VP/Director of Sales Operations
This position has the responsibility of providing direction to the department, as well as ensuring that the department meets its financial and personnel goals. Operations focus on the tactical implementation of the marketing strategy through a sales organization. The Director of Operations generally is responsible for ensuring that the sales reporting, bonus and training programs are effectively developed, tested and implemented. The Director of Sales Operations typically has managers reporting to him or her with analysts and trainers whose jobs are to verify that bonus payouts are accurate, that training is developed, and that sales reporting is developed and communicated to those in the field.
Key Job Requirements
The Director of Sales Operations needs strong leadership ability, and keen personnel development and communication skills. Because this position directly translates the marketing and corporate strategy in a meaningful way to the field sales organization, this person should have an MBA. The job also requires management experience in his or her particular industry, as well as a thorough understanding of the buying process for the company. The candidate should also have the ability to work in cross-functional environments, especially with Finance, Marketing, Sales and Human Resources.
Source of Candidates
While a company usually hires a director of sales operations from within its ranks, through personnel development plans, some organizations recruit for the position. The sales operations position is important in any industry where the company sells a product through a distribution system. Generally, telecommunications, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical companies will have a director of sales operations.
VP/Director of Human Resources
The Director of Human Resources is responsible for setting the human resources strategy for the company. Generally, human resources spans multiple divisions of the company. The Director of Human Resources may report directly to the President of the company. The Human Resources group sets the stage for hiring policies and practices, describes and grades job positions, determines the most effective mix of bonus-to-base pay for each position, and manages talent generally. Some companies have training for various positions placed under the Director of Human Resources.
The key job requirements for the Director of Human Resources is a full understanding of the laws and processes that regulate job creation, hiring, selection and pay. Many laws regulate how companies are able to hire, pay and terminate employees. Because hiring and termination are highly regulated, and also provide the source of the majority of lawsuits against a company by employees, the Director of Human Resources must possess an expert understanding of the laws governing hiring and termination, and how to implement them effectively throughout the company, while still finding, managing and paying the best talent.
The Director of Human Resources should have an advanced degree and possibly certifications from either the Society of Human Resource Management or World At Work. The Director of Human Resources should have strong leadership abilities, as well as excellent communication and public speaking skills. Depending on the industry, the Director of Human Resources should understand unions, job structure, pay for performance, and benefits.
Source of Candidates
The Director of Human Resources may be hired from candidates developed internally as well as hired externally. If the position is hired from outside of the company, the candidate will likely have been working in that industry or one that translates well to that in which the company works. As the laws that govern employment in the United States apply to all companies, this position may come from outside the industry as well, though less commonly. The type of director of human resources that a company hires is related to the issues and specifics of the industry. Manufacturing companies with unionized labor will need a candidate who understands collective bargaining agreements. Executive search firms as well as networking are the best source for candidates to fill the role.
Vice President of Marketing
The Vice President of Marketing handles the messaging, pricing, distribution and mix of products that the organization develops and sells. He or she has the overall responsibility of determining the most effective method of spreading the message of the company's products and/or services out to prospective and existing customers. The Vice President of Marketing also has the responsibility of testing price models for products to determine which prices would be tolerated by the consumer, as well as which prices will result in the maximum revenue for the company. The Vice President of Marketing also must create and then abide by promotional budgets for the products or services produced by the organization.
Key Job Requirements
The Vice President of Marketing should understand the market an its limitations. Also, the Vice President of Marketing needs to be able to balance the general corporate strategy with the company's sales strategy to create a mix of goods and services at different stages in their life cycle. The Vice President of Marketing should have strong leadership skills as well as excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills. Experience in the industry is required, as the marketing mix directly impacts how the company will perform.
Source of Candidates
The Vice President of Marketing may be promoted from within the organization using talent development, or it may be hired from outside the company through executive recruiters. Companies who are experiencing a major industry change may hire this position from outside the company to gain insights that would be beneficial. Usually the organization recruits a candidate of the same industry. However, companies looking to radically change their product mix may hire the Vice President of Marketing from another industry that is related to the new corporate direction.
Conclusion
For the job hunter and the company posting the executive position, finding the candidate with the best fit takes time. The three positions described in this article are critical to the performance of the company. The executive who applies for any of the positions should be aware of the intricacies of the company and industry before networking and interviewing.
