IFS develops and delivers enterprise software for customers around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. The industry expertise of our people and solutions, together with commitment to our customers, has made us a recognized leader and the most recommended supplier in our sector. Our team of 3,500 employees supports more than 10,000 customers worldwide from a network of local offices and through our growing ecosystem of partners. For more information, visit: IFS.com

Location preference of candidate: Europe. 

The Sales Enablement Manager is primarily responsible for the design, development and execution of global sales enablement programs supporting the IFS growth ambitions. The main aims of the role are to equip the IFS salesforce with the strategies, content, capabilities and tools to reach customers and partners and successfully articulate the IFS vision and value in order to maximise sales performance in a globally consistent and measurable way.

To achieve these aims the Sales Engagement Manager will steer the design, development and execution of global sales enablement programs supporting these growth drivers

Early in 2021, IFS launched a clear and bold growth strategy. Key growth drivers in this strategy include:

• Increased sales effectiveness based on a common best practice sales process
• Value based selling techniques and methods
• Significant growth of the direct sales force
• Significant growth of the partner ecosystem

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES: 

The Global Sales Enablement Manager is responsible for providing the IFS sales force with the information, knowledge, capabilities and tools it requires to maximise its opportunities and success.

Key to this success will be combining a solid understanding of sales activity, processes and outcomes with the ability to synthesize field requirements and corporate resources into a comprehensive sales enablement plan.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

Development, Planning & Communications 

• Define and develop delivery approach to a ‘Gold Standard’ IFS Sales enablement
• Develop and align the overall Global master plan for sales enablement
• Develop metrics and reporting to demonstrate effectiveness and ROI for key programs
• Communicate and manage program objectives, activities and deployment plans with internal and external Management stakeholders
• Build and maintain close and cohesive working relationships with other with other key IFS stakeholders, such as Account Executives and groups, such as Key Account Program Management and Business Value Engineering

Delivery & Results

• Work closely, collaboratively and build relationships with enablement functions, including Pre-sales, IFS Success, GCS, Voice of the customer, Partners, Marketing, Product, Sales Leaders, Operations, Marketing, Product, Commercial (etc) to increase sales results and productivity
• Support on-going development and certification programs for global customer facing teams including: facilitation, content creation, processes, practices and tools needed to enable success
• Develop, deliver and utilise creative techniques and a variety of sales enablement delivery mechanisms to reach a dispersed, regional and global organization - leveraging multiple modalities to train/guide/coach
• Provide active support for and engagement with the Sales Excellence approach to enable sales readiness and embedding
• Coordinate and collaborate with global, regional and local teams to develop and share standard methodologies and provide support for new product and service offerings
• Steer and manage the design, development and execution of global sales enablement programs
• Set-up and deliver new hire onboarding for GCO working with regions

People Development

• Contribute to and support/facilitate programs and training for skills development, product knowledge and sales methodologies
• Develop and execute a structured sales new hire onboarding program
• Design and manage continuous learning environments including existing sales on-line content catalogue to improve the learning experience and ensure content is current and relevant
• Evaluate, contribute to and coordinate the implementation of new sales enablement tooling
• Partner with other departments across IFS to design and develop programmes, content and strategies to refine and develop role-specific sales skills and acumen
• Lead the design and implementation of the curriculum that builds the commercial competencies
• Refresh and update curricula and learning journeys
• Create a feedback loop with Sales professionals to continually improve and measure performance and sales outcomes
• Develop and direct the development of sales training (including playbooks and job aids) working together with sales management to ensure successful completion by all new hires and all those in new roles
• Work closely with IFS Academy that enables IFS to publish, maintain and monitor the use of the sales enablement curriculum
• Create and deliver sales enablement training material and other interventions in response to employee development needs and changes in strategy or offerings and identify required improvements based on performance metrics
• Improve time to productivity of new hires by providing the training and tools essential for success
• Support regions (Market Units & Business Units) Monitoring progress of new hires, conduct testing, and assess performance of teams to demonstrate impact of participation in IFS programs and aid in prioritizing enablement strategies, training and tactics

Methodologies, Tools & Supporting Collateral

• Ensure Sales have the collateral and information they need to support the entire revenue lifecycle. This includes working across IFS to develop and refine materials, sales collateral, etc.
• Continuous improvement and refreshing of the onboarding curriculum and program for all new starters in sales function (‘Bootcamp’)
• Develop and execute a common global enablement language, curricula and methodology for the Sales teams that enables them to effectively communicate IFS's value to customers and navigate complex client organizations

OVERALL REQUIRED COMPETENCE 

• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal as well as advanced presentation skills

• Excellent facilitation and persuasive skills, both written and verbally

• Self-starter with high level of energy, drive, enthusiasm, initiative and commitment
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships and navigate through senior stakeholder discussions

•  Analytical and structured way of working

• Naturally strong project management approach and style to enabling, tracking and measuring delivery of outcomes

• Ability to clearly articulate messages to a variety of audiences

• Flexible and adaptable; able to work in ambiguous situations meeting swift deadlines in rapidly changing environment

• Highly organized & proactively manage and own the work process to drive desired outcomes & prioritize work by focusing on what’s important

• Attitude of getting things done, strong individual contribution with ability to lead virtual teams

• Must be a team player and able to work collaboratively with and through others

•  Excellent time management and organisational skills

• Lives the IFS Values

Required Education and Experience

• 5+ years (or equivalent) of sales experience in a professional sales and/or in a sales enablement leadership role
• Ability to travel globally (~40-50% travel)
• Business level English: Fluent
• Experience in sales enablement program management
• Experience in managing, interacting and influencing senior level stakeholders (C-Suite and Executives)
• Experience in delivering facilitation, training and coaching
• Highly experienced presenter and strong ability to identify and articulate value
• Structured mindset
• Ability to design, develop, and deploy experimental learning programs and learning journeys
• Experience in working across multiple functions and geographical regions

The ideal candidate would be based in Europe, but with the ability to travel globally.  

Interviews and selections are being made continuously. If you are interested, apply as soon as possible

At IFS you will work in a growing, global enterprise software company where informal hierarchies promote simplicity and trust with responsibility. We strive to deepen our expertise by taking on challenging and varying work assignments in a collaborative environment together with committed colleagues.

With professionalism and a strong customer focus in everything we do, from R&D to Sales and Consultancy, we are proud to serve world-class customers all over the globe with our leading products.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity.