Commercial Project and Revenue Team Lead

Job Title: Commercial Project and Revenue Team Lead

Location: Hyderabad, India (Hybrid)
***Relocation assistance is available for eligible candidates and their families, if needed.
 

Job Summary

The Commercial Project and Revenue Team Lead is responsible for leading a team accountable for Sales Order Management and Contract-to-WBS processes, ensuring customer contracts are accurately translated into compliant sales orders and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) aligned with contractual deliverables, performance obligations, and revenue recognition requirements. The role oversees operational execution, master data governance, compliance, and lifecycle management activities that support order fulfillment, billing, revenue recognition, and financial reporting.

As part of a newly established global Commercial Project and Revenue organization, this position will play a key role in building scalable processes, developing team capabilities, driving operational excellence, and supporting SAP S/4HANA transformation and global process harmonization initiatives.

What you will get:

• An agile career and dynamic working culture.
• An inclusive and ethical workplace.
• Compensation programs that recognize high performance.
• A variety of benefits dependent on role and location.
• The full list of our global benefits can be found here: https://www.lonza.com/careers/benefits

What you will do:

Team Leadership & Operational Management

• Lead, coach, and develop a team responsible for Sales Order Management and WBS setup, governance, and lifecycle maintenance activities.
• Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant processing of sales orders and WBS structures in alignment with customer contracts, business requirements, and service level expectations.
• Manage team priorities, workload, operational performance, and resource allocation to achieve defined KPIs and SLAs.
• Provide technical guidance and capability development across sales order processing, contract interpretation, WBS governance, and ERP processes.
• Foster a culture of accountability, customer focus, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.

Sales Order Management Oversight

• Oversee end-to-end sales order activities including creation, amendments, cancellations, and exception management.
• Ensure customer purchase orders and contractual requirements are accurately reflected within system transactions and operational processes.
• Manage escalations related to pricing discrepancies, order blocks, delivery issues, billing dependencies, and customer-impacting exceptions.
• Partner with Commercial, Program Management, Supply Chain, Planning, Logistics, Operations, and Finance teams to resolve complex order-related issues.
• Ensure sales order processes support efficient order fulfillment, billing, and revenue recognition activities.

Contract Interpretation & WBS Governance

• Oversee interpretation of customer contracts, statements of work, and commercial agreements to ensure translation into appropriate WBS structures.
• Ensure WBS structures align with contractual deliverables, performance obligations, billing requirements, operational execution, and financial reporting needs.
• Govern the creation, maintenance, modification, and closure of WBS structures throughout the contract lifecycle.
• Drive standardization and governance of WBS structures across regions and business platforms.
• Identify opportunities to enhance WBS design and supporting processes in response to evolving commercial models and revenue recognition requirements.

Master Data Governance

• Oversee governance and quality of key master data supporting sales order and WBS processes, including customer, material, pricing, billing, and commercial master data.
• Ensure adherence to data governance standards, controls, and quality requirements.
• Drive the resolution of master data issues impacting order processing, billing accuracy, revenue recognition, or customer experience.
• Support continuous improvement and standardization of master data management processes.

Revenue Recognition, Governance & Compliance

• Ensure sales order and WBS structures support compliance with IFRS 15 revenue recognition requirements and performance obligations.
• Support internal controls, audit readiness, and compliance with pricing approvals, contractual requirements, and governance standards.
• Partner with Finance and Commercial stakeholders to ensure operational alignment with accounting and reporting requirements.
• Identify, assess, and escalate risks impacting revenue recognition, billing accuracy, financial reporting, and operational compliance.

SAP S/4HANA Transformation & Continuous Improvement

• Act as a key business lead for Sales Order Management and WBS-related activities during SAP S/4HANA implementation and rollout.
• Support process design, SIT/UAT testing, defect resolution, cutover planning, training, and hypercare activities.
• Drive harmonization, automation, standardization, and continuous improvement of global processes.
• Support the implementation of scalable operating models that enable business growth and evolving revenue models.
• Champion operational excellence initiatives using process improvement methodologies and best practices.

Team Establishment & Global Capability Build

• Support the establishment and scaling of a new global Sales Order and WBS Management capability.
• Define governance frameworks, service delivery models, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and team ways of working.
• Develop and monitor operational KPIs to drive performance, quality, compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Build strong partnerships across Commercial, Finance, Program Management, Operations, Digital, and ERP teams.
• Drive a culture of innovation, collaboration, and operational excellence.

What we are looking for:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification preferred.
• Preferred Certifications
• CPA, CA, CMA, or MBA equivalent (Required).
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification preferred.

Experience

• 10+ years of experience in Commercial Operations, Order-to-Cash, Revenue Operations, Contract Management, Finance Operations, Project Administration, or related business functions.
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong experience with Sales Order Management, contract interpretation, and WBS governance.
• Experience supporting revenue recognition, billing, and financial reporting processes.
• Experience working with SAP ERP systems, including SAP S/4HANA transformation initiatives.
• Experience driving operational excellence, process standardization, and business transformation programs.
• Experience operating in complex, global, cross-functional environments.

Skills

• Strong understanding of Sales Order Management, Contract-to-Cash, and Revenue Operations processes.
• Knowledge of IFRS 15 revenue recognition principles and performance obligations.
• Experience with WBS structures, project governance, billing processes, and commercial operations.
• Advanced SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA knowledge.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Strong communication and change management skills.
• Experience developing KPIs, governance frameworks, and operating models.
• Continuous improvement mindset with experience driving automation and process optimization.

Behaviors

• Demonstrates strong ownership, accountability, and customer focus.
• Leads through collaboration and develops high-performing teams.
• Champions operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• Makes data-driven decisions and effectively manages risk.
• Drives change and supports organizational transformation.
• Builds strong partnerships across functions, regions, and stakeholder groups.
• Promotes a culture of compliance, quality, innovation, and performance.

About Lonza

At Lonza, our people are our greatest strength. With 30+ sites across five continents, our globally connected teams work together every day to manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Our core values of Collaboration, Accountability, Excellence, Passion and Integrity reflect who we are and how we work together. Everyone’s ideas, big or small, have the potential to improve millions of lives, and that’s the kind of work we want you to be part of.

Innovation thrives when people from all backgrounds bring their unique perspectives to the table. At Lonza, we value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. If you’re ready to help turn our customers’ breakthrough ideas into viable therapies, we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Ready to shape the future of life sciences? Apply now.