Manager, Field Applications Scientists (FAS) - EMEA

Company: Pacific Biosciences 
Location: Europe - Central
Requisition Title: Manager, Field Applications Scientists (FAS) - EMEA

PacBio is looking for a highly committed and motivated individual to manage the EMEA Field Applications Support team. The goal of this position is to ensure customers success through careful management of a highly performing team of FAS. Essential tasks of this role will be to hire new talent, retain and grow current individuals, ensure technical training and successful cross-functional interaction with other teams, such as Sales, Field Service, and Field Marketing.

Our mission is to enable the promise of genomics to better human health. Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) is creating the world's most advanced sequencing technologies. Our latest instrument, the Sequel IIe, provides a unique combination of accurate and long DNA sequencing (HiFi sequencing) which generates the most complete picture of the genome. HiFi sequencing is helping generate scientific insights that are not possible with other sequencing technologies.

Important aspects of this role are the ability to work effectively with the EMEA FAS and to communicate and coordinate their work cross-functionally with Bioinformatics FAS, Service Engineers, and Tech support. Key performance metrics-driven decision making to ensure team effectiveness and efficiency is another essential element of this position.  Training and education of a distributor FAS network will have to be arranged. The candidate will be working in a fast-paced commercial environment and must have a positive attitude to challenges.

The manager is expected to ensure a great customer experience through a number of aspects, such as regularly collecting feedback to report back to internal stakeholders including product managers and strategic marketing, but also by building direct relationships with key accounts and managing escalated account situations. The individual has excellent problem-solving skills and enjoys finding solutions. The successful candidate needs to be fully commercially astute to address business needs and thereby contribute to plans for overall commercial success of the EMEA organization. The manager is a partner to the commercial organization and needs to be highly self motivated and responsive to business needs.

The position is field based in central area of Europe. The candidate must live near an international airport.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Drive the adoption and successful use of PacBio's Sequel and Sequel II / IIe platforms through Field Applications Support team.
• Manage and grow a team of Field Application Specialists in the EMEA region
• Hire and oversee the onboarding, training, and career development of new Field Application Specialists
• Ability to use both coaching and mentoring to grow individuals on customer training, presentation skills, and troubleshooting
• Continue to drive best in class support from the PacBio FAS team
• Technical training and education of FAS of the EMEA distributor network
• Facilitate cross functional communication between Sales, Service Engineers, Bioinformatics FAS, Tech Support, Field Marketing
• Use and develop key performance metrics to assess team performance
• Collect, compile, and deliver feedback from teams and customers to internal stakeholders
• Establish and maintain positive direct relationships with customers and key opinion leaders to ensure commercial success
• Account escalation management – organize and coordinate activities to address account escalations collaboratively with Account Manager
• Closely collaborate with Field Service teams to assist with installation preparation and coordinate post-installation user training
• Coordinate activities to address presales support requests (joint visits, seminars, pilot studies)
• Coordinate activities to support Field Marketing activities (seminars, conferences)
• Assist in the development of technical documentation and training presentations
• EMEA-wide travel 50% time or more, with occasional visits to headquarters in California.

Personal Skills

• Motivational and positive “get done” attitude
• Leverages problem resolution as opportunity to grow and learn
• Proven ability to lead and integrate members to form a strong team
• Strongly motivated by Team's Success
• Aims to create a working environment where team members strive to be best in Class.
• Performance and metrics driven
• Highly organized and responsive with excellent follow-up.
• Excellent command / highly proficient in spoken and written English, ideally with an additional native language
• Excellent customer-facing communication skills both in a pre- and post-sales context
• Ability to build strong and lasting customer relationships
• Strong and clear reporting skills

Technical Skills

• Minimum of a Master's degree or equivalent experience (Ph.D. preferred) in Molecular Biology/Genetics, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Statistics, Computer Science, or in a Life Science or Engineering field
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in field applications and pre-/post-sales customer support; ideally in leading / managing a FAS team in context of installation, training, validation, implementation, and application of next-generation DNA sequencing instruments and assays
• Strong time management, organizational and planning skills are essential
• Up to date with current molecular biology laboratory techniques is a must
• Proficient with use of a CRM (e.g. “Salesforce” or other) is a condition
• Ideally has done one or several commercial sales trainings (e.g. “Miller Heimann”, “Challenger”, or similar)
• Ideally has done professional troubleshooting course (e.g. “Kepner Tregoe”, or similar)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent oral presentation skills
• Experience of a diagnostic or regulated work environment would be a benefit
• Valid and clean driver's license

All listed tasks and responsibilities are deemed as essential functions to this position; however, business conditions may require reasonable accommodations for additional tasks and responsibilities.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation.