Strategic Business Development Manager

Freudenberg Group; Durham, Northern (NC, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Freudenberg Group is seeking a strategic leader to develop and execute growth strategies across global business units. The role involves market intelligence, opportunity prioritization, and cross-functional leadership to align resources with strategic objectives.

Responsibilities include building robust business cases, partnering with R&D and product management on new product commercialization, and presenting recommendations to senior leadership. Travel up to 30% is required.

Qualifications

• Master or advanced degree in Finance or Business Administration; MBA is a plus.
• Solid background in Sales & Marketing in Nonwovens or related industry.
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen; diplomatic skills in matrix environments.
• Stamina and execution focus.
• Proficient English and MS Office/SharePoint skills.
• Ability to travel up to 30%.

Responsibilities

• Strategy Development: support development and execution of growth strategies.
• Identify strategic growth vectors aligned with objectives and market trends.
• Facilitate strategic planning processes and growth portfolio reviews.
• Translate strategic priorities into actionable initiatives and roadmaps.
• Market Intelligence & Competitive Analysis: monitor market dynamics, trends, competition.
• Conduct market attractiveness assessments and industry analyses.
• Identify disruptions, opportunities, and risks; maintain competitive understanding.
• Growth Opportunity Identification & Prioritization: generate and evaluate opportunities across products, markets, geographies.
• Lead opportunity screening and prioritization using structured frameworks.
• Recommend resource allocation based on attractiveness and strategic fit.
• Develop growth pipelines and investment portfolios.
• Business Case Development: build robust business cases with market sizing and financial modeling.
• Evaluate investments and present to senior leadership; track results.
• Innovation & New Product Commercialization: partner with R&D and Product Management.
• Evaluate customer needs and market viability for new products and technologies.
• Support go-to-market strategies and launch planning; monitor performance.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: lead initiatives across Sales, R&D, Operations, Marketing, Finance, Product Management.
• Drive alignment in a matrix; facilitate decisions and reviews.
• Ensure successful execution of growth initiatives.

Skills

Strategic thinking

English proficiency

Diplomatic skills

Execution focus

Education

Master or Advanced Degree in Finance or Business Administration

MBA (preferred)

Tools

MS Office

SharePoint

Job description

Working at Freudenberg: We will wow your world!

Responsibilities

• Strategy Development: Support the development and execution of business unit and enterprise growth strategies.
• Identify strategic growth vectors aligned with corporate objectives and market trends.
• Facilitate strategic planning processes and growth portfolio reviews.
• Translate strategic priorities into actionable initiatives and roadmaps.

Market Intelligence & Competitive Analysis

• Monitor market dynamics, customer trends, competitive developments, and emerging technologies.
• Conduct market attractiveness assessments and industry analyses.
• Identify market disruptions, growth opportunities, and potential risks.
• Maintain a fact-based understanding of competitors, business models, and strategic moves.

Growth Opportunity Identification & Prioritization

• Generate and evaluate new business opportunities across products, applications, markets, and geographies.
• Lead opportunity screening and prioritization using structured strategic frameworks.
• Recommend resource allocation based on commercial attractiveness and strategic fit.
• Develop growth pipelines and investment portfolios.

Business Case Development

• Build robust business cases, including market sizing, financial modeling, risk assessments, and implementation scenarios.
• Evaluate potential investments and growth initiatives using ROI and value-creation methodologies.
• Present recommendations to senior leadership and investment committees.
• Track business case assumptions and post-implementation results.

Innovation & New Product Commercialization

• Partner with R&D and Product Management to assess and commercialize innovation projects.
• Evaluate customer needs and market viability for new products and technologies.
• Support go-to-market strategies, value proposition development, and launch planning.
• Monitor commercialization performance and customer adoption.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead strategic initiatives across Sales, R&D, Operations, Marketing, Finance, and Product Management.
• Drive alignment among stakeholders in a matrix environment.
• Facilitate decision-making and executive reviews.
• Ensure successful execution of approved growth initiatives.

Qualifications

• Master or Advanced Degree preferably in Finance or Business Administration, MBA is a plus.
• Solid background in Sales & Marketing in Nonwovens or related industry.
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen; Diplomatic skills in working within a matrix.
• Stamina and execution focus.
• Proficient skills in English.
• Excellent skills in MS Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel) and Sharepoint.
• Excellent presentation and workshop skills & techniques.
• Ability to travel up to 30%

The Freudenberg Group is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion. Employment opportunities are available to all applicants and associates without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, genetic information, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Freudenberg Performance Materials LP (USA) Welcome to Freudenberg Without Freudenberg, indoor air would not be as clean, cars would not drive and wounds would not heal as quickly. And these are just three examples from thousands of our applications. Working at Freudenberg: "We will wow your world!" This is our promise. As a global technology group, we not only make the world cleaner, healthier and more comfortable, but also offer our 51,000 employees a networked and diverse environment where everyone can thrive individually. Be surprised and experience your own wow moments.