Strategic Account Director, EU Trade & Customs

Altana; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Altana, based in Amsterdam, is seeking a Strategic Account Director to drive growth across EU customs and trade. You will shape strategy, engage senior government stakeholders, and lead complex, multinational opportunities.

The role blends business development with policy insight in a hybrid Amsterdam-based setting. You will build a pipeline across member states and EU institutions, align with executive leadership, and define Altana’s European operating model while advancing transformational

Qualifications

• Significant experience in business development and complex solution sales, especially with public sector customers.
• Proven track record in opening markets and shaping large, strategic deals.
• Familiarity with customs, trade, or economic-security practices across Europe.
• Fluent in English; additional EU languages are a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Own growth strategy for EU customs and trade and translate it into a plan and high-value target accounts.
• Communicate Altana’s value to senior government and industry stakeholders and partner with them through transformation.
• Pursue complex government opportunities and build a strategic pipeline, not just a quota.
• Develop relationships across customs authorities, economic security bodies, and industry partners.
• Define Altana’s operating model in Europe, including ways of working and credibility to convert early wins into durable business.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams and surface needs early to enable solutions.

Skills

Business development

Strategic deals

Public sector sales

EU trade policy

Job description

Strategic Account Director, EU Trade & Customs

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Altana is the network for trusted trade. Our AI-powered product network empowers governments and businesses to build a more resilient and secure global economy while keeping trade flowing.

Opportunity at Altana

This foundational business development role is based in Amsterdam and offers the chance to build a business, not just join one. You will drive Altana’s growth across European customs and trade, shaping the strategy, relationships, and presence that position us as the partner of choice for governments across the EU. You will build trusted relationships with senior officials at hard-to-navigate organizations, acting as a thought partner who helps them transform through technology. Your focus is on generating opportunities that reshape how customs administrations or trade authorities operate, requiring curiosity, judgment, integrity, long‑term thinking, and the ability to lead by inspiration.

You Will

• Own Altana’s growth strategy for EU customs and trade, translating it into a concrete plan and a focused set of high‑value target accounts across member states, EU institutions, and key partners.
• Shape new opportunities by communicating Altana’s value to senior government and industry stakeholders and partnering with them as they design their transformation.
• Pursue complex, large‑scale government opportunities, building a pipeline that reflects strategic vision rather than a quota.
• Develop relationships across customs authorities, economic security bodies, and industry partners — from the operational level to the strategic.
• Help define how Altana operates in Europe: ways of working, culture, and the credibility that turns early wins into a durable business.
• Anticipate what each pursuit will require and surface those needs internally early, coordinating across teams you don’t directly control.
• Partner closely with the VP of Strategic Business Development (London) and stay aligned with Government Affairs and executive leadership.
• Run effective discovery and partner with Solution Architects, Product, and Engineering to craft solutions and surface use cases early.
• Become fluent in EU trade and customs policy and the regulatory landscape, and act as the voice of the European customer internally.

You Have

• Significant experience in business development and complex solution sales, with a focus on public sector customers and a track record of opening markets and shaping large, strategic deals.
• Familiarity with customs, trade, or economic‑security practices, and a network across European government you can activate.
• A builder’s instinct: you have led complex efforts, operate effectively through influence, and are energized by standing up something new rather than inheriting it.
• Fluency in English; additional European languages (Dutch and French especially) a strong plus.
• Working knowledge of EU or member‑state operations and government procurement.
• Excellent judgment and communication skills, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders independently and translate complex value into a clear case.
• Comfort with software tools; familiarity with modern AI tools a plus.
• A hunter’s mindset paired with the patience and optimism to prevail in long government procurement cycles.

This role is based in the Netherlands with hybrid work flexibility. Candidates must be within commuting distance to Amsterdam.

Our Values

Our values are the core beliefs that shape who we are, what we stand for, and how we behave. They form the foundation of Altana’s culture and integrity and guide how we hire, design, build, and connect with each other and our customers.

• Trust: Our customers and partners entrust us with missions of the highest importance. We honor that by keeping our word, meeting commitments, and ensuring every action we take reinforces confidence in us.
• Resilience: In a world of uncertainty and complexity, our work must withstand challenges, evolve with conditions, and ensure reliability over time. Resilience is both how we operate and what we deliver.
• Stewardship: We are stewards of every mission we touch. Our responsibility extends beyond individual projects to the broader system of global trade.
• Courage: Courage is what unlocks the seemingly impossible for our customers. It drives us to make bold moves and tackle big, complicated network problems.

At Altana, we believe that a diverse workforce enables greater creativity, performance, and adaptability. We’re proud to be an equal‑opportunity employer and welcome you to join us as you are. Our employment opportunities and decisions are based on business needs and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, family care or medical leave status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by the laws or regulations in the areas in which we operate. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type, in any situation.