(Ideal candidate will be based near Houston, TX or Cary, NC. Remote may be considered)
Job Description
The Strategic Pricing Director for the Apertures Solutions - U.S. business unit will report into the Vice President of Product & Innovation and work closely with P&L leaders, Sales, Product, Marketing and Finance to develop and drive the execution of price strategies across the business unit. This position will be responsible for setting a clear vision for pricing strategy that aligns with overall business unit strategy to deliver on annual and long-range targets. Key responsibilities for this position include designing the price architecture, setting list prices, and implementing policies, process, governance, and tools to ensure price realization and profitability optimization. This position will have the opportunity to design and build out these core pricing capabilities and team for the Apertures Solutions business unit.
Responsibilities
Lead, build and develop the pricing team for Apertures Solutions - U.S. to enable strategic pricing capabilities
Design pricing architecture for products, based on brand and channel strategy, including setting list prices and designing customer incentive structures that drive demand, e.g., discounts, rebate programs
Execute customer and competitive research to determine optimal product price positioning in the marketplace, product value proposition to customer, and customer willingness to pay
Monitor and analyze macroeconomic conditions, cost trends, and market factors that would influence and inform need for price changes
Embed product lifecycle pricing capabilities that support product portfolio strategy, including pricing for both new product innovations and product exit strategies, in collaboration with Product and Marketing teams
Establish disciplined discount policies that include target price guidance for frontline sales reps, workflow for price exceptions review and approval, and performance ROI tracking of discounts and other forms of customer incentives, e.g., rebates, marketing funds
Identify and address areas of potential revenue leakage that impact customer and product profitability, e.g., reduce customer cost to serve elements or convert to revenue streams
Design and develop analytical pricing models as needed to support price setting, deal guidance, and pro forma of pricing/volume/mix changes
Work with cross functional go-to-market teams to develop deployment, training, and communication materials to support deployment of pricing initiatives
Monitor the effectiveness of the pricing strategies and policies through the creation of performance dashboards, price analytics, and tight operating model feedback loops with sales; share price performance results with cross functional stakeholders.
Implement tools as required to enable data-driven, better, and faster pricing decisions and price administration
Extend pricing strategies and policies to new acquisitions and share learnings and capabilities across Cornerstone businesses as required
Competencies
Strategic Thinking
Creates plans that address both near term opportunities and develop capabilities required to capture future opportunities, thinking 2-3 years ahead
Translates broad corporate strategies into clear, specific objectives and plans for team and individuals
Strategic and critical thinker who can create the big picture vision and manage more granular details
Driving Results
Self-starter with strong sense of urgency in reaching targets
Ability to manage and execute multiple projects simultaneously and move quickly to drive results
Works to achieve goals while overcoming obstacles and/or planning for contingencies
Outcome-driven orientation with a demonstrated ability to lead and mentor a high-performing team
Collaborating and Influencing
Proven leadership, influence, and collaboration in a matrixed organization
Spends time identifying all stakeholders necessary to shape a collective consensus
Identifies opportunities to build relationships that will help others achieve their objectives
Negotiates with a genuine give-and-take approach, acting as a true peer where decisions are shared
Must be willing to have professionally challenging conversations that are productive and not destructive
Communication
Skilled at simplifying complex concepts into clear and concise communications
Excellent presentation skills and experience presenting pricing concepts with the audience in mind
Excellent listening, verbal, and written communication skills
Qualifications
8-10+ years of business experience (or 5-7+ years of consulting experience) in pricing, finance, or sales operations required
Bachelor's degree required, MBA degree or equivalent preferred
Demonstrated success in setting a vision, defining a strategy, and moving an organization forward with the appropriate capabilities and systems to achieve plan required
Experience using and customizing advanced analytics tools to identify pricing opportunities, build decision grade models, and size business value achieved through pricing work required
Experience with developing innovative pricing strategies across multiple dimensions of a business, e.g., customer, product, distribution / retail channels, and geography, preferred
Broad based customer and competitor research experience including primary/secondary research and advanced analytics approaches to identify key customer value drivers preferred
Expertise in pricing organization design, roles & responsibilities, process redesign, KPIs and dashboards preferred
Familiarity with pricing software vendors and analytics tools, e.g., Pros, Zilliant, Vendavo, Alteryx, Power BI, required