Associate Director, Customer Service, EMEA

Bristol Myers Squibb

18d ago

Job
Full-time
Expert Level
Customer Relations
Chester

AI generated summary

You should have a degree in Business, strong managerial and project management skills, O2C knowledge, ERP (SAP) experience, and fluency in a European language. Pharmaceutical experience is essential.
You will lead customer service activities, ensure performance standards, drive continuous improvement, manage team training, coordinate cross-functional alignment, and support operational strategy.

Requirements

Required Skills & Desired Experience
Degree in Business Administration, Accounting or equivalent business experience
Effective managerial, project management, interpersonal, soft and coordination skills
Knowledge of Order-to-Cash, order managements, logistics, distribution, internal controls, accounting
Excellent computer skills with competencies in MS applications (Excel, Outlook) and major ERP platforms (SAP, preferred)
Extensive demonstrated experience in leading teams & projects, and broad accounting or finance experience, with experience within O2C
Additional European language beyond English would be preferred; such as German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch
Extensive experience in Pharmaceutical Industry

Responsibilities

Lead all Front-Office activities in the capability centre, which include activities by the customer service associate team, the front office is tasked to interface with customers to receive orders and resolve / route inquiries.
Responsible for day to day service delivery and performance of customer-facing activities.
Promotes and emphasizes the environment of effective financial and quality controls and compliance & knowledge sharing culture across the Order to Cash (O2C) department.
Reports outcome of Order Management (OM) team activities through defined KPIs to Key Business Partners and O2C Lead, highlights areas for further improvement, ongoing assesses capacity of the team and ensures effective BCP is in place.
Drives continues improvement, standardisation and project initiatives with focus on effectiveness and efficiency within its own and cross O2C function.
Clearly defines performance standards and holds functional managers directly responsible for execution of processes, controls and knowledge management within their function and markets in scope.
Directly responsible for E2E processes and cross-functional alignment.
Responsible for leading the EMEA Customer Facing functional team, setting up and monitoring specified services provided to local markets at agreed operational levels within defined controls and GDP.
Ensures that activities and services are performed effectively and efficiently with full cross-functional alignment.
Keeps individual managers accountable for ensuring that team members are trained and perform activities according to defined standards, by demonstrating and promoting BMS culture and behaviors.
Aligns with other functional leads on team and departmental objectives to further support operational excellence.
Masters the quality complaint procedure and adverse event processes.
Collects and addresses individual team escalations as a result of regular operational review processes and supports team managers in issue resolution.
The role works actively with the O2C Lead on operational strategy.
Ensures periodic operational reviews are conducted to assess and discuss operational performance for all EMEA markets within the ECC ops scope.
Obtains regular feedback from key business partners to ensure ongoing process improvement and operational excellence.
Coordinates and escalates cross-functional inefficiencies identified during operational reviews.
Understands in-market commercial strategies and ensures that the team and processes are structured, designed, and organized to support changes driven by business and/or external factors.
Proactively communicates all changes to other functional leads and the O2C lead.
Examples include changes in pricing strategies, new product launches or divestitures, and the deployment or modification of tools/processes in order submission.
Supports and coaches team managers and team members. Holds regular one-on-one meetings with individuals as well as performance check-ins throughout the year.
Understands and applies BMS policies on managing people.
Discusses objectives and development plans with individuals and the team.
Actively participates in the ECC managers forum, taking an active role and participating in ECC-driven initiatives to build and maintain ECC culture, objectives, and priorities.
Defines KPIs and monitors team performance, driving review meetings with supervisors and other managers.
Works with the O2C Lead in forming departmental strategy, setting team and departmental objectives, and interpreting agreed goals to their teams through clearly defined operational goals.
Structures and organizes activities within their teams to drive effective and efficient service delivery.
Performs regular assessments to ensure the structure in place remains agile to support business goals and objectives.
Guarantees services are delivered in line with BMS guiding principles as defined by SLA, Corporate/Regional and Country-Specific SOPs, and OCDs.
Identifies and initiates projects that deliver greater standardization, continuous improvement, and cross-functional alignment (e.g., as an outcome of regular operational reviews and feedback obtained from key business partners).
Aligns project objectives with business partners, ensures resources are allocated to the project, and deliverables are completed as per agreed deadlines.
Coordinates "ad hoc efforts" to avoid or mitigate negative impacts on operations, financials, or provided business support.
Ensures strong business, system, and process knowledge is maintained across operational teams allowing them to drive complex projects such as the integration or departure of business activities and managing TSAs.
Assesses knowledge gaps jointly with the managerial team and cooperates with the KM team to achieve an efficient and effective KM strategy.
Defines and periodically reviews departmental BCP and functional backup planning.
Ensures the Global SOP is reflected and supported through EMEA SOPs and WIs.
Ensures ongoing review and updates, guaranteeing that quality standards are achieved as defined by the KM team.
Develops effective relationships with all listed business partners through individual meetings and active participation in regular operational reviews.
Gains trust through active response, constructive issue resolution processes, cooperation, and feedback response.
Develops a recruitment strategy for the XX function in connection with other functional leads.
Actively provides feedback to the O2C Lead and HR team on the effectiveness of the recruitment process for both contractual and BMS resources.
Ensures an effective onboarding process is in place across all organizational levels, regularly reviews the onboarding strategy, and ensures all newcomers feel "welcomed" in O2C and within ECC (ECC/O2C communications, face-to-face "welcome calls with managers," etc.).
Ensures a talent development process and pipelining for all critical roles is in place for the respective function.
Communicates and shares development plans transparently within the O2C management team.

