Introduction

Haermonics has recently attracted 2 new investors, amongst whom BOM capital, a regional investor. In order to prepare itself for the next phase, market introduction, the company is following a “Customer Development Program”. The objective of this strategic program is to determine, within the Decision-Making Unit of their customers and prospects (mainly Thoracic Surgeons, Anesthetists and Intensive Care staff), which segments and customer groups are primary target, what are the product features needed, determine the proof points per customer segment and in the end to determine the go-to-market strategy.

The strategic program is conducted by the CEO and executed by the full team. The BOM, shareholder, is supporting and guiding this program and has in depth knowledge of the program to share. During this program, many interviews with doctors, nurses and other medical staff will need to be executed and a project secretary is needed, for the duration of 3 months. Objective is to start early in February 2022.

The Assignment

The first step in the Customer Development journey has been conducted by the company, together with a trainee Technische Geneeskunde, concentrated on the Netherlands. The conclusion of this first step was a clear problem definition, market segmentation and target segment in the Netherlands. Now, the market has to be validated internationally. Haermonics has chosen Germany, France and the USA as its first market entry points. In these countries, the market has to be validated.

The question is which beachhead applications offer the best opportunity for a successful commercialization, whereby cost savings, outcome improvements and ease of positioning of the solution (to the many stakeholders in the decision process, such as end-users, deciders, influencers, buyers, champions, etc.) in the market are the most likely key drivers. In the first step of the project, two applications will be chosen by the intern in consultation with and subject to approval by a support team, consisting of:

• CEO of the company, clinical support
• Business developer of BOM for methodology support

After that, for the three chosen countries, interviews will be conducted with several stakeholders in several hospitals worldwide. During these interviews the customer problems (needs) will be investigated and validated (including the differences in needs between the various stakeholders);

• the extent to which the device can address the problem
• the assumptions will be validated and/or a plan will be made to validate these assumptions
• the differences between the several segments of hospitals and labs is clarified.

Based on this extensive body of evidence, the positioning of the device to the various stakeholders, in the various segments of hospitals and labs, will be defined.

The assignment contains the following elements:

• Familiarize yourself with the workflow and treatment in hospitals
• Familiarize yourself with the work done by the previous trainee and build further on the work done – the recommendations is the starting point of this traineeship
• Investigate for those applications, through desk research, market research and interviews, the customer problems (needs), including the differences in needs between the various stakeholders and the differences between customer segments
• Describe how device can address these problems and validate the underlying assumptions and/or make a plan to validate these
• Identify bottlenecks/barriers/opportunities in relation to the current workflow in thoracic surgery and treatment in hospitals
• Define the positioning of the device to the various stakeholders, in the various segments of hospitals

Profile description

The intern will play a key role in defining the commercialization strategy of the company. He or she will have to interface with the stakeholders in hospitals. Also, he or she has to work closely with the support team as well. We require the person therefore to have the following profile: enthusiasm, eager to learn, team spirit, social and open attitude, stamina, ability to work independently.

Requirements of the trainee

For this role, Haermonics is looking for a strong, excelling Master student, in or close to the master’s phase of her (his) medical related study (BMT, Technische Geneeskunde or Health economics). The candidate should have:

• excellent social skills;
• have experience in conducting interviews;
• have an excellent knowledge of the medical domain, terminology;
• Think and act on strategic level and execute on work
• Be able to work independently and always strive for the best
• Be able to get the concept of our product, work and claims within one week
• Having performed at least one or two marketing exams, preferably a minor.

We are looking for an overachiever, who is available on short notice and is looking to make the coming holiday period an extremely learnful one.

Background: Interested in the hospitals and surgery environment and its process and in marketing/sales. Knowledge of the healthcare system as well as marketing models is preferred. Level of education: academic.

Language: English – Speech and writing at professional level

Compensation: for a period of 3-6 months — Travel costs with public transport or car reimbursed.