ABOUT THE COMPANY
Phoenix Contact's roots are in Germany. Our headquarters are in Blomberg. Originally founded in Essen in 1923, we have grown over the years. With over 50 subsidiaries worldwide, we truly have Global reach. Together with customers and partners, we design solutions for the future using trend-setting connection and automation technology. Wherever they are needed - for example, in transportation infrastructure, electromobility, for clean water, regenerative energies and intelligent supply networks, or energy-efficient machine building and systems manufacturing. We face up to technological developments and the associated changes in society. With more than 100 years of experience in the field of machine building and automation, we are working on tomorrow's intelligent production today.
DESCRIPTION
The Vice President of Sales, Canada is a senior commercial executive and member of the Canadian Executive Team, accountable for developing and executing the Canadian sales strategy to drive sustainable revenue growth, profitable market share expansion and long-term customer value. The role translates enterprise and regional business objectives into a clear commercial direction, aligning sales strategy, market opportunities, talent, resources and execution to deliver measurable business results.
This leader brings a strong understanding of industrial markets, customer and partner ecosystems, competitive dynamics and the commercial levers required to grow the business. Through market intelligence, customer insights, competitive positioning and market share analysis, the Vice President identifies opportunities, prioritizes investments, establishes strategic plans and ensures resources are deployed where they will deliver the greatest impact.
A critical mandate is to build and sustain a high-performance sales culture by ensuring the organization has the right people, in the right roles, with the right capabilities at the right time. This includes establishing clear expectations, strengthening accountability, developing sales leaders, improving organizational effectiveness and fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration, professionalism and continuous improvement.
The Vice President will lead the evolution of the sales organization from traditional product and technical focused selling toward integrated systems, solutions and value-based selling. This requires building the competencies, commercial discipline and cross-functional partnerships needed to connect Phoenix Contact Canada’s four core businesses: Automation, Power Reliability, Cabinet Efficiency and Connectivity to broader customer challenges and opportunities.
Success requires strategic thinking, strong commercial and financial acumen, effective matrix leadership and the ability to lead change. The Vice President is accountable for sales strategy, organizational structure, talent, resource allocation, sales performance and the effective use of Salesforce as the foundation for commercial execution, data-driven decision-making and performance management. Through disciplined execution and collaboration with Canadian, regional and global stakeholders, the role ensures the sales organization is positioned to compete effectively today while building the capabilities required for future growth.
This position has formal people-management responsibilities and leads through sales managers and regional sales leaders, with accountability for team performance, talent development, succession planning, forecasting, budget management and the establishment of a sustainable, high-performing sales organization and culture.
POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES
Sales Strategy and Market Growth
- Develop and execute the Canadian sales strategy aligned with enterprise priorities, regional direction and overall business objectives, translating strategic intent into measurable commercial outcomes.
- Establish clear growth priorities, sales objectives, market coverage strategies and operating plans that drive sustainable revenue growth, profitable market share expansion and long-term customer value.
- Maintain a deep understanding of Canadian market dynamics, industry trends, customer needs, partner capabilities and competitor positioning to identify growth opportunities and emerging risks.
- Analyze market size, market share, customer penetration, win/loss performance and competitive positioning to understand where Phoenix Contact is winning, where it is underperforming and which commercial levers will have the greatest impact.
- Translate market and competitive insights into actionable strategies, determining where to invest, which customers and segments to prioritize, how to strengthen routes to market and where changes in sales coverage or approach are required.
- Develop annual and multi-year sales plans, including targets, budgets, resource requirements, market development priorities and performance measures.
- Establish clear accountability for strategic initiatives, ensuring plans are translated into execution with defined ownership, milestones and measurable outcomes.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of sales investments, coverage models and commercial initiatives, adjusting priorities and resources as market conditions and business needs evolve.
High-Performance Culture and Organizational Leadership
- Build, lead and sustain a high-performance sales organization characterized by clear expectations, disciplined execution, accountability and a shared commitment to delivering results.
- Ensure the organization has the right people, in the right roles, with the right competencies at the right time to execute current priorities and support future growth.
- Assess organizational structure, talent, capabilities and capacity to identify gaps and make informed decisions regarding recruitment, development, role alignment, succession planning and resource deployment.
- Lead, coach and develop sales directors and regional directors, strengthening their ability to set direction, manage performance, develop talent, make decisions and hold their teams accountable.
- Establish a consistent performance-management cadence connecting strategic objectives, sales targets, pipeline, forecasts, customer engagement and individual accountability to business outcomes.
- Reinforce a culture of ownership, trust, transparency, professionalism and accountability in which commitments are met, performance gaps are addressed and risks are surfaced early.
- Lead talent assessments, performance reviews, succession planning, career development and employee engagement initiatives to build a sustainable leadership pipeline.
- Foster an inclusive and collaborative environment that attracts, develops and retains talent while promoting constructive challenge, shared accountability and continuous improvement.
- Model company values and leadership principles through visible leadership, sound judgment, effective communication and a commitment to developing people.
Sales Transformation and Capability Development
- Lead the transformation of the Canadian sales organization from predominantly product- and technical-focused selling toward integrated systems, solutions and value-based selling.
