This position will be based in Germany, at our Nussloch manufacturing plant.

The Market Intelligence Director participates actively in supporting Leica Biosystems commercial planning efforts by providing objective, in-depth information about current and future markets and competitive forces. The focus will be in the area of customer, market and competition intelligence to provide input for corporate strategy, product line- and commercial strategy and execution. The MI Director will also act as a strategic advisor to the commercial planning teams with deep expertise in current and future competitive drivers in the market place as well as functional expertise in how to use MI to develop competitive strategies.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design, lead and execute the global market research and intelligence strategy in close alignment with VP Global Commercial Marketing, Sales and our Business Units
• Collect deep customer-, competitor- and market- insights through state of the art primary market research, desk research and database analysis
• Ensure data driven decisions on key corporate initiatives by actively consulting decision makers
• Supervise the design, execution, analysis, reporting and evaluation of primary market research programs and further develop the current knowledge on the market in regards to its size and its competitive environment
• Develop and control easy access to available overall market-, customer-, product- and competitor information
• Develop and manage a global market research and intelligence team
• Provide quarterly updates on key competitors performance
• Develop and implement a competitive information update process to monitor and report changes in the competitive landscape in a timely manner
• Manage market research and intelligence budget, guarantee and demonstrate optimal return
• Manage vendor relationships, provide ongoing assessment
• Develop and implement early warning processes and systems to provide early warning of competitive threats, emerging marketplace and industry trends
• Establish effective internal and external business intelligence networks on a global basis

Education and/or Experience required:

The successful candidate will have a passion for market research and intelligence and a thorough understanding of its role in a global company. He or she will have a track record of analyzing specific markets and business structures to extract and present information, which enables high impact, successful business decisions. He or she is experienced in leading and motivating a team to perform according to the highest professional standards. He or she will have an in-depth knowledge and track record at least in one of the three core research fields.

• Degree qualification in economics, market research, financial analysis
• Post graduate business school qualifications viewed favourably (eg. M.B.A.)
• Eight to ten years relevant experience in market research, product/business planning, marketing management preferable in the field of medical especially Histology/Pathology
• Proven track record in developing strategies and new concepts in an international company
• Experience in leading and motivating a highly educated team
• Proven ability to translate and convincingly communicate statistical data into meaningful business information
• Good understanding of market research theoretical hypotheses and doctrines mixed with pragmatic approach
• Strong analytical, excellent writing and presentation skills