Business Development Director - Europe
Germany
Optimas is a global distributor of integrated supply chain solutions, and engineering support focused on delivering fasteners, components, industrial and safety supplies to our diverse customers around the world. Our local, on-the-ground teams understand the nuances of every community we serve. This allows us to adapt with our customers and partners as needs evolve, leveraging our footprint to remain at your side while providing a highly personalized level of service and support no matter where you find yourself around the globe.
Position overview
The Business Development Director – Europe is a newly created senior commercial role, established to drive Optimas International's entry into and growth within its target verticals across Europe. Reporting to the VP – Europe, the role will build and lead a team of Business Development Managers (BDMs), owning the European New Business Development agenda – identifying, qualifying, and driving priority opportunities through to close.
This is an outward-facing, build-and-lead role requiring a commercially astute business developer with deep experience in one or more of our target verticals, a proven track record of winning new business across European markets, and the leadership capability to recruit, develop, and drive a high-performing BDM team. The successful candidate will combine strong prospecting, negotiation, and deal-closing capabilities with a practical understanding of the diverse commercial, cultural, and regulatory landscapes across Europe.
Main responsibilities:
▪ New Business Development – Target Verticals
- Build and deliver the European new business development strategy for Optimas International's target verticals – Off-Highway & HGV, Power & Energy, and Industrial Equipment & Robotics– generating and qualifying a pipeline of new business opportunities across European markets.
- Develop a clear go-to-market approach for each target vertical, including priority accounts, value propositions, and routes to market, aligned with the European and wider International commercial strategy.
- Personally lead the pursuit of the most strategic new business opportunities, from prospecting and initial approach through proposal, negotiation, and close.
- Build and maintain a network of strategic relationships with target customers, OEMs, and industry partners across the target verticals, representing Optimas at relevant trade shows, industry events, and associations.
- Coordinate cross-functional bid teams – commercial, engineering, supply chain, operations, and finance – to develop compelling, commercially sound proposals for multi-site and pan-European customers.
- Track, report on, and forecast pipeline health, conversion, and win rates against new business targets.
▪ Team Leadership & Development
- Recruit, build, and lead a Business Development Manager.
- Set clear objectives, targets, and KPIs for the BDM team, managing performance through a regular sales cadence and consistent CRM discipline.
- Coach and develop BDM in vertical-specific selling, value-based proposals, and negotiation, building a high-performing, accountable new business culture.
▪ Market Intelligence & Opportunity Qualification
- Maintain an up-to-date understanding of market trends, competitor activity, and customer needs across the target verticals in Europe, feeding insight into commercial strategy, pricing, and value propositions.
- Ensure new business opportunities are qualified against Optimas' commercial criteria and its policies on trade compliance and responsible trade, including sanctions, export control, and end-use considerations.
Act as a member of the European leadership team, working closely with the VP – Europe and the International Commercial team to drive growth and change initiatives across the European business. The role requires extensive travel across Europe.
Knowledge, Training, Experience & Skills required
- Significant commercial experience in at least one, and ideally more, of the target verticals listed above, with an established network and a strong understanding of customer needs and buying processes in those sectors.
- A proven track record of generating and closing new business across multiple European countries.
- Experience of building, leading, and developing a business development or sales team, including recruitment, target-setting, and performance management.
- Strategic thinking with a strong commercial and analytical mindset.
- Excellent relationship management and networking skills, with the ability to open doors and build trust with senior customer stakeholders.
- High level of commercial and financial acumen, including building business cases and pricing proposals.
- Strong negotiation and deal-closing skills, with a deep understanding of customer and value chain dynamics.
- Effective communicator, both internally and externally; fluency in one or more European languages in addition to English is highly desirable.
- Experience within industrial distribution, supply chain services, or manufacturing environments; experience in the Fastener Sector is highly desirable.
- Adaptable and resilient, with the drive to establish a new function and the problem-solving skills to navigate change.