stress end-of-quarter times with both internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to build internal and external relationships, influence change, and ensure alignment at all levels and across various departments

Experience

• Global commercial experience supporting remote and local Enterprise SaaS sales teams preferred.
• Working knowledge of ASC 606 Revenue Accounting guidelines.
• 10+ years of progressive and proven experience in Commercial Strategy, Contract Management, and/or customer-facing negotiations, preferably within a fast-paced, high-growth, global technology company
• Strong negotiation skills with a track record of successfully closing complex deals.
• 5+ years of demonstrated experience in people management (including remote employees and supervisor experience of managers), leading and developing high-performing teams, managing multiple initiatives, and being accountable for personal and team results.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities with a data-driven approach.
• CRM, CPQ, and CLM experience are strongly preferred.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels and build strong relationships with Legal, Accounting, Product & Marketing, and Services teams.
• Proactive and results-oriented with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment.
• Strategic thinker with a deep understanding of market dynamics and the ability to anticipate market trends and provide recommendations on how to approach them.
• Experience defining guidelines, policies, roles, and responsibilities and building an operating model for commercial strategy.

Travel

• Up to 20% for internal or customer-facing meetings, training, and other requirements

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements

• Reliable internet access for any period of time working remotely, not in our office

How You’ll Be Rewarded:

• Restricted Stock Units granted at the time of hire
• 401(k) match and comprehensive employee benefits package
• Salary range in the US: $147,000.00 - $250,000.00
• A discretionary bonus is typically paid annually

The salary range represents the low and high end of the salary range for this job in the US. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. The actual salary offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, and other relevant factors.