Lead, Sales Training - Truck & Bus Tyres

Job Purpose

The Lead, Sales Training - Truck & Bus Tyres is responsible for delivering high-quality Commercial Sales & Product training across Europe and enabling the Commercial Sales organisation to strengthen capability, improve performance and create greater value for Bridgestone.

The role combines the core responsibilities of a training lead with a strong operational delivery focus, including the design and facilitation of face-to-face and online learning solutions, support for onboarding, and effective management of external vendors responsible for LMS back-office support, platform development and digitalisation-related services.

The role supports Bridgestone’s key business priorities, including premium product push, sales capability uplift, dealer excellence, fleet growth, launch readiness, value creation for internal sales teammates and external commercial partners, and the continued growth of training digitalisation.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, manage and execute the annual Commercial Sales training plan for Europe, translating business priorities and capability needs into practical, high-impact learning solutions and structured delivery plans.

• Design, adapt and continuously improve face-to-face and online training programmes across product training, sales skills, negotiation, value selling, channel management, commercial excellence, product launches, systems and processes, and future retread-related learning.

• Own and deliver Commercial Sales onboarding learning solutions for new joiners, supporting readiness, confidence and integration into the Commercial Sales organisation, while identifying broader skill gaps and development needs through training needs analysis and stakeholder consultation.

• Support learning needs across the Commercial Sales ecosystem in Europe, including internal Commercial Sales teams, Commercial tyre dealers, fleets, OEMs and key accounts, adapting learning approaches to different audiences while maintaining consistent quality and standards.

• Support the growth and integration of training digitalisation and coordinate with relevant stakeholders and vendors to ensure effective operation, enhancement and governance of the Bridgestone Academy platform, including LMS rollout coordination, content quality, reporting and ownership of the content library.

• Manage the performance of external vendors appointed through Procurement for LMS back-office support, software/interface development and other digitalisation-related services, monitoring service quality, delivery standards, SLAs, issue resolution and implementation progress.

• Partner closely with Commercial leaders, Sales managers, Product teams, Marketing and regional stakeholders to align training priorities with business needs, while supporting the Consumer Academy Director on Consumer Training design and delivery when required.

• Define and track relevant learning KPIs, gather participant, stakeholder and business feedback, and use data and insights to continuously improve learning content, delivery methods, digital solutions and training plans.

• Prepare clear training performance updates and operational reporting for management review, covering training quality, coverage, utilisation, effectiveness and digital learning adoption.

• Manage assigned training budgets and resources responsibly, supporting operational excellence across training planning, deployment, administration and follow-up.

Qualifications & Experience Required

Education, Master, other certification:

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Automotive, Engineering, Technical, or a related discipline.

Experience (years):

• More than 5 years of relevant experience in training, learning and development, sales enablement, commercial capability building, or a related field.
• Strong experience in training delivery and facilitation, both face-to-face and online.
• Experience designing practical, business-oriented learning interventions for sales or commercial audiences.
• Experience supporting onboarding and capability development programmes.
• Experience working in a matrix environment and collaborating with multiple business stakeholders.
• Experience in digital learning, LMS environments or learning technology is preferred.
• Experience in vendor management is an advantage, but not mandatory.
• As this is an internal hire, knowledge of Bridgestone business context, standards, products and ways of working will be considered a strong advantage.

Technical Skills:

• Strong facilitation and classroom delivery capabilities across different learner groups.
• Solid instructional design capability, with the ability to translate business needs into practical learning solutions.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of sales capability requirements.
• Ability to diagnose learning needs and identify practical performance improvement actions.
• Knowledge of digital learning, LMS environments and learning technology.
• Data awareness and analytical thinking, with the ability to interpret feedback and learning metrics.
• Strong project management, planning and execution capabilities.
• Ability to manage external vendors and internal support teams.

Languages Skills:

• English is mandatory.
• Additional European language capability is considered an advantage.

Soft/Behavioral Skills:

• Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to engage different learner groups effectively.
• Ability to manage priorities in a fast-paced and matrixed business environment.
• High level of ownership, responsiveness and delivery focus.
• Strong quality mindset and commitment to continuous improvement.
• Adaptability and willingness to support both Commercial and Consumer training priorities where required.

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