Technical Business Development Manager

Umicore Belgium; Dundee; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Umicore is seeking a Technical Business Development Manager for our Infrared coatings and filters market at the Dundee facility. You will manage multi-level client relationships, drive profitable revenue growth, and strengthen partnerships.

You will develop and maintain strong relationships across customer organizations, suppliers and Umicore sites, ensuring collaboration and execution of commercial strategies. Travel across Europe and North America is expected.

Qualifications

• Relevant experience in sales/business administration in a manufacturing B2B environment, optics industry preferred.
• Excellent business communication and technical sales skills with understanding of Optical Manufacturing processes and Quality Standards.
• Strong organizational skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office and ERP systems.
• Affinity with numbers and financial metrics; ability to assess costs and margins.
• Creative, problem-solving, with strong listening and idea development abilities.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow the sales pipeline by identifying, developing, and converting new business opportunities.
• Build and maintain strong commercial and technical relationships with customers to drive growth.
• Lead technical and commercial engagements to influence specifications and propose value propositions.
• Develop account growth, market penetration, and go-to-market strategies to expand revenue.
• Analyze market trends, customer needs, and competitive dynamics to identify opportunities.
• Provide market intelligence and business cases to support portfolio development and investments.
• Translate customer requirements into product improvements and new development with technical teams.
• Collaborate with Marketing and external partners on campaigns and customer engagements.
• Represent the company at meetings, conferences, and events to generate opportunities.
• Occasional travel across Europe, North America, and other strategic markets.

Skills

Sales experience

Optics industry knowledge

Customer relationships

Negotiation skills

Business communication

Financial metrics

Cross-functional collaboration

Strong networking

ERP systems

Microsoft Office

Education

University degree in science, engineering, commercial sciences or business administration

Tools

ERP system

Job description

Powering the cars of today and tomorrow. Reducing harmful emissions. Giving unique properties to high-end applications. Giving new life to used metals. As a global advanced materials and recycling group, we develop, produce, and recycle materials for a better life.

About Electro Optic Materials

Power in space. Vision at night. Coatings thinner than human hair. Umicore is a world leader in material solutions for the space, optics and electronics sectors – enabling every day cutting-edge technologies. We guarantee our customers secure access to supply, plus recycling technologies that give materials a new lease of life. To produce materials with even higher performance, and provide recycling to new markets, we cannot stand still. We need to find new ways to do things, discover new solutions and develop new processes. Which is where you come in.

Job Purpose

As Technical Business Development Manager for our Infrared coatings and filters market you will be responsible for account management, driving profitable revenue growth, increasing market share, and strengthening customer partnerships.

You will develop and maintain strong multi-level relationships across customer organizations, suppliers and Umicore sites. Ensuring effective collaboration and execution of commercial and business development strategies.

By analyzing market trends, customer needs, and competitive dynamics within the rapidly evolving Infrared coatings and filters market, you will identify growth opportunities and contribute to the strategic planning, budgeting, and revenue forecasting of the coating business at Umicore’s Scottish facility in Dundee.

An interesting and challenging position within a growing market with room for growth and development in the role.

Your Key Accountabilities

• Own and grow the sales pipeline by identifying, developing, and converting new business opportunities to achieve sustainable revenue growth.
• Build and maintain strong commercial and technical relationships with existing and prospective customers, establishing long-term partnerships and increasing customer retention.
• Lead technical and commercial engagements with customers to understand business needs, influence specifications, and develop compelling value propositions that secure new business.
• Develop and execute account growth, market penetration, and go-to-market strategies to expand market share and capture new revenue opportunities.
• Conduct market, competitor, and industry analysis to identify emerging trends, customer needs, application opportunities, and strategic growth areas.
• Provide market intelligence and business cases to support management, technical, and operations teams in product portfolio development, technology investments, and capability enhancement initiatives.
• Translate customer and market requirements into opportunities for product improvements, innovation, and new product development in collaboration with technical, engineering, and manufacturing teams.
• Collaborate with BU’s Strategic Business Development, Marketing, and external partners to develop and execute targeted marketing campaigns, customer engagement initiatives, and capability awareness activities.
• Represent the company at customer meetings, presentations, industry conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, and networking events to promote capabilities and generate qualified business opportunities.
• Occasional travel across Europe, North America, and other strategic markets to strengthen customer relationships, identify new opportunities, and support business growth objectives.
• Manage the full sales cycle, including RFQ review, technical evaluation, pricing, quotation preparation, contract negotiation, order acquisition, and order execution.
• Maintain accurate sales forecasts, pipeline updates, key account plans, and performance reports to support business planning and decision-making.

Who we are looking for

• University degree in science, engineering, commercial sciences or business administration
• Relevant experience and/ or equivalent combination of education and experience in sales, business administration in a manufacturing field of B2B environment with experience in optics industry preferred
• Excellent business communication and technical sales skills with good understanding of Optical Manufacturing process and Quality Standards.
• Strong organizational skills and proficiency using Microsoft Office and Enterprise Resource Planning system
• Demonstrated affinity with numbers and financial metrics
• Affinity with the application domain of the products and their use. The range of products and application technologies are highly technical.
• Solid understanding of production flows and cost drivers in order to assess underlying unit cost and sales margins
• Strong networker and Results driven with influencing and negotiation skills
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (both written and spoken) with ability to relate with different profiles and in different cultures
• Positive and open minded with a strong can-do attitude
• Creative with excellent problem solving skills; strong listening skills and ability to identify and develop new ideas and initiatives

What we offer

We aim to lead the way. Not just for our customers, but for our employees too. That is why we strive to create a collaborative environment in which we can all succeed, and a culture through which we can all share ideas, develop our expertise and advance our careers. We engage in building an inclusive work culture that offers equal opportunities for all employees irrespective of their diverse backgrounds. As you would expect from a world-leading organisation, we will also reward your contribution with a competitive salary and benefits. With all this and more, imagine what you could do?