Director Customer Care - EMEALA

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you know? Or all of humanity? At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients. Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible. Director, Customer Care – EMEALA Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands (minimum 3 days on site) Scope: Europe, Middle East, Africa & LATAM At Illumina, we are driven by a clear purpose: to unlock the power of the genome to improve human health. Our Customer Care organization plays a critical role in delivering on that purpose—ensuring our customers experience excellence, reliability, and partnership at every stage of their journey. We are seeking a Director, Customer Care – EMEALA to lead a large, complex, and highly diverse regional organization spanning Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. This is a pivotal leadership role for an experienced, people‑centric leader who puts customers first, builds high‑performing leadership teams, and drives continuous improvement at scale. About the Role You will lead the EMEALA Customer Care organization of ~45 professionals, including a regional management team across the Netherlands, South Africa and Brazil, with responsibility for the full commercial order‑to‑delivery lifecycle. This includes managing high‑value, complex orders—from $10K to multi‑million‑dollar investments—across both consumables and capital equipment in a highly regulated Life Sciences environment. This role requires a leader who can successfully operate through managers, inspire engagement across multicultural teams (25+ nationalities), and navigate change confidently—balancing growth, efficiency, and employee experience at a time of increasing demand and transformation. What You’ll Do Lead with purpose and people at the centre Lead, inspire and develop a manager‑of‑managers organisation, building a strong, empowered leadership bench across sub‑regions Create a culture of engagement, accountability and inclusion within a highly diverse, multicultural team Set and execute a leadership development strategy to grow future leaders and retain top talent Actively promote a customer‑first mindset, ensuring teams live and breathe customer experience—not just customer service Drive customer excellence and operational performance Own and continuously improve all EMEALA commercial customer care activities from order entry through customer delivery Establish and manage KPI‑driven performance across customer satisfaction, ship‑on‑time metrics, productivity, and quality Champion proactive ownership and accountability across the organisation Ensure audit readiness, regulatory compliance and adherence to ISO 13485 standards Be a catalyst for change and innovation Act as a change agent, driving continuous improvement, work optimisation, and operational efficiency Lead the regional impact of major transformation initiatives, including the SAP S/4HANA implementation, with team members acting as key users and super users Partner with Global Customer Care and regional peers to align with global standards while ensuring EMEALA needs are represented Support the responsible adoption of AI and automation to reduce manual work, improve efficiency, and relieve pressure on teams as volumes grow Collaborate and influence across the enterprise Build strong partnerships with Sales, Service Operations, Logistics, Planning, and other commercial functions Build consensus with senior stakeholders and align Customer Care strategy to broader business objectives Help customers transition to digital self‑service and online transactions, improving experience while reducing effort and cost Who You Are You are a vibrant, visible and confident leader who thrives in complexity. You are known for being customer‑obsessed, KPI driven, and deeply committed to growing people and leaders. You bring energy to your teams, communicate with impact, and create clarity in fast‑moving, matrixed environments. You naturally role‑model Illumina’s values: Make Customers Heroes – you design everything around the customer experience Innovate with Purpose – you embrace change, technology and continuous improvement Be Accountable – you take ownership and expect the same from your leadership team Win Together – you collaborate across regions, cultures and functions Commit to Excellence – you set high standards and deliver consistently Experience & Background Essential Proven experience leading a customer care, order management, or customer operations organisation, preferably as a manager of managers Demonstrated success driving customer satisfaction, operational KPIs and productivity at scale Strong people leadership capability, with a track record of building engaged, high‑performing teams Experience leading complex change initiatives across multiple regions and stakeholders Business‑fluent English; working knowledge of Dutch is preferred Preferred Experience in Life Sciences, Diagnostics or MedTech Strong understanding of regulated environments and compliance requirements Background spanning both capital equipment and consumables Experience with SAP S/4HANA or large ERP transformations 10+ years’ experience in a commercial or customer operations environment We are a company deeply rooted in belonging, promoting an inclusive environment where employees feel valued and empowered to contribute to our mission. Built on a strong foundation, Illumina has always prioritized openness, collaboration, and seeking alternative perspectives to propel innovation in genomics. We are proud to confirm a zero-net gap in pay, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or race. We also have several Employee Resource Groups (ERG) that deliver career development experiences, increase cultural awareness, and offer opportunities to engage in social responsibility. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, creed, color, gender, religion, marital status, domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military or veteran status, citizenship status, and genetic information. Illumina conducts background checks on applicants for whom a conditional offer of employment has been made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws. Background check results may potentially result in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. The background check process and any decisions made as a result shall be made in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws. Illumina prohibits the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the application and interview process. If you require accommodation to complete the application or interview process, please contact accommodations@illumina.com. To learn more, visit: https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf. The position will be posted until a final candidate is selected or the requisition has a sufficient number of qualified applicants. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.