Xero is a beautiful, easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping advisors grow and thrive. 

At Xero, our purpose is to make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world. This purpose sits at the centre of everything we do. We support our people to do the best work of their lives so that they can help small businesses succeed through better tools, information and connections. Because when they succeed they make a difference, and when millions of small businesses are making a difference, the world is a more beautiful place.

How you’ll make an impact

As the Market and Competitive Insight (M&CI) Director, you will be part of the global strategy team and will be responsible for developing a global, comprehensive view of the market and competitive landscapes in which we operate. This work will support rapid and thorough strategic and tactical decision making. You’ll conduct independent research of our competitors, gather first hand feedback from our sales teams, gather input from across several business functions and use this to draw insights and develop recommendations to help drive our strategy.

What you'll do

• Monitor the market environment to assess economic, political and regulatory environments and determine how they will impact our business
• Assess our key competitors across regions to capture a global perspective including assessing our current activities could play out in future strategies of our competitors
• Engage with team members across regions and functions to capture regional perspective 
• Build upon existing processes to provide consistent coverage of M&CI across both topics and regions
• Aggregate and synthesize information and research from across the company and provide the ‘company view’ on market and competitive insights in a succinct format
• Create and deliver standard reporting to Xero’s leaderships team and board of directors
• Deliver proactive, actionable insights across the organization
• Regularly engage with strategy teams and senior leaders to help inform key organizational decisions

Success looks like

• Clear articulation of the operating environment, focused on changes and how they impact Xero and our customers
• Global alignment across stakeholders of the current situation and what it means for Xero
• Regular influence on key decisions through input into strategic projects and product prioritization

Critical competencies

• Competitor assessments (both current position and strategic goals / direction)
• Independently manage research (both online and in person) 
• Draw conclusions and develop key insights from multiple information sources
• Develop recommendations to respond to changes in our operating environments
• Ability to synthesize information and recommendations to communicate with senior leaders
• Product development process and technologies
• Strong teamwork and cross-functional team influencing skills
• Experience and proficiency in meeting and presenting to senior staff
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Proficient in MS Office and/or G-suite and other analytical tools
• Team-oriented, self-motivated, success-driven, roll-up-your-sleeves attitude

Experience

• BS or higher degree in a quantitative field, preferably Accounting, Economics, Business or Finance
• 5-10 years in a role that requires conducting research, analyzing information and developing actionable recommendations - preferably in a competitor intelligence or strategy group
• Preferred:
• Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
• Familiarity with SaaS business models
• Familiarity with cloud accounting software landscape

Xero is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Why Xero?

Diversity of people brings diversity of thought, and we like that. A collaborative and inclusive environment is important to us. Working at Xero will provide you with a diverse and inclusive environment alongside people who will respect, challenge and support you to have fun while you do the best work of your life. We are a place where personal development, flexible working, innovation, and well-being are not just inspired but celebrated. We value our people and offer a wide range of compelling benefits and perks, including Xero shares.

Xero’s collaborative culture is underscored by our values - #Ownership, #Challenge, #Beautiful, #Human and #Team - which empower us to understand and serve customers, attract top talent and continuously innovate. From the moment you step through our doors, you’ll feel welcome and supported to do the best work of your life.