Business Development Account Manager

Single Cell Discoveries; Utrecht; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Single Cell Discoveries, a fast-growing biotech start-up, seeks a Business Development Account Manager to own a portfolio across academia, biotech, and pharma in the UK and Ireland. You will lead client engagements, tailor proposals, and drive opportunities from first contact to signed projects, coordinating with labs, PM, and commercial teams.

English proficiency and travel willingness are essential. You will spend time at conferences, in scientific sales consultations, and networking to

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in life sciences is required.
• Commercial experience in business development, sales, or account management.
• Experience with CRM systems and pipeline management.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow a portfolio of accounts across academia, biotech, and pharma from first contact to repeat business.
• Develop strategy and tactics for commercial success in the territory (UK and Ireland).
• Generate new business through outbound outreach, inbound leads, conferences, and networking.
• Negotiate quotes and proposals with internal teams on scope and pricing.
• Maintain accurate pipeline, forecast, and account records in the CRM.

Skills

Communication skills

CRM experience

Organizational skills

Education

Master's or PhD in life sciences

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

Single Cell Discoveries is looking for a Business Development Account Manager to strengthen our Commercial team. This role is primarily client-facing, owning a portfolio of academic and industrial accounts in the lucrative UK and Ireland territory. They will have the responsibility for opening new business and moving qualified opportunities through to signed projects.

You will spend your time in front of customers, at conferences and in scientific sales consultations, while helping ensure that opportunities, quotes, and follow-up are well aligned across the commercial, project management, and lab teams.

About the job

Single Cell Discoveries is looking for a Business Development Account Manager to strengthen our Commercial team. This role is primarily client-facing, owning a portfolio of academic and industrial accounts in the lucrative UK and Ireland territory. They will have the responsibility for opening new business and moving qualified opportunities through to signed projects.

You will spend your time in front of customers, at conferences and in scientific sales consultations, while helping ensure that opportunities, quotes, and follow-up are well aligned across the commercial, project management, and lab teams.

About us

Single Cell Discoveries is a fast-growing biotech start-up providing single-cell sequencing services to academic and industrial clients worldwide. With a team of around 30 colleagues, we offer cutting-edge single-cell, bulk, and spatial transcriptomics sequencing services. In parallel, our R&D department develops new sequencing technologies and works on translating single-cell approaches toward clinical applications.

What you will do

• Own and grow a portfolio of accounts across academia, biotech, and pharma, from first contact through to repeat business.
• Develop the strategy and tactics for commercial success in the territory
• Generate new business through outbound outreach, inbound lead follow-up, conferences, and scientific networking.
• Prospect for new customers using all possible techniques including phone calls, emails, social media, networking with a strong determination and will to win
• Own the sales cycle from start to finish and coordinate company resources to enable you to achieve your goals in the shortest possible time scale.
• Run consultative scientific conversations with researchers to translate their experimental goals into the right services and study design.
• Prepare and negotiate quotes, proposals, and framework agreements, working with internal colleagues on scope, pricing, and terms.
• Strong ability to influence deals and outcome of meetings.
• Maintain accurate pipeline, forecast, and account records in the CRM, and report on progress against targets.
• Support the smooth handover of won projects to project management and the lab, staying involved as the commercial point of contact.
• Represent Single Cell Discoveries in person regularly at international conferences, trade shows, and customer site visits.
• Feed market, competitor, and customer insight back into commercial strategy, marketing campaigns, and service development.

About you

• Master's or PhD degree (or equivalent experience) in life sciences or a related field.
• Commercial experience in business development, sales, or account management, ideally selling scientific services, NGS, or laboratory products.
• In depth knowledge of the life science services market and the key accounts in the assigned territory (UK and Ireland).
• Comfortable holding a technical conversation with scientists and translating it into a clear commercial proposal.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and professional demeanor
• Experience with CRM systems and structured pipeline management
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and consistent in follow-up and documentation.
• A flexible and pragmatic mindset, able to adapt quickly to changing priorities in a growing company.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with full professional English proficiency (written and verbal).
• Ability and interest to travel extensively as the role requires for conferences and customer visits
• Able to work independently while being a reliable and supportive team member.

What we offer

• A commercially owned role with real autonomy over your accounts and territory, selling state-of-the-art single-cell sequencing and multi-omics services.
• To be part of a collaborative and highly skilled team in an international biotech company.
• Exposure to a broad range of cutting-edge science and to customers across academia, biotech, and pharma.
• Competitive compensation with a performance-related component, aligned with experience.