Technical Support Specialist MEEA (m/f/d)

PROFILE:

The Technical Support Specialist is responsible for providing best-in-class technical support to current and prospective customers on the appropriate use of Hygiena’s diagnostics product lines, helping the commercial team meet and exceed revenue goals in the assigned territory while driving customer satisfaction and retention. The position is responsible for the training of internal teams, channel partners and end users and supports the commercial team in securing new and existing business through technical presentations, equipment installations, preventative maintenance, trials, application laboratory evaluations, product troubleshooting and any other technical support activities as required.

Location: Remote based within the assigned MEEA region, with regular travel (approx. 60% of working time)

KEY ACCOUTNABILITIES AND OBJECTIVES:

• Plans and prioritizes territory activity (installations, training, preventive maintenance, trials and customer visits) to maintain and grow a satisfied customer base, while managing travel and expenses within the agreed budget
• Pulls and analyzes data to support efforts to overcome technical obstacles, secure new business and monitor competitors and market trends
• Works in partnership with sales to develop and execute the annual territory growth plan that includes new product launches, existing customer support, new installations, new applications, upgrades, etc. of the diagnostics products
• Visits customers and prospective customers during pre-defined steps of customer lifecycle (qualification, trials, post sales, etc.)
• Performs installations, commissioning, user training and preventive maintenance according to defined schedules and documented procedures, completing a service report for every visit
• Accountable for the product knowledge of the sales team and distributors in the territory, delivering training in close collaboration with Product Management and Technical Service
• Monitors appropriate food and beverage market segments and competitive offerings and logs insights in CRM for Marketing to inform tactics and go-to-market strategy
• Proactively identifies and logs new business opportunities from customer visits in CRM, assigning each to the relevant Territory Sales Manager
• Actively participates in relevant industry associations and events as a speaker, convener, panelist, poster author, technical working group member, professional development group, etc.
• Works closely with sales, marketing, technical service, applications team and R&D to overcome customer technical obstacles in order to maintain and gain new business
• Provides guidance, coaching and training to colleagues where needed. Identifies training needs in partnership with applicable manager/supervisor
• Acts as the link between customers and the service/maintenance team to improve responsiveness
• Works closely with our Applications Lab team on customer matrix validations to improve speed and success rates, supporting new business acquisition and customer retention
• Builds relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs), such as reference laboratories and national validation committees, to increase Hygiena's recognition and influence
• Participates in Voice of Customer (VOC) / Voice of Market (VOM) activities with Marketing in local territory to support product development
• Supports ISO and other method validations through collaborative studies, as requested
• Works daily with the Technical Service (BASU) team on case handover and escalation, taking ownership of issues that require an on-site visit
• Promotes service contracts (SLAs) and preventive maintenance agreements to increase service revenue and customer satisfaction
• Develops and maintains expertise across Hygiena's instrument and consumable full portfolio and supports cross-training so that colleagues and territories can be covered when needed
• Participates in local and EMEA sales meetings as required
• Records all activities, visits, installations and service reports in CRM (Microsoft Dynamics 365) accurately and on time, and reviews activity with the manager in a weekly 1:1
• Accountable for agreed annual KPIs (e.g. installations completed, PM schedule adherence, first-time fix rate, customer satisfaction, training delivered, CRM data quality)
• Ensures compliance with and/or follows all organizational systems, programs, training, policies, and procedures as required and complies with relevant legal mandates
• Actively supports and participates in the safety program, both for self-protection and the protection of other employees, by following all company Health & Safety policies and applicable local regulations, including the safe handling of instruments and reagents.
• Performs other reasonable duties, consistent with the scope and level of the role, as required by business needs

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Ability to use discretion and independent judgement
• Team player mindset
• Pays close attention to details
• Customer Champion mentality
• Comfortable operating in a dynamic, fast-paced, and demanding environment
• A can-do attitude and the ability to execute with excellence and speed
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to connect quickly and build solid relationships at all levels
• Energetic, proactive and thorough
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Self-motivated and well organized, able to plan and work independently in a remote, field-based role

COMPETENCIES:

• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Life Sciences (Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Food Microbiology), or related field
• Minimum of 2 years' experience in field technical support, application support or technical sales, ideally in one or more of the following:
• Food & beverage safety / quality market
• Healthcare / IVD or life science laboratory market
• Installation and servicing of laboratory or analytical instrumentation
• Ability to communicate clearly and persuasively in writing, by phone and in person, with both technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability and aptitude to work with and maintain precision scientific instrumentation
• Ability to conduct detailed data analysis and troubleshooting across product platforms
• Effective cross functional collaboration
• Data-driven, with good numeracy skills
• IT literate – Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams and CRM systems (ideally Microsoft Dynamics 365)
• Ability to synthesize large amounts of data into key points in a clear concise presentation
• Fluent in English and local language of the assigned territory, both written and spoken
• Additional EMEA languages an advantage
• Full, valid driving licence and willingness to travel extensively, including overnight stays

COMPENSATION:

Salary: Competitive, based on experience and local market benchmarks for comparable roles

Bonus: The role includes a discretionary annual bonus of up to 10% of total package, linked to performance against agreed KPIs.

Benefits to include :

• Car allowance
• Laptop
• Annual salary review, subject to performance and inflationary factors (discretionary)