Sustainability Business Development Manager

Barry Callebaut; Pasir Gudang; On-site; MYR 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player seeks a Sustainability Business Development Manager to drive sustainable sales and lead initiatives across the region. This role encompasses shaping strategies, managing relationships, and acting as a spokesperson for sustainability. With a focus on collaboration and innovation, you will work closely with various teams to educate and influence stakeholders while ensuring the successful execution of sustainability projects. If you have a passion for sustainability and a strong commercial background, this is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact in the chocolate industry.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years in B2B sales/account management roles required.
• Experience in sustainability, ideally in cocoa, is essential.

Responsibilities

• Shape and execute regional strategy for sustainable sales.
• Manage sustainability relationships and close contracts.

Skills

Interpersonal Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Commercial Acumen

Sustainability Knowledge

Customer Engagement

Problem Solving

Education

Advanced Degree in Business Administration

Education in Sustainability

Job description

About the role

• The Sustainability Business Development manager will be a crucial member of the regional marketing & commercial team, driving sustainable sales across their region in line with our 100% Sustainable Ingredients by 2030 Forever Chocolate commitment.
• Working cross-functionally with the Global Sustainability team and the commercial teams of their region, the role reports to the region’s Marketing Director, and with a dotted line to the Global Sustainability Customer Solution team via the Global Business Development Director.
• They will be the go-to person for all topics linked to sustainability across the full value chain and the spokesperson for BC sustainability in the region. This role offers an exciting opportunity to execute BC's ambition to be the leading provider of sustainable chocolate solutions for cocoa farming communities and for our customers.

Key responsibilities include

• Shape and execute regional strategy to increase sustainable sales.
• Establish, monitor and evaluate the Sustainable Sales Mid Term Plan, budget and actuals to ensure sustainable sales targets are met.
• Manage sustainability relationships with a defined set of customers: help with narratives, roadmap and lead the way to communicate, educate and innovate through sustainability. Close contracts on sustainable products or projects together with sales.
• Collaborate with BC Global Sustainability (& sourcing) team to design and develop value propositions for customers based on complex briefs, tying back to customer’s brand and making it relevant to their target audience (where possible, using standardized solution building blocks).
• Pitch and sell BC sustainable solutions that go beyond basic certification or verification, e.g. Carbon, EUDR, Living Income, and Community projects, etc.
• Deep understanding of regional consumer insights to
  a) work with segment mkt teams & global sustainability team to embed them into innovative product concepts, standard solutions and communication material.
  b) step up our solution selling game in co-creation and inspiration sessions along the customer journey.
  c) create sustainability awareness and influence the sustainability landscape in the Region (e.g. via sustainability webinars & events, via market initiatives for Sustainable Cocoa).
• Work with markets to identify sustainability changemakers, engage, and convert them to be advocates of sustainability.
• Where relevant, develop & implement retail strategy to drive acceptance of Cocoa Horizons & create pull.
• Be a subject matter expert for Forever Chocolate and other sustainability topics to BC, its customers and stakeholders.
• Build the capacity of customer facing and support teams (e.g. Sales, Customer R&D, Pricing, and Customer Care Agents) & train sales for C-level conversations.
• Act as regional spokesperson & build a relevant network of external stakeholders and position BC as the leader in sustainability.
• Coordinate global projects with Sustainability Business Development Managers in other regions.
• Partner with cocoa origin teams on sustainability-related projects to ensure execution and reporting.

About you

• Business-focused advanced degree in relevant field such as business administration, marketing or commerce.
• Additional education in a field related to sustainability is a plus e.g. ESG, environmental science, sustainability.
• Strong interpersonal skills, particularly strong listening, influencing, negotiation, and perseverance skills.
• Proficient in English, spoken and written. Fluency in any other Asian language is a plus.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and operate independently as well as being a strong team player.
• Strong writing and presentation skills.
• Travel to origin countries with customers 1-2 times per year.
• International business travels for meetings will be expected from time to time.
• At least 7-10 years experience in B2B customer-facing sales/account management roles at local and regional levels in large companies.
• At least 3-5 years of experience on commercial or programmatic side of sustainability (ideally cocoa).
• Broad understanding of major cocoa & chocolate industry sustainability issues i.e. human rights, deforestation, poverty, carbon/SBTi, traceability, and regenerative agriculture.
• Highly skilled in technical sales, especially in translating complex topics into clear and sharp messaging to customers and sales teams with varying levels of understanding of the topic.
• Strong commercial acumen and customer-orientedness to be able to drive engagement with customer key stakeholders.
• Basic understanding of certifications (e.g. RA, FT).
• Good understanding of the cocoa supply chain.
• Exposure to West Africa and other Cocoa sourcing regions would be an advantage.
• High emotional intelligence and experience and ability to build multiple strong relationships with customer counterparts.
• High degree of self-discipline and effective prioritization.
• Ability to manage ambiguity & complexity.
• Highly aware and sensitive of cultural differences (company & country).
• Excellent networking and communication skills – understand the details but see the bigger picture.