Business Development Manager Europe

Business Development Manager

Job title:             Business Development Manager           

Reports to:        Commercial Director, Ornua Ingredients Europe

Location:           Northern Europe             

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years.

Are you a motivated, adaptable and resilient Business Development looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organisation to its next level of success?

Ornua is actively seeking an innovative and ambitious Business Development Manager to join our Commercial department as we continue our growth trajectory.

As our Business Development Manager you will lead the OIE business development agenda for processed cheese supplied out of Spain. You will have a specific task of increasing OIE market share within the food manufacturing sectors across Europe and specifically outside of Spain and the UK. In addition, you will manage some ongoing relationships with existing customers.

Working closely with Insights, Commercial and NPD colleagues to conduct market research and identify new business opportunities to penetrate new customers in Europe. You will collaborate with internal colleagues and customers understanding customers’ needs and providing customised solutions that align with OIE’s product offerings.

Why Ornua?

• Ornua operates from 10 business units worldwide, including 12 production facilities, and has sales and marketing teams working in-market across all four corners of the globe.
• The Group is structured across two divisions: Global Commercial and Route to Market with one global operating structure. This role sits with Ingredients Europe business unit which is within the global commercial division – added value ingredients.
• Ornua Ingredients Europe (OIE) produces, markets and sells a range of processed and natural cheese from its site in Spain and the UK into QSR/Foodservice and food manufacturers. This role is specifically focused on the cheese made in our Avila facility, Spain and focused on developing new business across continental Europe.
• Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.
• Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.
• We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.
• Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable:

As our Business Development Manager you have key responsibility for;

Sales Strategy Development: 

• Own and lead the whole European business development strategy for OIE on processed cheese.
• Identify growth opportunities in new and existing markets and formulate plans to capitalise on them. 
• Analyse market trends, consumer behaviour, and competitor activities to inform sales strategies. 

Business Development: 

• Drive new sales by leveraging OIE product portfolio, insights, scale and NPD.
• Identify and build relationships with key customers, distributors, and partners to drive business growth. 
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with existing customers in existing markets.
• Lead negotiations and secure contracts with major clients and accounts. 
• Create, monitor and communicate a short-, medium- and long-term opportunity pipeline with clear volumetric and financial forecasts  

Sales Process Optimisation: 

• Streamline and optimise sales processes where appropriate to improve efficiency and effectiveness. 
• Implement best practices in sales forecasting, pipeline management, and reporting. 

Collaboration & Cross-functional Alignment: 

• Work closely with demand, marketing, product development, and supply chain teams to ensure sales strategies are aligned with broader business goals. 
• Collaborate with finance to develop accurate sales forecasts and manage budgets. 
• Coordinate with operations to ensure seamless delivery and customer satisfaction. 

Performance Analysis & Reporting: 

• Monitor sales performance vs budget and forecasts managing both volume and margin targets.
• Work closely with internal colleagues across OIE and global commercial division to identify new markets, products, customers and attend and international trade shows, exhibitions and customer meetings.
• Provide regular reports on sales progress, market trends and business development activities to OIE leadership team.

What You Bring To The Role:

• Extensive experience of successful sales and business development with demonstrable experience of delivering against target and driving results
• A real “hunter” mentality and personality plus a flair for networking. This is a role to create new business
• Ability to travel extensively overseas with periods away from home to attend meetings and events
• Strong understanding of the global dairy/cheese trade and industry and a curious mind around global factors that influence trade (political, economic, social and environmental)
• Capability to analyse data and market trends to inform business decisions
• Strong ability to create long-term business relationships 
• Proficiency in Microsoft office and experience with CRM software
• Fluency in one or more languages is advantageous with fluent English an essential requirement
• Demonstrated ability to work across different cultures and be effective and influential in a remote working environment
• Excellent influencing skills with the ability to clearly communicate objectives, provide feedback and get buy in at all levels and a flair for networking

Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.

Would you like to make an impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com

Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Ornua is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We will make every effort to provide for any reasonable accessibility needs you may have during your employment with us. If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know — we’re here to support you.