Service Director, EMEA

About the organisation

The hiring organisation is a worldwide specialist in precision instruments and analytical solutions. Its products support clinical research, surgical decision-making, and industrial quality assurance, and are used in over 100 countries. The EMEA region represents the company’s biggest and most strategically important market area, with field service playing a central role in the business model.

This position is fully remote, but candidates must live within one hour of a major airport and be based in Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, or the Netherlands. Around 40% travel across the EMEA region is expected.

The opportunity

The EMEA Service Director is responsible for the complete field service function across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The role oversees a team of roughly 140 people, manages the service P&L, and drives growth in service contracts, on-demand revenue, installations, and customer satisfaction across the region.

Although the business is already performing well by traditional measures, the incoming leader is expected to guide a significant transformation. The focus is on shifting service delivery from reactive to predictive, introducing automation and AI into back-office processes, creating new service offerings, and developing a more mature channel partner model in less-developed markets.

The role is part of the EMEA commercial leadership group and has a direct functional reporting line to the VP Global Service. For the right person, there is a clearly defined succession path.

Key responsibilities

• Own the EMEA service P&L and the main performance measures tied to contract growth, on-demand service income, and customer satisfaction.
• Lead about 140 field service professionals, field service managers, customer service delivery teams, and the service contract sales function.
• Modernise back-office service operations such as dispatch, invoicing, and quote compliance by using automation and AI-led process redesign.
• Work with the global service team to design and launch new service offerings, including predictive maintenance and remote diagnostics.
• Develop and strengthen the channel partner model for indirect service delivery in remote areas such as parts of the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia.
• Partner closely with the EMEA sales organisation to improve service contract attachment rates and ensure strong commercial alignment at the point of sale.

Requirements

• Strong educational background, preferably at master’s degree level; an MBA would be beneficial.
• Proven success in leading a geographically dispersed team in a commercial, operational, or service setting, including experience managing through multiple layers of leadership.
• Hands-on customer-facing experience in service, sales, or account management, with the ability to handle senior commercial relationships.
• Commercially aware and analytical, with direct P&L responsibility or close involvement with P&L management.
• International experience, either from early career roles in a large multinational or from a global remit in a later role.

What will make you stand out

• Experience delivering major operational change in a large corporate environment, such as process redesign, automation, or launching a new programme.
• Exposure to a structured, process-led organisation such as a large MedTech or diagnostics business, or consulting experience that built disciplined problem-solving skills.
• A commercial mindset that goes beyond KPI management and includes an understanding of how service drives recurring revenue and how that message is aligned with sales, finance, and customers.
• Strong leadership presence that earns the trust of both senior service engineering teams and senior commercial stakeholders.

Additional information

If you would like more information, please contact the hiring team directly.