Dublin is the place to be, says DocuSign’s Group VP of Commercial Sales EMEA

We speak to Ronan Copeland, Group VP of Commercial Sales EMEA and General Manager of DocuSign Ireland, to get the lowdown on why the biggest career opportunities today may be in Dublin.

Dublin is DocuSign’s EMEA hub, and you are recruiting people from all over Europe to work here. Why is it an exciting time to work for DocuSign in Dublin?

We are going through a tremendous growth phase in Dublin. In fact, we just moved into office space in the docklands to accommodate 800 people. This growth is creating a lot of opportunities in a wide range of roles across our business. People who join the team today have a great chance to shape the culture, direction, and success of our business in both Ireland and EMEA whilst growing their careers.

How is working in DocuSign Dublin different from working in DocuSign in London or Paris or Seattle?

We are all DocuSign, and there is a common DocuSign culture globally.  But each of our offices has its own identity and micro-culture shaped by the people who work there. In Dublin, we have over 350 employees. It’s a close team, and it’s a high-energy, dynamic, fast-paced environment which has attracted a very diverse, multilingual workforce from Europe and beyond. Over 15 languages are spoken in our Dublin office every day.

Tell me about the range of work the team does at DocuSign Dublin.

Our EMEA HQ has a range of business functions within the Dublin office from sales, marketing and customer success to finance, HR, recruitment, Infosec, IT, Legal, workplace services, cybersecurity and operations. Some other offices focus primarily on Sales, others on product. But here in Dublin, our teams support our entire EMEA customers and operations. What that essentially means is that if you are interested in working in business or in technology, there is likely a role for you here on our team.

You have a fair number of people from all over Europe moving to Dublin to work here. Can you tell us more about why people move here?

Dublin has established itself not only as one of the leading tech capital cities of Europe, but also the world. People come from all over Europe to both start and progress their careers in the tech industry. We have colleagues from France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, the Nordics, Italy, the UK and of course Ireland. Our neighbours are some of the largest, most widely recognised tech companies in the world, and there are many start-ups. The city is an incubator and centre of knowledge that you can tap into both at work and outside of work. That innovative environment can help propel your career forward. That’s why people are coming to Ireland: for the career opportunities.

I know you are specifically hiring Salespeople. Can you tell us a bit more about that opportunity?

We currently have several open roles in Sales Development and Sales. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a huge appetite from our customers in France, Germany and the Netherlands for The DocuSign Agreement Cloud solution. Language skills can be an advantage to getting hired by DocuSign. People in these roles are developing opportunities either with new accounts or within existing DocuSign customers. The day-to-day is very much focused on understanding customer business needs and challenges and then working to provide optimum DocuSign cloud solutions to solve these business problems. Learning from each other, team work and collaboration are central in our daily work along with having a positive (learning) experience in a cool office!

Why should I apply for that role, how will it help my career?

At DocuSign, we’re focused on enabling all employees to do the work of their lives.  We have ample opportunities for you to learn, develop your skills and experience new roles within the company.  A high percentage of employees are promoted during the year and many employees also progress their careers in other divisions. With our new offices in the docklands, there’ll be even more opportunities to grow.

We read reviews on Glassdoor and people talk a lot about the sales enablement and training. Can you tell us more about the training in place for the sales team?

Training and enablement is one of our focus areas for all employees, no matter if you’re new in the door or a long term employee. As part of our onboarding programme, we send every new employee to our original headquarters in Seattle for a few days to learn about the company, the products and our sales methodology. What’s more, learning doesn’t end with the onboarding programme. We host weekly enablement sessions as well as daily on-the-job coaching, and all employees have access to a robust online learning platform where they can access courses from LinkedIn Learning and Harvard Business School.

We also have an annual global kick-off event in San Francisco where we train our sales team up on new product offerings, sales techniques and messaging. In addition to all of that, what people tell us time and time again is how collaborative their colleagues are and how committed everybody is to everybody else’s success. You will get a chance to learn from the best while you work for us.

What skills do I need to be considered for a Sales role on your team?

Every great salesperson is, at their core, a great communicator and a great planner who can juggle different priorities. The fast-paced DocuSign sales environment is a perfect place to hone your selling skills. If you are that type of person and like learning and working in a fast-paced environment, check out our openings.

DocuSign’s CEO, Dan Springer, says he wants everybody to do the work of their lives at DocuSign. How are you enabling people on your team to do the work of their lives?

I think the number one thing we can do to enable our people to do the work of their lives is to create an environment that recognises and rewards success and provides people with the opportunity to advance. We work hard to provide the time, space and initiatives for people to further themselves. One such initiative is our Education Assistance Program which is designed to reimburse employees who are pursuing an advanced degree, credentialed certification program, or certification exam through an accredited institution or industry-recognised organisation. Employees may apply for up to $5,000 USD annually.

How do you define the work of your life and are you doing it at DocuSign?

For me, doing the work of your life means building, growing, learning and figuring out how to address new challenges. We’re very fortunate to work in an organisation that values and rewards hard work and success. I can honestly say that our company provides me with the support and encouragement to think big and be part of building something very special here in Dublin.

Finally, can you tell us more about what you find unique about the DocuSign culture that inspires you?

We are committed to giving back to the communities in which we live and work. From very early days, we established the DocuSign IMPACT foundation. Employees learn about it during onboarding in Seattle. What’s more, we receive 3 annual paid Volunteer days off, our donations to charity are matched and non-profits, depending on their size, receive deep discounts on our product. Recently, our CEO launched the DocuSign for Forests initiative and donated over $1M to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation to help save the world’s forests.

If making a positive impact is important to you, you will find yourself at home at DocuSign.

Ready to apply? Find out more about our current roles in Dublin.

Ronan Copeland is Group Vice President of Commercial Sales EMEA and General Manager of DocuSign Ireland. He is a long-time veteran of the SaaS industry and has a strong track record of building high-growth business units. Ronan and 2 other DocuSigners opened the first DocuSign Ireland office in 2015. 4 years and 3 office moves later, the DocuSign Ireland team, which is now over 350 people strong and growing, is shortly moving to a new office in the docklands with room to accommodate over 800 staff.