Country Director, Japan

Position Summery:

The Country Director, Japan will work through distributor and internal partners to establish and increase therapy adoption and sales across available product portfolios within Japan. This position will lead development of the Japan market by achieving revenue targets, developing and executing marketing and training plans effectively, and by assessing the pricing and reimbursement landscape to devise and implement appropriate strategies and action plans. In addition, the successful candidate should be skilled in effective negotiating by gaining the trust of others quickly, winning concessions without damaging relationships and understanding and working within cultural differences to find common ground.

Who are you? 

• You are looking for a growing international company within the Medical Device industry.
• You work well independently but able to be part of a team.
• You are positive and constructive in life, and you focus on the opportunities that are available. 
• You have a high level of integrity and trust. ‘Growth mindset‘
• You are a creative thinker with exceptional process, analytical and relationship skills
• You strive in building a strong link between the company and awareness of the needs of our customers

What will you be doing?

Distributor Management:

• Responsible for managing all aspects of distributor partnerships in Japan including alignment with strategy, setting of contract terms and incentive programs, and quarterly business reviews
• Ensures appropriate communication with and training of distributor personnel and physician users, including company strategy and standards, compliance expectations, and compliant reporting requirements
• Oversee alignment of distribution marketing investments to the Japan distribution strategy with appropriate long and short-term return on investment
• Ensures all commercial activities adhere to corporate and country-specific compliance requirements.
• Work with distributors and marketing team in establishing new product pricing in hospitals/provinces and effectively winning local and provincial tenders.

Strategic Planning:

• As part of the APGC strategic planning process, collaborates in evaluating and prioritizing market opportunities
• Helps develop and manage Japan sales forecasts and gain alignment and partner with the master distributor to communicate with the sub-distributors
• Provides input on Japan sales and marketing/training expense budget ensuring that expenditures support business objectives and are thoroughly documented to adhere to all compliance requirements

Collaboration with functional partners:

• Collaborates with Global, International, APGC based partners in Marketing, Training and Education, Regulatory and other functional areas to drive both business objectives as well as help establish Japan’s brand within global AtriCure
• Collaborates with Marketing and T&E partners to plan and execute new product launches, marketing and other campaigns with compliant and locally appropriate messaging as well as planning and execution of local, national and international congresses
• Provides country leadership with regulatory and other government bodies as appropriate
• Supports cross-functional project activities with R&D and Regulatory resources to maintain a vital pipeline of product regulatory approvals
• Support efforts to incorporate regional voice of customer in new product planning
• Routinely engages key customers to strengthen corporate relationship and identify needs and opportunities

Society and KOL relationships :

• Partners with distributor in developing multi-level relationships with key KOLs and relevant societies in Japan

A little about yourself:

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degrees such as an MBA or MD preferred
• Minimum of 10 years of business leadership experience in roles of progressive responsibilities in healthcare industry, preferably in Medical Device companies. Minimum of 5 years of people leadership experience is required
• Demonstrated success in growing an international medical device business in the cardiovascular product areas or a related discipline, including direct experience in cardiac ablation surgery products is preferred. Prior experience working with U.S. based companies is strongly preferred
• Must have professional level proficiency in English (speaking, reading, and writing) as it is critical to the role, in addition to native level fluency in Japanese
• Strong financial acumen to understand and develop both capital and operating costs and preliminary business proformas
• Proficient in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and SharePoint and be able to develop comprehensive reports and analyses
• Ability to travel, at a minimum 50%

What We Offer:

With AtriCure, you'll get the opportunity to work with a team that is passionately dedicated to improving the lives of patients with Atrial Fibrillation worldwide. It is also a company that will invest in your professional development to help you grow and be successful in your role.

In addition, AtriCure also provides:

• The chance to work with an international team with more than 20 different nationalities, with 110 international employees which makes it a dynamic place to work.
• The offer includes a competitive base salary, performance-based bonus plan, training and development opportunities, mental health support benefit, transportation/car allowance and dynamic company events.

Our Process:

• Please apply through LinkedIn or on our website. We would like to get to know you better so please feel free to share ample information about yourself and why you are interested in working with us.
• Once we have your application, our International Recruiter will contact you to find out more about your background and your expectations.
• The next steps include a meeting with the hiring manager to focus on key information about the role and to potential fit into the team. If this round is successful, you will get to meet a few of our team members to give you diverse perspectives about AtriCure.
• After all the interviews, we conduct reference checks to help us make the final decision.