Technical Service Manager – Nordics, France

Role Overview

• Provide high-level technical expertise to support sustainable business growth.
• Act as an expert partner for customers, sales and internal stakeholders, leading product-related projects, technical training and benchmarking activities across regional (France/Nordics), EMEA and global (matrix) scopes.
• Responsible for extra support to the local technical teams and/or Key accounts.
• Manages the testing of new products and leads key projects (product introductions and product development).
• Provides professional delivery of expert technical support and high expert level of training to technical field force and customers with the scope to support and maintain a growing sustainable business.
• Management of product benchmark testing.
• Create and standardize test protocols.
• Define product performance gaps in worldwide product portfolio.
• Management of training modules.
• Analyze regional training needs.
• Manage the creation and usage of training modules as the learning management system.
• Manage the local customer base and the daily B2B demands and projects.
• Support sales in key phases of the sales process with expert technical input; align activities via CRM and reporting tools.
• Collect customer feedback and market intelligence; provide progress reports and recommendations on market approach.
• Gives recommendations to the upper management regarding the use (including, training types and participants) of the relevant training center.
• Monitor relevant legislative changes and inform sales/technical teams accordingly.
• Advises marketing and R&D on benchmarked products to give guidelines for future developments across EMEA.
• Maintain and continuously improve technical equipment availability, safety and performance; keep contact with equipment/system suppliers.
• Act as a role model for company values and HS&E standards; actively contribute to safety improvements.
• Coach/mentor new technical representatives and support the technical service coordination.

Requirements

• Strong technical service background in a B2B industrial environment; experience supporting key accounts and complex customer processes.
• Proven capability to lead product testing, benchmarking and project work (product launch and development support).
• Strong training and coaching skills; able to create and deliver professional technical trainings to internal teams and customers.
• Analytical and structured: able to perform trend analysis (complaints, efficiency, safety, equipment and process data) and translate results into actions.
• Customer-oriented and collaborative; effective interface between Technical Service, Sales, Marketing and R&D.
• Confident communication and documentation skills; disciplined use of CRM/reporting tools.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken) is required.
• Willingness to travel within the region and occasionally internationally (EMEA/global scope).

Benefits

• You will join a market‑leading organization where sustainability (water‑based paints) and high‑quality standards are not just empty slogans.
• You can genuinely be proud of the products we deliver to the DIY and professional paint markets (Levis, Trimetal, Sikkens, Herbol, …).
• At AkzoNobel we are highly committed to ensuring an inclusive and respectful workplace where all employees can be their best self.
• We strive to embrace diversity in a context of tolerance.
• Our talent acquisition process plays an integral part in this journey, as setting the foundations for a diverse environment.
• For this reason we train and educate on the implications of our Unconscious Bias in order for our TA and hiring managers to be mindful of them and take corrective actions when applicable.
• In our organization, all qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age or disability.