Head of Sales - Life Sciences

Acolad is the global leader in content and language solutions. Its mission is to support companies in every industry to scale across markets and enable growth through cutting-edge technology and localization expertise. Established in 1995, the group is present in 22 countries across Europe, North America and Asia, with over 1,600 employees supported by a network of over 10,000 linguists around the world. At Acolad, every position is key to our global growth: we know that we will only succeed if our people succeed. Joining Acolad means a unique opportunity for professional development through a collaborative global environment that promotes talent and creativity. We are continuously looking for new talent to support our mission to drive growth and innovation across some of the world’s leading brands. We are revolutionizing the localization industry with enterprise-grade SaaS solutions that enable businesses to deliver local content anywhere efficiently. Our mission is to harness cutting-edge AI technology to create innovative, user-centric products that redefine how content localization is managed and delivered.

The Head of Sales is responsible for driving profitable growth and achieving new business targets by leading and developing the LSC Business Development team. This role focuses on executing the business unit’s strategic objectives, expanding the customer base through new logo acquisition, fostering long-term client relationships, and enhancing sales performance across Europe and the US. The position demands strong leadership, strategic planning, and collaboration across functions to refine go-to-market strategies, support revenue goals, and ensure operational excellence in a competitive and evolving life sciences market.

Main Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the setting and meeting of BU Business Plan objectives/Go To Market strategy.
• Ensure alignment with the BU Business Plan/Go To Market strategy within the LSC Business Development team.
• Provide detailed and accurate sales forecasting/budgeting.
• Support business growth and financial objectives (Revenue, Gross Margin).
• Oversee and expand the company’s customer base with a specific focus on new logo acquisition, build and promote strong, long-lasting customer relationships.
• Continuously refine the strategy to focus on growth and acquisition of new clients.
• Master the ACOLAD service and solutions portfolio, support team on business case and positioning of complex combinations of services and technologies.
• Monitor customers, market and competitor activity and identify emerging markets and market shifts.
• Monitor and strive to understand the implications of regulatory changes and requirements on the life sciences language space.
• Work closely with Marketing and BU Management to successfully act on the market and enhance USPs.
• Lead salespeople across Europe and the US and build a high-performance team: Identify and implement key metrics and recommend plans to achieve goals and assess performance rigorously.
• Recruit, develop, retain, and manage Sales teams, set clear expectations, mentor members of the team & maintain an environment where all can contribute at a high level.
• Ensure the collaboration of the Business Development team with Account Management team, Solution Management and Production on business opportunities; being the advocate of the client in our organization.
• Ensure sales process and training compliancy and eCRM data quality within the team.
• Together with the LSC Leadership team: Be a primary contributor/business partner to General Manager to formulate and drive the global Sales Strategy recommending revenue targets, priority initiatives, and resource allocation.
• Develop and implement a global plan to identify, prioritize, commercialize, and localize new products and solutions.
• Partner with the Group for operational excellence: Build tight connections with the other Regions / BU / Heads of Sales to share best practices and accelerate the growth of the entity.
• Establish tight communications and relations with the CRO and Marketing Organization to successfully act on the market.
• Manage proactively the core Sales processes across the revenue cycle (business and account planning, lead generation pipeline management, etc.) driving consistency across all countries.

Requirements:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Economics, Finance, Marketing, or a related field.
• Experience: 10+ years of proven experience in business development, new client acquisition, and consistently achieving sales targets. Demonstrated success in leading high-performing sales teams across multiple regions (Europe and the US). Experience in life sciences or a related industry is highly desirable.
• Skills: Strong strategic thinking and ability to align sales initiatives with business goals. Excellent skills in identifying business opportunities and analyzing customer requirements. Strong presentation and proposal writing capabilities. Proven ability to manage and close large, complex deals. Expertise in sales forecasting, budgeting, and pipeline management in a multinational environment. Exceptional people management, mentoring, and coaching skills. Advanced interpersonal, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
• Technical Proficiency: Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite. Strong knowledge of CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce).
• Language Skills: Fluent in English (written and spoken).

International environment with multicultural teams. Professional development and growth opportunities. Flexible Workplace. 24 days’ holiday per annum (2 days per month pro-rated), in addition to bank holidays.