DigitalTolk
Commercial Director Switzerland
DigitalTolkSwitzerland11 hours ago
Full-timeRemote FriendlyBusiness Development, Sales
Lead the Swiss Commercial Organization for Europe's Most Innovative LSP

24translate Switzerland (part of DigitalTolk Group) is seeking a Commercial Director to lead our Swiss market strategy and drive the next phase of growth. We're building the DACH region's most advanced language services platform, combining 25 years of translation heritage with Nordic digital innovation and market-leading AI.

Your Mission

Own P&L responsibility for the Swiss commercial function. Drive growth through both new client acquisition and expansion of our blue-chip existing customer base. Build and lead a high-performing commercial team. Shape our go-to-market strategy for translation, AI-enhanced services, and premium legal translation.

What You'll Do

Strategic Leadership

  • Develop and execute Swiss market strategy aligned with DACH and Group objectives
  • Own revenue targets: CHF 8M+ in 2026, growing to CHF 15M+ by 2028
  • Identify white-space opportunities across translation, interpretation, and AI services
  • Drive public sector penetration strategy (federal, cantonal, communal)
  • Lead major account planning for top 20 strategic customers

Commercial Execution

  • New Business: Personally close 5-10 strategic accounts annually (CHF 100k-500k ACV)
  • Account Growth: Drive 105%+ net revenue retention through cross-sell and upsell
  • Tender Leadership: Own large public and private sector RFP responses
  • Portfolio Management: Maximize revenue across translation, AI translation, legal translation (Hieronymus), and interpretation
  • Pricing & Packaging: Optimize commercial models and margin improvement initiatives

Team & Organization

  • Build and lead Swiss commercial team (currently 3 KAMs, growing to 5-8 people)
  • Recruit, onboard, and develop Business Development and Key Account professionals
  • Implement sales methodology, processes, and performance management
  • Coach team on consultative selling, solution design, and deal negotiation
  • Foster "hunter" culture while maintaining exceptional customer service

Cross-Functional Leadership

  • Partner with DACH Operations to ensure delivery excellence
  • Collaborate with Product/Tech on customer feedback and feature prioritization
  • Work with Marketing on positioning, content, and demand generation
  • Support M&A integration: onboard acquired customers and commercial teams

Executive Contribution

  • Part of DACH leadership team reporting to Group CRO
  • Contribute to Group commercial strategy and best practice sharing
  • Represent Switzerland in executive planning and forecasting
  • Potential path to DACH Regional Commercial Director role

What Success Looks Like (Year 1)

  • Win CHF 1M+ in new business ACV
  • Grow existing customer base to 105%+ NRR
  • Successfully enter 2-3 new strategic accounts (CHF 200k+ ACV potential)
  • Build pipeline of CHF 4M+ qualified opportunities
  • If revenue performance according to plan: Recruit and onboard 1-2 high-performing commercial team members
  • Win 1+ major public sector tender

Your Profile

Must Have:

  • 8-12+ years progressive commercial experience in B2B solution selling
  • 3-5+ years in commercial leadership role (managing teams and P&L)
  • Proven track record: CHF 5M-15M revenue responsibility with consistent overachievement
  • Deep expertise in Swiss market: corporate culture, public procurement, regulatory environment
  • Native or fluent German + business-level English + conversational French
  • Existing C-level network in target segments (finance, legal, pharma, public sector)
  • Experience in LSP, SaaS, professional services, or technology-enabled services
  • Track record building and scaling commercial teams

Nice to Have:

  • Experience in fast-growing scale-up or M&A integration environment
  • Background in language services, translation, localization, or interpretation
  • Public sector sales expertise (Schweizer Bundesverwaltung, cantons, municipalities)
  • Familiarity with AI/ML applications and digital transformation
  • MBA or equivalent business qualification
  • Board or advisory experience

What Makes You Successful Here

Strategic Leader

  • You think like a GM: balance growth, margin, customer satisfaction, and team development
  • You see around corners: anticipate market shifts and position proactively
  • You're data-driven: leverage analytics to inform strategy and optimize performance

Commercial Excellence

  • You're a player-coach: comfortable closing major deals while developing your team
  • You build trust at C-level: respected advisor, not just vendor
  • You drive rigor: forecasting accuracy, pipeline hygiene, disciplined processes

Cultural Fit

  • Entrepreneurial: You thrive in ambiguity and build structure where needed
  • Collaborative: You lead through influence across matrixed organization
  • Nordic-Swiss Bridge: You blend Swiss precision with Nordic innovation and agility
  • Growth Mindset: You embrace feedback, learn fast, and develop others

Execution Focused

  • You deliver results: consistent track record of hitting/exceeding targets
  • You move fast: bias for action, comfortable with "good enough to start"
  • You're resilient: navigate setbacks, maintain team morale, and find creative solutions

Why This Role Is Exceptional

Rare Opportunity

  • Shape Swiss strategy for a category-defining platform at inflection point
  • Part of 3-5 year exit journey with clear value creation path
  • Build something meaningful: your commercial organization from 3 to 15+ people
  • Potential to grow into DACH Regional Commercial Director (CHF 40M+ P&L)

Technology & Product Edge

  • 50+ developers (vs. 3-4 at typical LSPs) building proprietary platform
  • PretPal AI Interpreter: Market-leading human-in-the-loop AI (proven in Sweden)
  • Hybrid Translation: Advanced human-AI workflows with 50% automation
  • Premium Positioning: Hieronymus legal translation for high-value segments
  • ISO 27001 certified: win security-conscious enterprise and public sector

Platform & Resources

  • Active M&A: 1 acquisition/month, you'll help integrate and extract synergies
  • Strong balance sheet: no debt, profitable, can invest in growth
  • Nordic innovation culture: flat hierarchy, data-driven, high trust
  • DACH hub strategy: Switzerland/Germany as foundation for broader European expansion

Work Environment

  • Flexible hybrid model with leadership presence
  • Collaborative Nordic-Swiss culture: results over politics
  • Premium workspace in Zürich or St. Gallen with team space
  • Direct line to Group CRO and executive team
  • Cross-functional projects: M&A, product strategy, Group commercial initiatives

About DigitalTolk & 24translate

DigitalTolk is the market leader in digital interpretation services in Sweden, serving Region Skåne, Swedish Police, and major public sector organizations. Backed by 50+ developers and proprietary platform, we've achieved 2,845% growth over 4 years.

24translate, founded 1999 in Hamburg, is Germany's first online translation agency. Award-winning technology platform serving UBS, Raiffeisen, Helvetia, and 1,000+ corporate clients across DACH. Over 1 billion words translated.

Hieronymus (Zürich) provides premium lawyer-verified legal translations for the Swiss legal market.

Combined: We're building Europe's most technologically advanced language services platform. Nordic innovation + DACH expertise + 25 years translation heritage.

Ready to Lead Our Swiss Growth?

Include:

  • CV highlighting commercial leadership achievements (revenue growth, team building, strategic wins)
  • Cover letter: Why this role at this time? What's your Swiss commercial strategy vision?
  • Leadership references (3 required: direct report, peer, senior leader)

Key Skills

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