Founded in 1904, ESAB Corporation is a premier narrowly diversified global leader in connected fabrication technology and gas control solutions. Our rich history of innovative products, workflow solutions, and business system, ESAB Business Excellence, enables our purpose of Shaping the World We Imagine™. We’re looking to hire a talented Commercial Advanced Technology Solutions Manager, Canada.
The Commercial Advanced Technology Solutions Manager, Canada is a first-level managerial position responsible for leading the strategic development of the client relationship function and driving profitable growth, market expansion, and customer engagement for the Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) portfolio across Canada. This position provides both commercial management and technical leadership, directing a team of Relationship Managers to ensure customer satisfaction, contractual delivery, and long-term business success. The Commercial ATS Manager Canada reports to the VP ATS NAM.
Role Overview & Managerial Scope
- Management Level: First level of managerial position (People Manager) overseeing regional commercial strategy and operational execution.
- Team Management: Typically manages a department of Professional track employees (Relationship Managers / Commercial Account Specialists) and may oversee support track direct or indirect reports.
- Autonomy & Resource Governance: Receives assignments in the form of strategic objectives and autonomously determines how to allocate resources, manage operating budgets, and structure workflows to achieve schedules and commercial targets.
- Analytical Scope: Works on issues of diverse and complex scope where analysis of situations and operational data requires evaluation of multifaceted technical, financial, and contractual factors.
- Key Target Industries: Agricultural equipment, construction equipment, automotive, metal fabrication, heavy manufacturing, and cladding.
Primary Responsibilities
Team Leadership & People Management
- Selects, develops, and evaluates personnel to ensure the efficient and high-performing operation of the client relationship function.
- Manages a department of Professional track Relationship Managers and provides leadership for support track staff.
- Establishes individual and team performance goals, conducts regular evaluations, and delivers continuous mentoring and technical leadership.
- Determines resource allocation, account assignments, and workload distribution to achieve project schedules, budgets, and regional goals.
- Fosters technical competence and consultative sales excellence across automation, robotics, and digital manufacturing solutions.
Strategic Client Relationship Management
- Leads the strategic development of the client relationship function, addressing evolving business requirements, market dynamics, and customer goals.
- Through a staff of Relationship Managers, ensures that the customer is highly satisfied with company projects, automation systems, and lifecycle services.
- Develops strong executive-level relationships with key client decision-makers, OEMs, and strategic partners across Canada.
- Establishes long-term account strategies focused on customer retention, expansion, and multi-year technology roadmaps.
- Leads executive-level commercial discussions regarding solution value, return on investment (ROI), productivity gains, and business outcomes.
- Conducts regular executive business reviews (EBRs) with strategic customers to reinforce partnerships and uncover future opportunities.
Business Development & Opportunity Cultivation
- Develops and executes commercial growth strategies for the ATS portfolio throughout Canada.
- Works directly with clients to cultivate future projects and qualify new automation and digital transformation opportunities.
- Builds and maintains a robust pipeline of automation, robotics, and digital manufacturing opportunities.
- Drives market penetration and expansion through direct engagement with end users, distributors, channel partners, and system integrators.
- Identifies emerging market trends, competitive developments, and growth opportunities to support strategic business planning.
Solution Sales & Contractual Execution
- Oversees commercial qualification and opportunity development activities led by the Relationship Management team.
- Collaborates closely with the Technical ATS Manager to align customer operational challenges with advanced technical solutions.
- Coordinates proposal development, value proposition creation, pricing strategies, and complex commercial negotiations.
- Ensures that delivery schedules and budgets are met according to contractual agreements and customer commitments.
- Manages opportunities through CRM processes and maintains accurate sales forecasting, pipeline visibility, and revenue projections.
- Drives achievement of regional booking, revenue, and gross margin targets.
Cross-Functional Leadership & Operational Governance
- Provides both commercial management and technical leadership across the regional organization.
- Consults with other team members (Project Management, Field Services, Support, and Customer Care) to ensure mutual objectives and project deliverables are met.
- Partners with the Technical ATS Manager to ensure a seamless end-to-end customer experience from pre-sales through commissioning and lifecycle support.
- Works on complex issues of diverse scope, evaluating technical feasibility, commercial risk, contractual terms, and operational resource requirements.
- Acts as the voice of the Canadian customer, collaborating with Product Management, Engineering, and Finance to prioritize strategic initiatives and resolve escalations.
Channel & Partner Development
- Develops and manages relationships with distributors, system integrators, technology partners, and strategic alliances across Canada.
- Identifies and onboards new partner organizations capable of accelerating ATS growth initiatives.
- Establishes joint business plans with key partners to drive co-selling, pipeline generation, and project execution.
- Supports partner training, sales enablement, and alignment with company commercial standards.
- Monitors partner performance and identifies opportunities for continuous commercial improvement.
Forecasting, Budgeting & Performance Management
- Receives assignments in the form of objectives and determines how to deploy resources and manage operating budgets to meet schedules and targets.
- Maintains accurate opportunity tracking, forecasting, and pipeline governance within CRM platforms.
- Analyzes business performance metrics and market trends to identify growth opportunities, capacity constraints, and corrective actions.
- Develops annual sales forecasts, territory growth plans, and departmental operating budgets.
- Monitors achievement of bookings, revenue, margin, and strategic growth milestones, providing regular updates to regional executive leadership.
Qualifications
Education & Leadership Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Industrial Technology, Manufacturing, Marketing, or a related field.
- Demonstrated first-level managerial experience or proven track record of supervising, mentoring, developing, and evaluating professional-track personnel.
Industry & Commercial Experience
- Minimum of 5–7+ years of progressive experience in industrial automation, robotics, manufacturing technology, capital equipment, or related technical sales.
- Proven track record of developing and closing complex capital equipment, automation, or technology-based solutions.
- Experience managing budgets, operational resources, delivery schedules, and contractual agreements.
- Experience collaborating with OEMs, manufacturing end users, system integrators, distributors, and channel partners.
Technical & Analytical Acumen
- Strong understanding of industrial automation, robotics, digital manufacturing, PLC/controls systems, and Industry 4.0 technologies.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate diverse factors in complex technical, operational, and commercial situations.
- Demonstrated ability to manage long sales cycles, complex commercial negotiations, and multi-functional team objectives.
- Strong financial and business acumen, including ROI analysis, budget management, and value-based selling.
Systems, Communication & Language Skills
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Dynamics CRM / Salesforce, Power BI, and sales management tools.
- Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and cross-functional leadership skills.
- English language proficiency required; French bilingualism is a strong asset for the Canadian market.
Key Competencies
Managerial & Leadership Competencies
- People Leadership & Talent Development
- Resource Allocation & Schedule Management
- Contractual & Budget Governance
- Cross-Functional Team Collaboration
Commercial & Strategic Competencies
- Strategic Account & Client Relationship Management
- Business Development & Strategic Selling
- Opportunity Management & Value-Based Selling
- Channel & Partner Development
- Negotiation & Executive Influencing
Technical & Analytical Competencies
- Commercial & Technical Leadership
- Complex Analytical Problem Solving
- Forecasting & Pipeline Management
Working Conditions
Work Environment & Travel
- Combination of office, customer-site environments, manufacturing facilities, and home office.
- Frequent customer and partner visits throughout Canada.
- Domestic travel throughout Canada approximately 50%–65%.
- Occasional international travel within North America for customer meetings, partner development, training, and regional business initiatives.
Technology & Safety Requirements
- Frequent use of CRM, business analytics, collaboration, and reporting tools.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required when visiting manufacturing plants and client facilities.
