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About the Company

Our client is a profitable, publicly traded Canadian software company which provides powerful business solutions to enterprise clients around the world. The company’s mission is to deliver the highest value to its clients, with unparalleled industry solutions that are based on their advanced proven technologies and feature-rich enterprise suite of applications, professionally delivered with the breadth and depth of expertise harnessed by their employees. The firm’s commitment to the well-being of its employees, customer satisfaction and trust-based relationships is steadfast and unwavering. The combination promises to maintain our client as the undisputed leader in its field.

The firm’s solutions can be deployed as an integrated suite or as stand-alone best-of-breed components. The company’s customers feature hundreds of mid-size and Fortune 1000 corporations across a range of vertical markets.

While the firm’s tremendous growth has been largely organic, it has also completed several key acquisitions which have added to their portfolio of capabilities. Managing and leveraging these technologies across various markets continues to present significant opportunities for the firm. The marketing aspects of this collective task will be the responsibility of the Vice-President Marketing.

This is an outstanding opportunity that features:

• Strong industry and company growth
• Well established, committed Canadian leadership
• An opportunity to make a real difference
• Diverse inclusive work-life balance and a healthy work environment

Position Scope

Due to the impending retirement of a key executive team member, our client is currently seeking a VP of Marketing. Reporting to the CEO, the VP of Marketing will be responsible for planning and executing high-impact, strategic marketing programs to promote the firm’s unmatched software solutions.  The position will also manage the execution of digital marketing campaigns and lead/demand generation strategy, to support new demand and pipeline conversion.

Finally, the VP Marketing leads the product marketing team and assumes responsibility for the strategic direction of the company’s product portfolio and their market success. As a result, the VP Marketing is a key contributor to achieving our client’s near-term and long-term objectives. The VP Marketing works closely with other members of the executive team to deliver product solutions that will be highly successful in the marketplace.

Functional Tasks

• Evaluate, develop, direct and execute effective marketing plans and strategies consistent with the company’s overall strategic objectives.
• Provide ongoing direction, performance management and developmental support of the marketing team in all functional areas. Focus the marketing team to drive the business to increased revenue generation, growth, sector leadership, and ultimately profitability;
• Develop and execute a strategic marketing plan that results in substantial revenue growth for the organization, and continues to build equity in the company’s brand
• Partner with Sales to drive effective prospecting through vertical and role specific sales enablement campaigns
• Implement and execute a robust demand generation and lead nurturing engine, resulting in qualified leads and opportunities that translate to top-line revenue growth
• Own and maintain the annual marketing plan and budget
• Remain abreast of competitive offerings, best practices, pricing and distribution strategies. Make recommendations to ensure positioning of existing technologies is optimized.
• Lead the product vision and strategy development process
• Performing market research, market validation and whitespace analysis to identify new opportunities for existing and new products
• Foster close relationships with all key market constituents (customers, non-customers, analyst and competitors) to validate product strategy
• Oversee/complete competitive analysis against key criteria. Identify, analyze and distill customer requirements into a prioritized set suitable to achieve the business goals of the company.
• Maintain close oversight of market analyses to develop and provide market requirements in response to customer needs, and market opportunities
• Understand the thorough business case for proposed products and initiatives, including cost/benefit estimates, market trends, competitive analysis, risk analysis, industry best practices and product development timelines. Establish selection criteria for product opportunities.
• Collaborate with the VP R&D and Engineering teams to ensure consistent execution of product plans that result in product delivery on time, on budget
• Provide ongoing direction, performance management and developmental support of the product marketing team. Focus the team to drive the business to increased revenue generation, growth, sector leadership, and ultimately profitability;
• Ensure that company is represented at relevant external activities such as industry trade shows, customer meetings/presentations and standard body conferences.
• Proactive member of the senior management team involved with M&A analysis and activities.

Key Performance Deliverables

In light of the identified responsibilities, the following are deliverables that the position is designed to achieve.

• Specific performance measures will be agreed upon with the successful candidate. Corporate measures include bookings, revenues and profitability.

Competency Profile

Results Orientation
Focuses strongly on achieving agreed upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met. Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure. Aims to improve upon past performance. Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them.

Strategic Approach
Develops a strategic plan to realize the vision. Revises strategy in light of changing circumstances. Takes a long-term view of organizational success. Works to clarify long term organizational goals. Able to stand back from immediate problems in order to focus on more far reaching ideas.

People Management
Establishes and communicates clear priorities and sense of direction. Clarifies roles and responsibilities. Adapts management style to achieve optimum results.

Planning & Objective Setting
Systematic in approach to work. Produces action plans in which objectives are defined and steps for achieving them are clearly specified. Plans by breaking down large task into subtasks. Develops plans that anticipate obstacles. Is realistic about time-scales and builds in appropriate checkpoints, milestones and controls in order to ensure that desired results are realized.

Communication
Expresses ideas in a clear, fluent and concise manner. Written and oral arguments are compelling and responsive to the needs of the audience. Comprehends communications from others and responds appropriately.

Customer/Client Orientation
Strives to provide customers/clients with personalized and efficient service. Anticipates customers’/clients’ needs. Quickly follows up on customer/client contacts and complaints. Monitors and acts on measures of customer/client satisfaction.

Team Skills
Helps to create a sense of team spirit and harmonious relations through cooperation and support. Balances personal goals with those of the team. Fosters collaboration among team members.

Initiative
Proactive. Seizes opportunities and acts upon them immediately. Takes responsibility for own actions and addresses problems before asked.

Innovation
Generates new ideas. Challenges existing assumptions. Goes beyond the status quo. Recognizes the need for new or modified approaches. Brings various perspectives and approaches together, combining them in a creative fashion to implement effective improvements.

Preferred Experience / Education

The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables.

• Proven experience developing lead / demand generation program & strategies for a B2B software or software-related company
• Several examples of having successfully lead and carried out the Go-to-Market Software Product Launches
• At least 5 years’ experience managing the strategic development and execution of marketing activities in a software environment
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related field required; MBA, preferred
• Knowledgeable with ‘on-premise’ and cloud-based software solutions
• Solid experience with lead generation and digital marketing campaigns
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills; able to work with all levels of internal staff, clients and prospective clients
• Exhibit strong project management, planning and budgeting skills
• Certified in Pragmatic Marketing PM methodology is an asset
• Excellent in written and verbal communication skills; strong presentation skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Project)
• Familiar with CRM systems
• Highly detail-oriented
• Able to work on multiple projects and deliverables simultaneously
• Capable of handling confidential client and company information
• A self-starter with ability to work with minimal supervision
• Possess a strong sense of urgency and ownership over projects and deliverables
• Able to plan and execute the product strategy
• Have proven business and market planning skills
• Established a record of driving market adoption

Remuneration & Benefits

Highly competitive compensation package structured to the needs of the successful candidate.