- Define and develop the competencies, behaviours, processes and commercial discipline required to understand customer business challenges, identify broader solution opportunities and articulate differentiated customer and business value.
- Build a structured sales capability-development approach incorporating coaching, training, field development, recruitment and performance measures that reinforce the desired sales approach.
- Elevate consultative selling, strategic account planning, opportunity qualification, stakeholder engagement, value articulation, negotiation and commercial discipline.
- Ensure new capabilities are embedded in daily sales practices through leadership coaching, field execution, consistent expectations and ongoing performance assessment.
- Challenge legacy practices, organizational silos and barriers that limit sales effectiveness, customer access, collaboration or the ability to scale solutions across markets.
- Lead the adoption and effective use of Salesforce as the primary platform through which the Canadian sales organization manages its commercial activities, customer relationships, opportunities, pipeline, forecasting and performance.
- Establish clear expectations for Salesforce adoption, data accuracy, completeness, timeliness and hygiene. Hold sales leaders accountable for consistent usage and the quality and integrity of information maintained by their teams.
- Embed Salesforce into the sales operating model, ensuring it is the tool through which sales processes are executed, performance is managed, decisions are informed and commercial commitments are tracked not an administrative activity separate from customer-facing work.
- Leverage Salesforce reporting, dashboards and analytics to improve visibility into customer engagement, pipeline health, opportunity progression, conversion rates, forecast accuracy and sales productivity.
- Partner with regional and global stakeholders to continuously improve Salesforce processes, capabilities and reporting, ensuring the platform evolves with business needs and supports effective, data-driven sales management.
Portfolio Growth and Cross Business Selling
- Drive an integrated sales approach across Phoenix Contact Canada’s four core businesses: Automation, Power Reliability, Cabinet Efficiency and Connectivity.
- Develop sales strategies, account plans and coverage models that encourage cross-business collaboration, uncover complementary customer needs and increase the organization’s ability to deliver integrated solutions.
- Reduce organizational and commercial silos that encourage individual product or business-area selling at the expense of broader customer opportunities.
- Build the ability of sales teams to recognize opportunities across the portfolio and engage appropriate product, application engineering, technical and commercial resources to develop customer solutions.
- Establish clear expectations and measures that encourage collaboration across business areas and recognize shared commercial outcomes.
- Align market priorities, customer strategies, technical expertise and sales resources to maximize the value of the company’s full portfolio.
- Identify opportunities to expand existing customer relationships, develop strategic accounts, penetrate underdeveloped markets and increase share of wallet.
- Ensure sales resources and competencies are aligned with priority growth segments and the evolving needs of customers and partners.
Customer, Partner and Market Leadership
- Build and maintain strong executive-level relationships with key customers, strategic accounts, channel partners, distributors, system integrators and other relevant market stakeholders.
- Maintain a deep understanding of customer priorities, buying behaviours, industry developments, routes to market and competitive dynamics.
- Ensure the voice of the customer and partner informs sales strategy, market development and cross-functional business decisions.
- Develop direct sales, channel and partner strategies that strengthen market access, expand coverage, improve customer experience and support profitable growth.
- Establish effective processes for identifying, qualifying and pursuing strategic opportunities, including complex, multi-stakeholder and cross-business opportunities.
- Sponsor critical customer relationships and strategic opportunities where executive engagement can improve competitive positioning, accelerate decisions or unlock growth.
- Monitor market share, customer penetration, competitive activity and emerging opportunities to guide commercial priorities, resource allocation and corrective action.
- Represent Phoenix Contact professionally in key industry forums, customer engagements and partner relationships, strengthening the company’s reputation and market position.
Matrix Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Operate effectively within a complex matrix organization, influencing and aligning stakeholders across Canadian, regional and global functions without relying solely on direct reporting authority.
- Build strong working partnerships with Product Management, Product Marketing, Strategic Marketing, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Human Resources, Core Business Centre and its technical teams and other relevant functions.
- Align sales priorities with market development, go-to-market strategy, product and portfolio direction, customer engagement and business planning.
- Ensure cross-functional teams work toward shared business outcomes, with clear ownership, effective communication and timely decisions.
- Translate customer and market insights into actionable input for product, marketing and business-area strategies.
- Resolve competing priorities and organizational barriers through constructive dialogue, sound judgment and a focus on the overall success of the Canadian business.
- Build alignment between strategic plans and field execution, ensuring sales teams have the tools, expertise, resources and organizational support needed to succeed.
Commercial Execution, Financial Management and Governance
- Own the Canadian sales operating plan, including revenue targets, forecasts, budgets, pipeline expectations, resource allocation and performance reporting within delegated authority.
- Establish and lead a disciplined sales operating cadence encompassing forecasting, pipeline reviews, opportunity management, account planning and business performance reviews.
- Establish Salesforce as the single source of truth for pipeline, opportunity progression, forecasting and sales performance, ensuring management reviews and commercial decisions are grounded in reliable, current and actionable data.
- Hold sales leaders accountable for CRM data integrity, timely updates, forecast quality and follow-through on commercial commitments.
