Ocean Freight Bulk Business Development Senior Manager, Asia Pacific

DHL Global Forwarding Singapore Pte Ltd; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

DHL Global Forwarding Singapore Pte Ltd is seeking a senior Ocean Freight Bulk Business Development Manager to lead regional growth across multiple countries. You will define the regional commercial strategy, translate product priorities into country plans, and drive scalable solutions for strategic customers.

The role requires senior leadership, strong market intelligence, and collaboration across sales, product, trade, operations, and pricing to enhance value propositions and customer loyalty.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; certifications in logistics or sales management are an advantage.
• Minimum 8 years of progressive experience in business development, sales, product, or account management in logistics or freight forwarding.
• Experience across multiple countries or a region with senior leadership responsibility.
• Strong knowledge of bulk operations, freight forwarding, and logistics.
• Excellent commercial judgment, strategic thinking, and analytical skills to align stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth market intelligence to identify trends, customer needs, and competitive landscapes.
• Define and execute multi-country regional development plans with clear revenue and profitability targets.
• Set regional sales direction, govern execution, and align country leaders around priorities.
• Implement lead generation using digital marketing, content marketing, trade shows, and networking.
• Maintain sales pipeline analytics from initial contact to closing in CRM.
• Identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities with key customers.
• Sponsor regional strategic accounts and coordinate executive engagement.
• Oversee RFQ governance for strategic multi-country opportunities.
• Sponsor development of differentiated value propositions and sales enablement materials.
• Engage regional and country leadership, product management, operations, pricing, and customers.
• Establish and review regional performance metrics; provide executive reporting.

Skills

Business development

Sales leadership

CRM management

Strategic thinking

Negotiation skills

Cross-country coordination

Pipeline governance

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Job Purpose

The Ocean Freight Bulk Business Development Senior Manager is a senior regional commercial leadership role within DHL Global Forwarding, accountable for profitable growth across multiple countries in the bulk logistics sectors through new business acquisition, regional sales strategy, and expansion of existing customer relationships.

This position will define and execute the regional commercial strategy, translate global product priorities into country-level action plans, and ensure delivery of scalable, customized solutions that meet the needs of strategic regional customers.

The incumbent will provide senior commercial direction, leverage regional market intelligence, and align country sales, product, trade, operations, and pricing stakeholders to strengthen value propositions, improve sales effectiveness, and build long-term customer loyalty.

Main Responsibilities

Market Intelligence Gathering: Conduct in-depth market research to identify trends, customer needs, and competitive landscapes within the bulk logistics sectors, providing insights for pricing strategies and product development.

Regional Commercial Strategy: Define and execute multi-country business development and marketing plans aligned with global product and regional commercial objectives, with clear priorities for revenue, profitability, market share, and strategic customer growth.

Regional Sales Leadership and Governance: Set regional sales direction and governance for Ocean Bulk, align country sales leaders around priorities and targets, and use performance metrics to drive consistent execution and accountability across the region.

Lead Generation and Nurturing: Implement a comprehensive lead generation strategy utilizing digital marketing, content marketing, trade shows, and networking to attract potential customers. Leverage CRM tools to track and analyze lead sources and conversion rates.

Sales Pipeline Management: Maintain a robust sales pipeline management system that tracks opportunities in the CRM from initial contact to closing, ensuring visibility and accountability at each stage. Regularly review and analyze the pipeline to identify bottlenecks and facilitate corrective actions.

Cross-Selling and Upselling: Identify opportunities for cross-selling and upselling additional services to key customers, collaborating with the sales team to develop targeted campaigns aimed at expanding service offerings.

Strategic Customer Sponsorship: Own or sponsor selected regional strategic accounts and coordinate executive engagement across countries. Lead regional retention, growth, and reactivation initiatives informed by customer and commercial data.

Regional RFQ Governance: Provide senior oversight for strategic and multi-country RFQs, ensuring clear win strategy, cross-country coordination, competitive solution design, pricing discipline, and post-bid reviews to improve future outcomes.

Regional Sales Enablement: Sponsor development of differentiated value propositions, scalable solutions, sales collateral, and capability-building programs. Ensure country teams are equipped to position and sell Ocean Bulk Solutions effectively.

Executive Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong relationships with regional and country leadership, global product management, trade, operations, pricing, and strategic customers, ensuring alignment on priorities, investment, and execution.

Regional Performance Management: Establish regional performance reviews covering pipeline, conversion, revenue, profitability, customer retention, and strategic initiatives. Provide executive-level reporting and intervene where performance or execution is off track.

Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Relevant certifications in logistics or sales management are an advantage.
• Minimum 8 years of progressive experience in business development, sales, product, or account management within logistics or freight forwarding, including senior leadership responsibility across multiple countries or a region.
• Strong expertise in bulk operations, with deep knowledge of freight forwarding and logistics.
• Strong commercial judgement, strategic thinking, and analytical capability, combined with excellent communication, influencing, and negotiation skills to align senior stakeholders across countries and functions.
• Proven capability in regional pipeline governance, forecasting, CRM and performance management, with the ability to develop differentiated value propositions, scalable solutions, and complex regional commercial agreements.