Sales Manager Specialty Chemicals & Ingredients - EMEA

Corbion; Nederland; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Corbion is seeking a Sales Manager for Specialty Chemicals & Ingredients – EMEA. This hybrid role covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa, building strategic customer relationships and driving growth in Corbion's lactic acid derivatives portfolio.

You will lead account strategies, negotiate complex agreements, and collaborate across Marketing, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Finance and other functions to deliver value for customers.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of B2B sales or strategic account management experience in specialty chemicals, food ingredients, or related markets.
• Proven ability to grow established customer portfolios in mature markets.
• Strong commercial acumen in pricing, margin management and contract negotiation.
• Experience influencing multiple levels across customer organizations.

Responsibilities

• Lead profitable growth across the EMEA portfolio through strategic account management.
• Develop account strategies to grow revenue and margin.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders and translate market insights into actions.
• Identify new opportunities in food, specialty chemicals and adjacent markets.
• Manage pipeline, pricing discussions, and long-term profitability.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs and Finance to deliver customer strategies.

Skills

8+ years B2B sales

Strategic account management

Value-based selling

Contract negotiation

English fluent

Relationship building

Travel across EMEA

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemistry/Food Science/Biotechnology/Business

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

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Sales Manager Specialty Chemicals & Ingredients - EMEA

Job Category: Sales

Work Location: Hybrid

Office Location:

Gorinchem, NL

Job Type: Full Time

Job ID: 6438

At Corbion, we exist to champion preservation in all its forms, preserving food and food production, health, and our planet.

Building on our expertise in fermentation and biotechnology, we develop sustainable ingredient solutions that help customers improve product performance, safety, quality and shelf life. Within our Lactic Acid & Derivatives business, we partner with customers across a wide range of food and specialty chemical applications, combining technical expertise, application know-how and deep market insight.

The Role

As Sales Manager Specialty Chemicals & Ingredients – EMEA, you will take commercial ownership of a portfolio of customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with a focus on growing Corbion's Lactic Acid & Derivatives business.

This is a role for an experienced B2B sales professional who understands how to create growth in established and competitive markets. You will strengthen strategic customer relationships, uncover new applications and opportunities, negotiate complex commercial agreements, and translate market and customer insights into profitable growth.

Working at the intersection of customers, markets and Corbion's internal capabilities, you will have the autonomy to shape account strategies while partnering closely with Marketing, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Finance and other functions to deliver for customers.

What You'll Do

• Drive profitable growth across your EMEA customer portfolio through strategic account management, value-based selling, portfolio expansion and disciplined pricing.
• Develop and execute account strategies that grow revenue, margin and Corbion's share of customer spend.
• Build strong relationships with key commercial, procurement and technical stakeholders, becoming a trusted partner rather than simply a supplier.
• Identify new business opportunities, applications and growth areas across food, specialty chemicals and adjacent markets.
• Take ownership of customer portfolio performance, including revenue, volume, margin, pipeline and forecast accuracy.
• Lead pricing discussions and negotiate commercial agreements that balance customer value with long-term profitability.
• Monitor market developments, competitor activities and customer trends and translate these insights into clear commercial actions.
• Anticipate and manage commercial risks arising from competitive pressure, supply constraints and changing market conditions.
• Maintain an active and high-quality opportunity pipeline in Salesforce.
• Mobilize the right expertise across Marketing, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Legal, Supply Chain and Finance to successfully execute customer strategies.
• Represent Corbion at relevant customer meetings, industry events and market initiatives across the region.

What You Bring

You are a commercially driven B2B sales professional who is comfortable navigating technical products, complex customer organizations and competitive markets. You combine strategic account thinking with the drive to turn opportunities into results.

You bring:

• A Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Food Science, Biotechnology, Business or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of B2B sales or strategic account management experience, ideally within specialty chemicals, food ingredients, biotechnology, additives or related ingredient markets.
• A proven ability to grow and develop established customer portfolios in mature and competitive markets.
• Strong commercial acumen, particularly in value-based selling, pricing, margin management and contract negotiation.
• Experience developing relationships across multiple levels and functions within customer organizations.
• The ability to identify growth opportunities and translate customer needs and market developments into concrete commercial actions.
• A combination of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, with the confidence to take ownership and make things happen.
• Resilience, curiosity and the ability to challenge established ways of working when there is a better commercial outcome.
• Fluency in English. Additional European languages are an advantage.
• The ability and willingness to travel across the EMEA region as required.

Why Corbion?

This is an opportunity to take real commercial ownership within an international business where science, sustainability and customer value come together.

You will work with established technologies and applications while continuously looking for new ways to create value for customers. With significant autonomy over your customer portfolio and exposure across the EMEA region, you will have the opportunity to directly influence growth, strengthen strategic partnerships and expand Corbion's position in specialty chemicals and ingredients.

About Corbion

Corbion is a sustainable ingredients company dedicated to preserving what matters, including food and food production, health, and the planet. We specialize in lactic acid, lactic acid derivatives, food preservation solutions, functional blends, and algae ingredients, using our deep application and product knowledge to propel nature’s ingenuity through science. With more than a century of experience, we continue working side-by-side with our customers to make our cutting-edge technologies work for them. Leveraging our advanced capabilities in fermentation and preservation technology, we help customers differentiate their products in diverse markets ranging from food and animal nutrition to home & personal care, pharmaceuticals, electronics, medical devices, and bioplastics. In 2025, Corbion generated annual sales of €1,267.4 million and had a workforce of 2,408 FTE. For more information: www.corbion.com

Corbion is an equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse workplace. All applicants will be considered equally.

Corbion does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third party recruiting agencies in response to job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers. All candidates must be submitted by approved Corbion vendors who have been expressly requested to make a submission by our Talent Acquisition team for a specific job opening. No placement fees will be paid to any firm unless such a request has been made by the Corbion Talent Acquisition team and such candidate was submitted to the Corbion Talent Acquisition Team.