At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead growth strategies and build relationships in the chemical sector.
- Company: Dynamic organisation focused on sustainable revenue and margin growth.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, travel opportunities, and professional development.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for strategic influence.
- Why this job: Drive impactful business development in a thriving industry.
- Qualifications: Experience in business development within the chemical sector is essential.
The predicted salary is between 75600 - 92400 £ per year.
Role Purpose
The Business Development Director will lead the organisation’s growth strategy identifying new markets, customers, applications and partnerships that deliver sustainable revenue and margin growth. The role requires a commercially astute leader with strong technical awareness, sector knowledge and the ability to build long-term relationships with senior decision-makers across manufacturing, distribution, industrial, specialty chemical, agrochemical, life sciences, food, pharmaceutical or related markets.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and deliver the business development strategy for target chemical markets, sectors, territories and customer segments.
- Identify, qualify and convert new business opportunities through market analysis, networking, prospecting, tenders, referrals and strategic account planning.
- Build and maintain senior-level relationships with customers, distributors, channel partners, suppliers and industry stakeholders.
- Lead complex commercial negotiations, including pricing, contract terms, supply agreements, service levels and long-term partnership arrangements.
- Work closely with technical, regulatory, operations, supply chain, finance and customer service teams to ensure proposals are commercially viable and operationally deliverable.
- Analyse market trends, customer needs, competitor activity, regulatory developments and emerging applications to inform growth plans.
- Own the sales pipeline, forecasting, CRM discipline and opportunity reporting, providing clear visibility to senior leadership.
- Develop value propositions, proposals and presentations that translate technical product or service capabilities into customer-focused commercial solutions.
- Represent the company at customer meetings, trade shows, conferences, industry forums and networking events.
- Ensure all business development activity complies with health, safety, environmental, quality, ethical and regulatory requirements relevant to the chemical sector.
Experience and Qualifications
- Significant experience in business development, strategic sales, commercial leadership or key account management within the chemical sector or a closely related technical B2B environment.
- Strong understanding of chemical manufacturing, distribution, formulation, contract manufacturing, specialty chemicals, industrial chemicals or adjacent markets.
- Proven track record of delivering revenue growth, margin improvement, new customer acquisition and long-term account development.
- Experience managing complex sales cycles involving technical, procurement, regulatory, quality and executive stakeholders.
- Degree-level qualification in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or relevant technical subject preferred.
- Postgraduate qualification, MBA or professional commercial training would be advantageous.
- Experience using CRM systems, pipeline management tools and data-led forecasting methods.
- Ability to travel regularly for customer meetings, site visits, trade events and industry networking.
- Experience in both Organic and Inorganic chemical sales.
- Experience in commercial leadership of R&D projects from cradle to market.
- M&A commercial development experience preferred.
Key Skills and Competencies
- Commercially focused, with strong judgement around profitability, pricing, risk and customer value.
- Technically credible, with the ability to engage confidently with scientific, technical and operational stakeholders.
- Strategic thinker who can translate market insight into practical growth plans.
- Excellent relationship-building, influencing and negotiation skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication, including proposal writing and executive-level presentations.
- Analytical and data-informed, with the ability to interpret market intelligence, pipeline metrics and financial performance.
- Resilient, self-motivated and comfortable operating in long-cycle, complex B2B sales environments.
- Collaborative leadership style, able to align cross-functional teams around customer and commercial priorities.
- Strong awareness of compliance, quality, health and safety, sustainability and regulatory expectations in the chemical industry.
Key Performance Indicators
- Revenue growth and gross margin contribution from new and existing customers.
- Value and quality of qualified pipeline opportunities.
- New customer acquisition, strategic account growth and retention rates.
- Conversion rate from prospect to proposal and proposal to contract.
- Delivery of agreed territory, sector or product growth plans.
- Accuracy of sales forecasts and CRM reporting.
- Strength and depth of customer, partner and stakeholder relationships.
- Contribution to market intelligence, product development insight and strategic planning.
Business Development Director employer: Witan Search
As a leading provider of metalworking fluids and industrial cleaners, we pride ourselves on being an excellent employer that values autonomy and professional growth. Our supportive work culture encourages continuous learning through ongoing technical training, while our field-based roles allow you to build meaningful relationships with customers across Oxfordshire. With competitive salaries and performance-related incentives, we offer a rewarding environment for those looking to make a significant impact in the engineering sector.
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We think this is how you could land Business Development Director
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We think you need these skills to ace Business Development Director
Some tips for your application 🫡
Highlight Your Analytical Skills:In the business intelligence field, showcasing your analytical skills is a must. Make sure your CV includes relevant experience with data analysis tools, programming languages like SQL or Python, and any projects where you've interpreted complex data sets to drive business decisions.
Showcase Your Business Acumen:Don't just focus on data; show us how you can apply your insights to real-world business problems. Highlight projects where you made a tangible impact on company performance, and be prepared to explain your thought process in your cover letter.
Tailor Your Documents for Us:When applying for a full-time role at Witan Search, tailor your CV and cover letter to reflect our organisational goals and strategies. Mention specific tools and methodologies that align with what we do—this shows you’ve done your homework and are genuinely interested in our mission!
Include Relevant Certifications:Certifications like Google Data Analytics or similar qualifications can really make you stand out in business intelligence. Include these in your application, as they demonstrate your commitment to the field and your willingness to stay current with industry standards.
How to prepare for a job interview at Witan Search
✨Show off your analytical skills
In a business intelligence role, you're going to need to demonstrate your analytical prowess. Be prepared to discuss specific tools you've used, like SQL, Tableau, or Power BI. Have real-world examples ready where you’ve turned data into actionable insights – this is what makes us shine in interviews!
✨Practice your technical know-how
Expect some technical questions during the interview that dive deep into your understanding of data modelling and analytics frameworks. Brush up on your knowledge of data warehousing concepts and be ready to tackle any real case scenarios they might present. They’ll want to see how you approach problems using your BI toolkit.
✨Portfolio of Projects
Since it's a full-time role, having a strong portfolio is key! Compile case studies demonstrating your previous projects, preferably showing how your insights led to business improvements. This can help us display how you think through complex datasets and your problem-solving process, which is what employers are keen on seeing.
✨Know their business model
Get familiar with Witan Search’s business model and recent data-driven decisions. Be prepared to discuss how your skills can specifically support their objectives or challenges. Understanding their landscape shows that you’re not just a data buff, but you’re also genuinely interested in how BI can impact their bottom line.
