Product Director, Single Stage

Are you a commercially driven product leader ready to own the growth and competitiveness of a global pump portfolio shaping critical water infrastructure? Join us in pioneering smarter solutions that move and transform water, reduce energy use, and improve quality of life.

As Product Director, Single Stage, you will drive end-to-end portfolio performance, profitability, and long-term direction for our Single Stage portfolio within CBS. You will also lead the transformation of Product Management toward stronger commercial and value-driven leadership. You’ll join a diverse, inclusive culture that puts people first and supports growth, well-being, and belonging.

What you will be doing

As part of the CBS Solutions & Marketing team, you will shape the future of the Single Stage portfolio by maximizing growth, profitability, and sustainability across the lifecycle while building a world-class Product Management organization.

Key responsibilities:

• Own portfolio competitiveness, revenue, margin, and profitability, delivering both short-term results and 1–5 year strategies, roadmaps, and lifecycle plans
• Drive portfolio optimization through pruning, complexity reduction, and modularization to improve cost, scalability, and reuse
• Ensure value realization from development projects with strong NPV focus, cost control, quality, and time-to-market
• Lead the shift of Product Management toward a business- and value-oriented model with clear governance and commercial standards
• Build and develop a high-performing global team, combining empathetic leadership with strong accountability
• Act as a senior stakeholder across Product Development, GT&I, Sales, and Operations to maximize business impact

What makes you a great fit

You are a strategic, commercially minded product leader with strong portfolio management expertise, a proven ability to transform organizations, and a track record of delivering profitable growth in complex global environments.

We also expect:

• Degree (Bachelor’s or Master’s) and 15+ years of relevant leadership experience
• Strong background in product portfolio, commercial leadership, and lifecycle management
• Experience leading large, global organizations through transformation
• Strong strategic, financial, and stakeholder management skills

It is a plus if you have:

• Experience in pumps, water technology, or industrial equipment
• Experience driving wastewater or infrastructure growth
• Knowledge of modularization and sustainability-driven development

Why you will love working here

We care about your well-being and development:

• Flexible work environment with home working options and parental support
• Annual bonus, health insurance, and well-being initiatives
• Three extra paid volunteering days
• Access to training, learning, and structured development programs

We are inclusive and value diverse perspectives.

Want to learn more?

If you have any questions or want to know more about the position, please contact VP, Head of CBS Solution & Marketing, Robin Konijn at rkonijn@grundfos.com

Job Role Description

The Head of Single Stage is accountable for the competitiveness, revenue growth, profitability, and long-term financial health of the Single Stage product portfolio within CBS, including driving the CBS Wastewater growth initiative .

The role drives end‑to‑end portfolio performance across the full product lifecycle, ensuring that product investments, development priorities, and lifecycle decisions maximize business impact and contribute materially to the overall success of the CBS business. In addition, the role is pivotal in elevating the Product Management organization, shifting focus from predominantly technical execution toward stronger commercial, portfolio, and value‑driven product leadership

Long Description

1. Portfolio Competitiveness & Financial Performance (30%)

• Owns and continuously improves the competitiveness, revenue, margin, and profitability of the Single Stage product portfolio.
• Accountable for short‑term (0–12 months) and long‑term (1–5 years) portfolio strategies, product roadmaps, and lifecycle plans that secure sustainable competitive advantage.
• Drives portfolio optimization, including product pruning, complexity reduction, and modularization to improve cost, scalability, and reuse across the value chain.

2. Product Lifecycle & Portfolio Management Excellence (20%)

• Ensures high‑quality execution of CBS Product Management processes, including:

‒ Forecasting and demand planning

‒ Portfolio and complexity management

‒ Alignment with Sales regions and S&M

• Accountable for product lifecycle excellence, including DtV, GRP setting, quality performance, warranty, and P&L optimization.

3. Development Projects, PLM & Product Launches (20%)

• Owns the value realization of development projects (DPs), ensuring strong value propositions, NPV discipline, cost, quality, and time‑to‑market.
• Ensures PLM activities and Product Launches are executed at a consistently high quality, securing the “biggest bang for the buck” from available development and maintenance resources.
• Works closely with Business Development to ensure market relevance and customer value are fully embedded in development priorities.

