Commercial Operations Director

IFS is a billion-dollar revenue company with 6000+ employees on all continents. Our leading AI technology is the backbone of our award-winning enterprise software solutions, enabling our customers to be their best when it really matters–at the Moment of Service™. Our commitment to internal AI adoption has allowed us to stay at the forefront of technological advancements, ensuring our colleagues can unlock their creativity and productivity, and our solutions are always cutting-edge.

At IFS, we’re flexible, we’re innovative, and we’re focused not only on how we can engage with our customers but on how we can make a real change and have a worldwide impact. We help solve some of society’s greatest challenges, fostering a better future through our agility, collaboration, and trust.

We celebrate diversity and understand our responsibility to reflect the diverse world we work in. We are committed to promoting an inclusive workforce that fully represents the many different cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints of our customers, our partners, and our communities. As a truly international company serving people from around the globe, we realize that our success is tantamount to the respect we have for those different points of view.

By joining our team, you will have the opportunity to be part of a global, diverse environment; you will be joining a winning team with a commitment to sustainability; and a company where we get things done so that you can make a positive impact on the world.

We’re looking for innovative and original thinkers to work in an environment where you can #MakeYourMoment so that we can help others make theirs. With the power of our AI-driven solutions, we empower our team to change the status quo and make a real difference.

If you want to change the status quo, we’ll help you make your moment. Join Team Purple. Join IFS.

The Commercial Operations Director position is a senior role that contributes to overall business success through: 

• Developing Pricing Strategies 
• Pricing Implementation 
• Monitoring & Adjusting Prices 
• Cross-Functional Collaboration 
• Customer Communication & Education 
• Competitive Intelligence 
• Supervisory Management 

This is a global role, and the successful applicant will benefit from working closely with colleagues across the world, including the UK, US and Scandinavia.  

We are looking for an individual with a successful track record in business strategy execution or enterprise consulting, ideally in a software/technology setting. The individual will have a good base of knowledge, will be capable of managing their time and priorities and looking to progress their career in a new organization. A minimum of 5 years experience in a strategy/consulting capacity is required.  

The Commercial Operations Director is a conscientious individual, taking personal ownership of any information shared to the team and will seek to understand the business context within which we operate at IFS.  

IFS has a committed equal opportunities culture. This role benefits from flexible working and while time-zone requirements will at times require work in unsociable hours, there is both a full understanding and active encouragement to foster a work/life integration that works well for the employee. Additionally, we provide coaching, enablement and development for all employees.    

Essential Duties and Accountabilities 

The Commercial Operations Director will take responsibility for the following: 

Developing Pricing Strategies 

• Market Analysis: conducting thorough market research to understand competitive pricing, market demand and customers’ willingness to pay 
• Pricing Models: creating and maintaining various pricing models (e.g., subscription-based, usage-based, tiered pricing) to cater to different customer segments and use cases 
• Value-based Pricing: establishing pricing strategies based on the value provided to the customer, as opposed to cost-based or competitive pricing 

Pricing Implementation 

• Pricing Policies: defining clear pricing policies and guidelines for the field sales teams to follow, ensuring consistency and transparency in pricing decisions 
• Discounting Structures: designing and managing discounting policies, including approval processes for special pricing requests or bulk discounts 
• Segment Adjustments: adjusting pricing based on geographic markets/regions, customer segments, and other relevant factors to maximize revenue and market penetration 

Monitoring & Adjusting Prices 

• Performance Analysis: continuously monitor the performance of pricing strategies through key metrics such as win rates, cost of sale and churn rates 
• Feedback Loops: collecting feedback from customer, sales, customer success and other internal/external stakeholders to identify issues and opportunities related to pricing 
• Dynamic Price Adjustments: implement dynamic pricing strategies where applicable, adjusting prices in response to market changes, competitive actions and product lifecycle stages 

Cross-Functional Collaboration  

• Alignment with Sales & Marketing: ensuring pricing strategies are effectively communicated and implemented  
• Finance & Legal Coordination: collaborating with finance to align pricing strategies with financial goals and the legal teams to ensure compliance with contracting models and compliance 
• Product Management: coordinate with R&D/Services Product Managers to understand the value propositions of new features or products and incorporate them into pricing strategies 

Customer Communication & Education 

• Pricing Clarity: ensuring pricing information is simple, easy to understand and relevant materials available for and accessible to customers 
• Sales Enablement: providing training and resources to sales and presales teams to effectively communicate pricing and value propositions to customers 
• Managing Price/Commercial Changes: plan strategically and communicate price changes to the field teams and new/existing customers to minimize disruption and maintain trust 

Competitive Intelligence:  

• Competitive Analysis: monitor competitor (and other innovative players in parallel markets) pricing strategies and offering to inform the IFS strategy 
• Benchmarking: regularly benchmark against industry standards and key performance indicators with the aim of keeping pricing competitive and compelling 

Supervisory Management:  

• Take on a number of team management responsibilities where applicable. Note, there will not be direct reports on day 1 and a track-record/capabilities will need to be demonstrated as part of a dynamic career development plan.  

  Commercial:  

• Working with a number of different departments to make smart, informed decisions about how the company makes money. This can involve looking internally at what we do uniquely well or can improve, as well as looking externally for ideas and a competitive edge. This also requires consistent and clear communication with the wider business and our customers. The Commercial Operations Director will project manage a number of these initiatives.  

Learning Mindset:  

• A role of this type should be a give and take experience. This role will provide a wide and varied exposure to a range of tasks and aspects of the business. Our expectation is that the Commercial Operations Director will be highly motivated to both learn and contribute in equal measure.  

IT proficiency:  

• Exposure to Microsoft Office (word, ppt, excel) is essential. Any additional experience with other software e.g. OpenAI is a bonus. Further training will be provided.   

Overall Required Competence 

The Commercial Operations Director is a trusted member of the Global Operations team, they will be able to demonstrate:  

• An outcome-focused mindset “getting things done” 
• Pricing capabilities per the ‘essential duties’ section above 
• A capable networker and able to work well with others, supplementing their own and others talents through collaboration 
• Strong and varied communication skills, able to work with subject matter experts as well as producing concise summaries for business leaders to consume 
• Improvement minded – keen to make their mark on the business and improve day on day 
• MS excel high proficiency  
• Must drive an inclusive and high-performance culture 
• Can positively handle prioritization and raise when help is required  
• Direct experience of supporting senior executives in an analyst capacity would be beneficial 
• Live the IFS Values 

Essential: 

• Exposure to business/management/commercial concepts 
• Can communicate fluently in business English, both written and verbal to a good level 
• Growth minded and enthusiastic about professional development and learning  
• Direct pricing experience in a software setting, ideally enterprise software but IFS will consider outstanding candidates with transferable experience – please make this clear on your application  
• IFS is pragmatic and flexible in terms of experience/background, however, the successful candidate will either i) have studied Business Management, IT, or a similar subject at a University level or equivalent, or ii) have studied a different topic but worked in a corporate setting for >10 years. Extended work experience in a business setting, ideally a corporate business is a must.  

Desirable: 

• Any additional IT or system exposure 
• An eye for design 
• Any other relevant qualifications or experience 

We believe that coming together as a community, in person, is important for innovation, connection and fostering a sense of belonging. Our roles have the right balance of remote and in-office working to enable flexibility for managing your life along with ensuring a real connection with your colleagues and the broader IFS community.