Regional Development Manager

AkzoNobel; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

AkzoNobel is seeking a Regional Development Manager to drive specification-led growth across Scotland and North East England. You will build deep relationships with social housing landlords and key developers, translating specifications into profitable paint-on-wall projects via the DDC route.

You will shape regional plans, manage strategic accounts, and influence investments to deliver measurable gains in market share and margin within construction and housing segments.

Qualifications

• Degree in Business, Construction Management, Engineering or equivalent.
• Experience in specification selling or business development in construction or housebuilding.
• Full UK driving licence for field-based work.

Responsibilities

• Own the relationships that matter most with social housing landlords, ALMOs, housing associations and local authorities.
• Turn specifications into sales and margin, driving growth and share gain in Social Housing, New Build and Construction.
• Champion specification excellence and ensure products are written into frameworks with governance.
• Orchestrate end-to-end delivery via DDC from specification and scheme setup to product delivery on site.
• Be the regional voice of the CU Specification team and align roles across Social Housing and Construction.
• Shape the regional business plan with market intelligence and pipeline visibility.
• Lead smart investment by proposing options that deliver measurable returns.

Skills

Relationship building

Stakeholder management

Specification selling

Commercial acumen

Market analysis

Presentation skills

Autonomy

Education

Degree in Business or Construction

Full UK driving licence

Job description

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Regional Development Manager

Date: Sep 11, 2026

About AkzoNobel

Since 1792, we've been supplying the innovative paints and coatings that help to color people's lives and protect what matters most. Our world class portfolio of brands - including Dulux, International, Sikkens and Interpon - is trusted by customers around the globe. We're active in more than 150 countries and use our expertise to sustain and enhance the fabric of everyday life. Because we believe every surface is an opportunity. It's what you'd expect from a pioneering and long-established paints company that's dedicated to providing sustainable solutions and preserving the best of what we have today - while creating an even better tomorrow. Let's paint the future together.

Regional Development Manager
Location: Glasgow Edinburgh - Covering Scotland and North East England

The recognised face of coatings in your region, Regional Development Managers are the entrepreneurs of our DDC commercial route-to-market - turning strategic specifications into sustainable, profitable "paint on wall" growth.

The Regional Development Manager role (RDM) is a new, high impact position at the heart of our growth strategy with DDC.

As RDM, you are the regional business builder: the person who turns strategic specification relationships into real, profitable paint on wall sales via the DDC route-to-market. You will deepen our presence with the most influential specifiers in Social Housing, Construction and New Housebuild - and make sure that when they specify, appliers of those specifications buy through the DDC360 scheme.

This is a role for someone who wants to be recognised internally and externally as the coatings expert and trusted partner for major clients in their region.

Why this role matters

AkzoNobel is reshaping how we win, protect and grow specification business. With specification ownership moving into our CU Trade sales team, the RDM is the crucial link between:

• Strategic specifiers and framework owners
• Local delivery via DDC branches and sales teams
• Our CU Specification team and regional sales & ops teams

You will translate national strategy into regional success - ensuring that AkzoNobel and approved third party products are specified, purchased and applied via DDC.

You will:

• Own the relationships that matter most Be the go to partner for social housing landlords, ALMOs, housing associations, local authorities, social housing groups, particularly leveraging the Procurement for Housing framework, and regional offices of housebuilders and construction companies where DDC is the strategic RTM.
• Turn specifications into sales and margin Drive profitable growth by maximising conversion from spec to "paint on wall", achieving annual specification value conversion targets and delivering share gain in Social Housing, New Build and Construction.
• Champion specification excellence Ensure AkzoNobel and approved third party products are written into frameworks and agreements - and then rigorously manage specification governance so those products are actually used on schemes and projects (including DLO and tenant voucher programmes).
• Orchestrate end to end delivery via DDC Work seamlessly with DDC Sales and Operations to manage the full journey: from specification and scheme/project setup through to product delivery and final installation/use on site by DLO teams, tenants and contractors.
• Be the regional voice of the CU Specification team Align closely with the CU Specification team to ensure clear roles, responsibilities and adherence to the agreed route-to-market across both Social Housing and Construction/New Build.
• Shape the regional business plan Bring market intelligence, competitor insight and pipeline visibility into regional planning. Spot gaps in our offer and influence future products, services and capabilities.
• Lead smart investment Influence and optimise the Strategic Invest Fund (SIF) in your sectors - proposing clear, commercially sound investment options that deliver measurable return.

The kind of impact you'll have

• You will be known and recognised by senior decision makers in Housing, New Build and Construction in your region.
• You will be seen internally as the coatings and specification expert, bringing insight and clarity to where we can win and how.
• You will directly influence market share, margin and long-term framework positions for AkzoNobel via DDC.

This is a role where your decisions and relationships will visibly move the numbers - and shape our reputation in your region.

How you'll work

• Operate with a high degree of autonomy within agreed specification, pricing and RTM frameworks.
• Decide where to focus, which opportunities to prioritise, and how to deploy approved Strategic Investment Funds day to day.
• Escalate only where decisions materially affect regional strategy, major commercial terms, specification standards or RTM strategy.

You’ll have the freedom to run your region like a business with the backing of a global brand and strong functional support.

What you bring

• Experience & knowledge
• Proven track record in specification selling or business development within construction, housebuilding or building products.
• Strong understanding of coatings or building materials, construction supply chains and RTM models (DDC or similar).
• Experience managing key specifier relationships (architects, technical specifiers, procurement, design teams).
• Evidence of working cross functionally with Sales, Operations and Marketing to deliver end to end solutions.

Skills & competencies

• Outstanding relationship-building and stakeholder management - able to influence at regional and national level.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience working to sales, margin and share gain targets.
• High analytical capability, comfortable with market data, competitor insight and pipeline analysis.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; confident building and delivering compelling value propositions.
• Highly organised, self driven, and comfortable operating with autonomy within clear frameworks.

Qualifications

• Degree in Business, Construction Management, Engineering or similar preferred, or equivalent industry experience.
• Full UK driving licence (for field-based work)

#LI-SH1

At AkzoNobel we are highly committed to ensuring an inclusive and respectful workplace where all employees can be their best self. We strive to embrace diversity in a context of tolerance. Our talent acquisition process plays an integral part in this journey, as setting the foundations for a diverse environment. For this reason we train and educate on the implications of our Unconscious Bias in order for our TA and hiring managers to be mindful of them and take corrective actions when applicable. In our organization, all qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age or disability.