Commercial Manager Svitzer Scandinavia

Svitzer; København; Hybrid; DKK 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Svitzer Europe is seeking a Commercial Manager to lead the Scandinavia Cluster's commercial activities, based in Copenhagen or Gothenburg, with regular travel across Europe.

You will build trust with customers, translate needs into value-creating solutions, and coordinate with regional and global teams to drive growth.

The ideal candidate holds a university degree in business, has 10+ years in B2B roles, speaks fluent English, and is willing to travel.

Qualifications

• University degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Business, or related careers.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in similar positions of responsibility within business-to-business commercial roles.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Execute the business plan to meet the sales target, maintain current business, and generate growth for the company.
• Manage the Commercial Activities of our Svitzer Scandinavia Cluster, as well as account management for selected clients predominantly based in Europe.
• Build trust, maintain open dialogue and develop strong, long-term relationships with customers and stakeholders.
• Coordinate with regional and global teams on policies, pricing, marketing, and customer support.
• Provide market insights and competitive intelligence to support decision-making and growth.

Skills

Relationship building

Business development

Data-driven thinking

Communication skills

Maritime knowledge

Cross-cultural awareness

Presentation skills

Global/matrix environment

Travel flexibility

Education

University degree in Business Administration, Marketing, or related careers

Job description

My name is Rutger Thulin, Chief Commercial Officer for Svitzer Europe. I am looking for a new Commercial Manager to join my team. In this role, you will be responsible for establishing and managing the business relationships of the company as well as developing new business opportunities within the geographical scope of the European region.

A central part of the role is to build trust, maintain open dialogue and develop strong, long-term relationships with customers and other key stakeholders. You will function as a trusted commercial partner to our customers, taking the time to understand their business, needs and challenges and translating these into value-creating solutions.

Today we are a team of 10 people, within Commercial and Business Development in Europe whereof half are based in our Copenhagen office. You will be based in either Copenhagen or Gothenburg. However, the role requires regular travel and a consistent presence at both locations.

Svitzer Scandinavia Cluster currently operates across Sweden, Denmark, and Germany

Who we are

Svitzer is a leading global towage operator, founded in 1833, Svitzer builds on almost 200 years of experience. Our powerful tugboats and experts in towage work tirelessly to keep goods flowing, businesses thriving, and communities connected. Today, Svitzer is a leading global port and terminal infrastructure provider, serving approximately 2,000 customers in over 140 ports and 40 terminals across 37 countries through a fleet of 456 vessels, and with more than 4000 employees.

We provide sustainable marine services that make ports and terminals safer, more efficient, and more climate friendly. At the same time, we innovate. The Svitzer Transverse Tug is a good, summarized example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPdhKsJu3fk (1 min 55 sec).

What we offer

We offer an international and inclusive workplace that values ambition, professionalism, and collaboration. We foster a culture of open communication and strong teamwork, and we promote a healthy balance between personal well-being and professional achievement. Join us in an environment where curiosity is welcomed, continuous learning is embraced, and collective success is our shared goal.

Key responsibilities

You will be responsible for the execution of the business plan to meet the sales target, maintain current business, and generate growth for the company. You will be responsible for the Commercial Activities of our Svitzer Scandinavia Cluster, as well as account management for selected clients predominantly based in Europe.

A central part of the role is to build trust, maintain open dialogue and develop strong, long-term relationships with customers and other stakeholders. You will function as a trusted commercial partner, ensuring that customers feel understood, supported, and confident in their relationship with Svitzer.

Main Tasks

• Manage business relationships with customers on a day-to-day basis to ensure customer satisfaction, long-term commitments, customer retention (contract renewals) and customer profitability and lead negotiation of commercial agreements with clients.
• Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with customers through regular dialogue, a clear understanding of their business and an initiative-taking approach to their needs.
• Communicate clearly and professionally with customers and internal stakeholders, ensuring that expectations, opportunities, and challenges are clear and addressed in a timely manner.
• Meeting with customers as defined and required in the yearly business plan and attend industry conventions, conferences and exhibitions representing the Company on an ad hoc basis.
• Manage relationships with stakeholders related to the business and to customers, like agencies, brokers, authorities, terminals, and others, as necessary.
• Monitor continuous service quality and customer satisfaction, promote constant improvement, and supervise and coordinate the internal process (problem solving, research and responses) to manage customer support and complaints.
• Develop and implement the yearly business plan and commercial activities based on the agreed commercial strategy and action plan.
• Coordinate with Svitzer Regional and Global commercial teams as necessary (handling of key accounts, commercial policies, pricing, marketing, customer support, etc.).
• Provide management with the necessary information on existing and potential business development, market research & intelligence, competitors, etc. to ensure that the company has a concrete and documented knowledge of the clients and their dynamics (construction and analysis of market and sales statistics, customer profiles, contact management, etc.).
• Ensure that all commercial activities are consistent with established Svitzer Group principles, guidelines, and values.

Secondary Tasks

• Search, identify and develop new business and prepare/present business cases, business proposals, draft/review contracts, tenders and quotes for new potential markets/geographies and customers to ensure future growth establishing long-term business relationships.
• Design specific business plans as necessary to enter new markets, expand the business scope beyond Harbour and Terminal Towage and capture new customers within offshore, salvage and ship to ship operations.
• To be the clusters primary point of contact for brokers, underwriters, agents and other stakeholders for offshore and salvage work, specialist, and ship to ship operations.

Who we are looking for

• University degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Business, or related careers, preferable.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in similar positions of responsibility within business-to-business commercial roles.
• A relationship-oriented commercial professional who builds trust easily and is skilled at developing and maintaining strong relationships over time.
• Ability to identify and drive development and growth of existing and new business.
• Experience in using data to drive service delivery, quality and improve customer experience
• Maritime background and/or marine towage business and market knowledge is an advantage.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills across multiple levels in the organization and with external and internal stakeholders including business writing and presentations.
• Cultural awareness and adaptability, enabling effective communication.
• An excellent communicator who listens actively, understands different perspectives, and can adapt communication to a wide range of customers, colleagues, and stakeholders.
• The ability to communicate complex commercial matters clearly and convincingly, both verbally and in writing, including through presentations and business proposals.
• The ability to establish credibility and create effective cooperation across various levels of the organization and with external partners.
• Ability to work in a global business environment and in a matrix organization.
• Flexibility to frequently travel for short periods of time.
• Fluent written and spoken English is a required.

Building a Diverse Workplace

In Svitzer we value the diversity of our talent and will always strive to recruit the best person for the job - we value diversity in all its forms, including but not limited to gender, age, nationality, race, sexual orientation, disability, or religious beliefs. We are proud of our diversity and see it as a genuine source of strength for building high performing teams.

Don’t meet every single requirement?Studies have shown that members from some under-represented groups are less likelyto apply for jobs if they don’t meet every single qualification. At Svitzer we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles, and we are excited about hearing from you!