4. Organizational Transformation & Capability Building (10%)

• Leads the transformation of the Product Management organization from a primarily technical focus toward a stronger business‑ and value‑oriented product leadership model.
• Establishes clear standards, governance, and ways of working that strengthen commercial thinking, portfolio prioritization, and decision quality.
• Acts as a role model for modern Product Management leadership across CBS.

5. People Leadership (10%)

• Leads and develops a diverse, global Product Management organization with a strong balance between empathetic people leadership and clear result orientation.
• Builds high‑performing teams, develops future leaders, and creates an environment of accountability, trust, and continuous improvement.
• Ensures effective regional product management with clear ownership and performance accountability.

6. Stakeholder Management & Collaboration (10%)

• Acts as a key senior stakeholder toward Product Development, GT&I, Sales regions, Operations, and other functional areas.
• Ensures strong engagement, alignment, and decision‑making across functions to deliver maximum business impact from product investments.
• Represents Single Stage at senior leadership forums across CBS and beyond. Position Specific Skills

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Qualification:

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience)
• Minimum 15+ years of relevant professional and leadership experience
• Strong background in product portfolio management, commercial leadership, and lifecycle management in a global, complex business environment
• Proven experience leading large, multi‑layered organizations and developing leaders
• Demonstrated ability to drive organizational change and capability transformation
• Strong strategic, financial, and stakeholder management skills

Skills:

• Strategic & Commercial Product Leadership – Translates business strategy into competitive, profitable, and well‑balanced product portfolios.
• Portfolio & Value Management – Maximizes value across the product lifecycle through disciplined portfolio, investment, and pruning decisions.
• Business‑Oriented Product Management – Drives a shift from technical focus to commercial, value‑driven Product Management leadership.
• Change Leadership & Capability Building – Leads organizational change by establishing new ways of working, capabilities, and behaviors.
• People Leadership with Empathy & Performance Focus – Builds high‑performing teams by balancing strong people leadership with clear accountability for results.
• Cross‑Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Management – Aligns Product Development, GT&I, Sales, and other functions to deliver business impact.
• Senior Communication & Influence – Communicates complex portfolio and financial topics clearly to senior leadership and stakeholders.
• Execution Discipline & Decision Quality – Ensures high‑quality execution of core PM processes and timely, data‑driven decision‑making.
• Ownership, Integrity & Resilience – Takes full ownership of outcomes and remains effective in complex and ambiguous environments. Success Criteria

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• Portfolio net sales growth and profitability – Measures the ability to grow revenue while sustainably improving margins across the Single Stage product portfolio.
• New Product Success Rate – Assesses how effectively new products deliver on commercial targets, margin expectations, and quality performance after launch.
• Product cost and complexity reduction (SCTR / PCTR) – Reflects success in simplifying the portfolio and reducing cost and complexity to improve scalability and profitability.
• Warranty and quality performance – Indicates how well product quality and reliability are managed throughout the lifecycle, minimizing warranty cost and customer impact.
• DtV and product pruning effectiveness – Measures disciplined lifecycle management by timely value realization and removal of underperforming or obsolete products.
• Innovation impact (NPV, launch reliability, vitality index) – Evaluates whether innovation investments deliver measurable business value through strong financial returns and successful launches.
• Sustainability and modularization impact – Captures progress in embedding sustainability and modular design to enable reuse, efficiency, and long‑term competitiveness.
• Employee Engagement: A strengthened high performing team built through consistent dialogues, clear priorities, and actions that enhance connection, motivation, and collaboration. Posting, Reporting & Work Relations

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The role reports to VP, Head of CBS Solutions & Marketing, and collaborates closely with:

• CBS Divisional Leadership Team
• CBS Solutions & Marketing leadership
• Product Management Leadership in other divisions
• Group Technology & Innovation (GT&I)
• Regional Sales & Marketing organizations

Group Operations, Finance, and Procurement where relevant