FAQs

What does the Associate Director, Customer Service, EMEA position entail?

The position involves leading all Front-Office activities in the capability center, managing day-to-day service delivery, enhancing performance through KPIs, promoting compliance, and driving continuous improvement initiatives within the Order to Cash (O2C) function.

What qualifications are required for this role?

A degree in Business Administration, Accounting, or equivalent business experience is required, along with extensive experience in leading teams, broad accounting or finance experience, and knowledge of Order-to-Cash processes.

Is it necessary to know any languages besides English?

Yes, additional European languages such as German, French, Spanish, Italian, or Dutch are preferred.

What type of experience is beneficial for this job?

Extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, especially within the Order to Cash (O2C) function, is beneficial.

How does BMS support employee development?

BMS supports employee development through regular performance check-ins, discussions on development plans, talent development processes for critical roles, and opportunities for coaching and mentoring.

What is the work environment like at BMS?

BMS promotes a flexible work environment that values balance and offers a range of competitive benefits to support employees in their careers and personal lives.

Are there opportunities for career growth at BMS?

Yes, BMS provides uncommon opportunities for growth and development through diverse experiences across departments and high-achieving teams.

What is the structure of the team I would be leading?

You would be leading the EMEA Customer Facing functional team, responsible for managing customer service associates and ensuring effective and efficient service delivery across various local markets.

How does the role contribute to operational excellence?

The role drives continuous improvement and standardization initiatives, aligns departmental objectives with cross-functional goals, and conducts periodic operational reviews to assess performance and identify areas for improvement.

What tools and systems should I be familiar with for this position?

Proficiency in major ERP platforms, such as SAP, and strong computer skills with MS applications like Excel and Outlook are important for this role.

Bristol Myers Squibb

Manufacturing & Electronics

Industry

10,001+

Employees

Mission & Purpose

At Bristol Myers Squibb, we work every day to transform patients’ lives through science. That work inspires some of the most interesting, meaningful, and life-changing careers you’ll experience. Join us and pursue innovative ideas alongside some of the brightest minds in biopharma, collaborating with a team rich in diversity of experiences, and perspectives. We have built a sustainable pipeline of potential therapies and are leveraging translational medicine and data analytics to understand how we can deliver the right medicine to the right patient, at the right time, to achieve the best outcome. Whether in a scientific, business or supporting function, a career at BMS means you’ll be inspired every day to grow and thrive through opportunities that are uncommon in scale and scope. Here, you’ll be on the cutting edge of powerful innovation in oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease, and fibrosis, with colleagues united in the mission to help patients. Through the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, we also promote health equity and seek to improve health outcomes of populations disproportionately affected by serious diseases and conditions. Our mission is to give new hope to help patients prevail over serious disease – it drives everything we do.