Avantor is a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technologies industries. Our team partners with customers to drive innovation, enhance efficiency, and deliver measurable outcomes across their organizations.
The OpportunityThe Strategic Partner Director is a senior, customer-facing leader responsible for driving enterprise-level engagement and maximizing Avantor’s performance across assigned global strategic accounts.
Location: Germany, Austria, Switzerland or Netherlands
Category: Sales / Commercial
Travel: ~25%
Education: Bachelor’s degree required
Experience: 7–10 years of relevant commercial experience within life sciences or a related industry, including demonstrated success managing global strategic accounts in complex, matrixed organizations
Expertise: Strong commercial and financial acumen, including pricing strategy, margin management, contract performance, and enterprise account planning
Skills: Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, ability to lead through influence across global teams, strong analytical capabilities, and experience leveraging data and insights to drive strategic decisions
Languages: Proficiency in English required; additional European languages are an advantage
How you will thrive and create an impact:Enterprise Account Leadership: Own the global customer relationship across regions, acting as the single point of accountability and building strong executive partnerships.
Commercial Performance & Growth: Drive revenue, margin, and share-of-wallet growth by identifying opportunities and leading strategic account plans.
Governance & Contract Accountability: Oversee end-to-end contract performance, ensuring compliance with terms and pricing.
Customer Improvement Plan (CIP): Develop and execute a multi-year plan with clear priorities, ownership, timelines, and measurable outcomes.
Field Engagement: Maintain strong customer presence through site visits and QBRs, building trust with key stakeholders (≈25% travel).
Cross-Functional Leadership: Lead global account teams, align strategy with execution, and drive collaboration across stakeholders.
Supplier & Partner Integration: Partner with suppliers to enhance customer value through aligned capabilities, innovation, and supply continuity.
Operational Execution: Deliver commitments with discipline, ensuring timely communication, preparation, and issue escalation.
Continuous Improvement & Innovation: Drive ongoing improvements and digital initiatives that deliver measurable business and customer value.
- A collaborative, global environment
- Opportunities to work with leading life sciences customers
- Career growth in a high-impact strategic role
- Competitive compensation and benefits
Why Avantor?
Dare to go further in your career. Join our global team of 14,000+ associates whose passion for discovery and determination to overcome challenges relentlessly advances life-changing science.
The work we do changes people's lives for the better. It brings new patient treatments and therapies to market, giving a cancer survivor the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle. It enables medical devices that help a little boy hear his mom's voice for the first time. Outcomes such as these create unlimited opportunities for you to contribute your talents, learn new skills and grow your career at Avantor.
We are committed to helping you on this journey through our diverse, equitable and inclusive culture which includes learning experiences to support your career growth and success. At Avantor, dare to go further and see how the impact of your contributions set science in motion to create a better world. Apply today!
Disclaimer:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this position. Avantor is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
Why Avantor?
Dare to go further in your career. Join our global team of 14,000+ associates whose passion for discovery and determination to overcome challenges relentlessly advances life-changing science.
The work we do changes people's lives for the better. It brings new patient treatments and therapies to market, giving a cancer survivor the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle. It enables medical devices that help a little boy hear his mom's voice for the first time. Outcomes such as these create unlimited opportunities for you to contribute your talents, learn new skills and grow your career at Avantor.
We are committed to helping you on this journey through our diverse, equitable and inclusive culture which includes learning experiences to support your career growth and success. At Avantor, dare to go further and see how the impact of your contributions set science in motion to create a better world. Apply today!
EEO Statement:
We are an Equal Employment/Affirmative Action employer and VEVRAA Federal Contractor. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/province, or local law.
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.
Privacy Policy:
We will use the personal information that you have submitted to us in order to consider your application for the relevant role.
Your privacy is important to us. Please click here for our Privacy Policy which explains the purposes for which we will use your personal information and the ways in which we will handle and retain your information. It also explains the rights you have in relation to your information, and how to contact us with any queries or requests.
3rd Party Non-Solicitation Policy:
By submitting candidates without having been formally assigned on and contracted for a specific job requisition by Avantor, or by failing to comply with the Avantor recruitment process, you forfeit any fee on the submitted candidates, regardless of your usual terms and conditions. Avantor works with a preferred supplier list and will take the initiative to engage with recruitment agencies based on its needs and will not be accepting any form of solicitation.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- 7-10 years relevant commercial experience in life sciences or related industry
- Proven success managing global strategic accounts in complex, matrixed organizations
- Strong commercial and financial acumen (pricing strategy, margin management, contract performance, enterprise account planning)
- Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing skills; ability to lead through influence across global teams
- Strong analytical capabilities and experience leveraging data and insights to drive strategic decisions
- Proficiency in English
- Additional European languages
- Willingness to travel approximately 25% for site visits and QBRs
Avantor Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Avantor and has not been reviewed or approved by Avantor.
-
Healthcare Strength — Core medical coverage, wellness resources, and an Employee Assistance Program are characterized as solid, with insurance often seen as competitive. Day-one eligibility in some roles and localized wellness programs for associates and families reinforce perceived healthcare value.
-
Retirement Support — The 401(k) program provides a company match with immediate vesting and a range of investment options, standing out as a strong savings feature. An employee stock purchase plan and profit-sharing elements further bolster long-term financial benefits.
-
Parental & Family Support — Enhanced family-building benefits include paid parental leave, fertility/IVF support, and expanded gender-affirming coverage. These inclusive policies provide meaningful support for caregivers and families.
Avantor Insights
What We Do
Avantor®, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. Our portfolio is used in virtually every stage of the most important research, development and production activities in the industries we serve. Our global footprint enables us to serve more than 225,000 customer locations and gives us extensive access to research laboratories and scientists in more than 180 countries. We set science in motion to create a better world. More than 13,500 strong, our associates are passionate about our mission to set science in motion to create a better world. We share enthusiasm for innovation, excellence, and achievement. Whether we are collaborating with our customers to advance science or solve multifaceted problems, we help them reach their goals more efficiently and effectively. Visit our website to learn more about Avantor. From FORTUNE. © 2021 FORTUNE Media IP Limited All rights reserved. Used under license. FORTUNE is a registered trademark of FORTUNE Media IP Limited and is used under license. FORTUNE and FORTUNE Media IP Limited are not affiliated with and do not endorse products or services of, Avantor.
