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Benchling is an AI platform for biotech R&D used by over 200,000 scientists globally, including more than half of the world's top 50 biopharma companies. The company is rebuilding biotech for the AI era by enabling scientists to design experiments, capture structured data, and run AI agents directly in their workflows.
As Head of Professional Services, EMEA, you will lead the growth and excellence of the professional services organization across Europe. This is a strategic leadership role combining hands-on execution with oversight of successful Benchling deployments, customer satisfaction, and value realization.
Key responsibilities include:
**Delivery Leadership**: Own end-to-end delivery quality, timelines, and performance across EMEA professional services engagements. Partner globally to set and enforce delivery standards for complex, validated, and regulated environments. Serve as escalation point for at-risk engagements, working cross-functionally with Customer Success and Support.
**Team & Organization Building**: Lead, grow, and retain a distributed team across Europe with focus in Zurich and London/Cambridge. Ensure team structure and incentive models balance utilization targets with long-term relationship investments. Build a strong bench through hiring, onboarding, and career pathing for implementation consultants and specialists. Develop managers to excellence.
**Partner & Ecosystem Management**: Manage relationships with systems integrator and delivery partners supporting EMEA capacity, including performance oversight and quality accountability. Determine where partner delivery capacity should be used versus built in-house, and manage transition points.
**Commercial Ownership**: Own SOW scoping, staffing forecasts, and financial performance for the EMEA PS book of business. Partner with Sales on deal structuring for new implementations, expansions, and renewals with services components. Provide accurate capacity and revenue forecasting to leadership.
**Customer & Executive Engagement**: Represent Professional Services in executive business reviews with enterprise pharma and biotech clients. Build trusted relationships with technical and scientific stakeholders. Champion adoption of AI delivery practices within the PS team and with customers.
The role requires hybrid work with expectations to be on-site 3 days per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday).
**Requirements:**
- 8+ years in professional services, implementation, or delivery leadership roles within enterprise software; life sciences, pharma, biotech, or scientific software strongly preferred
- Ability to develop fluency with biotech R&D processes and scientific concepts; must confidently interface and build trust with VP and C-Level Scientific & Research IT leaders in top biotech and pharma companies
- Background developing teams with proven technical, business/scientific, and consulting skills for delivery success
- Proven experience leading distributed teams across multiple European countries, including navigating differing labor environments and travel/delivery cadences
- Experience leading and developing managers who own delivery quality and execution as a second-line leader
- Direct experience managing delivery through third-party systems integrator partners, including holding partners accountable for quality
- Strong commercial acumen: comfort owning SOW economics, margin, and forecasting
- Executive presence with technical and scientific buyers; ability to run high-stakes EBRs and escalations
- Fluency in English required; additional European languages (German, French) a strong plus given DACH and French-speaking customer base
- Genuine enthusiasm for AI-enabled delivery models