- Improve forecast accuracy and revenue predictability through clear processes, evidence-based assessments, reliable data and consistent management accountability.
- Monitor performance against targets, identify risks and opportunities early, and implement corrective actions to maintain momentum and deliver results.
- Oversee commercial planning, pricing and negotiation strategies in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to support profitable growth and appropriate risk management.
- Use CRM, business intelligence, financial analysis and market data to evaluate sales effectiveness, assess profitability and inform resource and investment decisions.
- Ensure sales activities comply with company policies, delegated authorities, ethical standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
- Communicate business performance, risks, opportunities and resource requirements clearly to the Canadian Executive Team and relevant regional and global stakeholders.
Executive Leadership and Change Management
- Serve as an active member of the Canadian Executive Team, contributing to overall business strategy, organizational effectiveness, leadership decisions and long-term business performance.
- Represent the sales function in executive and cross-functional forums, providing a clear perspective on market conditions, customer needs, commercial performance and growth opportunities.
- Lead organizational and commercial change, establishing a compelling direction, communicating the rationale for change and building commitment to new ways of working.
- Navigate ambiguity, competing priorities and organizational complexity while maintaining focus on business outcomes and team effectiveness.
- Build stakeholder alignment and employee engagement by communicating openly, listening to concerns, addressing resistance and reinforcing accountability for change adoption.
- Demonstrate a forward-looking perspective on market evolution, customer expectations, technology and the capabilities required to sustain competitive advantage.
- Undertake special initiatives and other responsibilities as assigned by the manager, consistent with the scope and seniority of the role.
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
- Typically 10 or more years of progressively responsible sales or commercial experience, including significant leadership responsibility for sales managers, regional leaders or complex sales organizations.
- Demonstrated success developing and executing sales strategies that deliver sustainable revenue growth, profitable market expansion and improved competitive positioning.
- Proven ability to build and lead high-performing teams, set clear expectations, develop leaders, address performance gaps and align talent with business priorities.
- Demonstrated experience leading organizational, commercial or sales transformation, including building new capabilities, changing established behaviours and improving execution discipline.
- Experience developing consultative, solutions-oriented or value-based selling capabilities, with an understanding of how to move beyond individual product sales toward broader customer outcomes.
- Strong commercial and market acumen, including the ability to interpret market trends, customer and partner dynamics, competitor activity, market share and business performance to inform strategic decisions.
- Demonstrated ability to develop actionable business plans, establish priorities, allocate resources and translate strategy into measurable results.
- Proven ability to lead and influence within a matrix organization, align stakeholders across functions and geographies, and achieve outcomes without direct reporting authority.
- Strong customer and partner orientation, with experience building senior-level relationships and developing strategies to expand market presence and customer value.
- Strong financial and business acumen, including sales forecasting, pipeline management, budgeting, resource allocation, profitability and performance analysis.
- Demonstrated ability to lead through change, challenge established practices, communicate a compelling direction and build commitment to new ways of working.
- Strong communication, negotiation, decision-making and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively from frontline sales teams through executive leadership.
- Demonstrated ownership, accountability, sound judgment, resilience and a results-oriented leadership approach.
SUPPORTING QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience in the electrical industry is an asset, particularly within industrial automation, electrical distribution, power reliability, industrial connectivity, cabinet building, industrial markets or related markets.
- Experience leading an industrial sales organization with diverse product portfolios, multiple routes to market, indirect channels and complex customer ecosystems.
- Experience transitioning a sales organization from product- or technology-led selling toward integrated solutions, systems selling and value-based customer engagement.
- Demonstrated success driving CRM adoption and embedding Salesforce or a comparable CRM platform into the daily operating rhythm of a commercial organization, with a strong emphasis on accountability, data integrity, pipeline quality and management visibility.
- Experience using CRM analytics and business intelligence to improve forecast predictability, sales effectiveness, market insight and commercial decision-making.
- Experience leading organizational design, talent planning, leadership development, succession planning and performance improvement initiatives.
- Experience working with regional or global stakeholders in a multinational organization.
ESSENTIAL JOB REQUIREMENTS
- This is a senior leadership position requiring a combination of office-based work, customer engagement, field activity and virtual collaboration, consistent with company policy and business requirements.
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally as business needs require.
- Ability to operate a computer and other standard office equipment for extended periods.
- Ability to communicate effectively in person and through virtual collaboration tools.
- Compliance with company policies, professional conduct standards and applicable safety requirements.
- Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills.
- Must be able to prioritize and effectively manage multiple streams of work from various departments
- Must possess a credit card for expenses (will be reimbursed)
We are offering an attractive remuneration package, including salary, employee benefits and the opportunity to contribute to a fast-paced growing company with dynamic leadership and a history of growth and profitability.
Awarded one of Canada’s Best Workplaces, we recognize people as our most valuable resource. We are an equal opportunity employer.
To apply for this position:
Interested candidate may apply in complete confidence by submitting a resume with a summary of their achievements. This hiring process may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to screen and assess applicants.
Phoenix Contact Ltd welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
We appreciate your interest; however only candidates selected for interviews will be notified.
