Business Development Specialist

Air Liquide•Montreal, QC

29d•Onsite

About The Position

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace that embraces the unique perspectives of our employees, our customers, patients, community stakeholders, and cultures across the world. We believe that a variety of backgrounds makes our team stronger and more innovative. At Air Liquide, we RESPECT, HONOR and VALUE diversity. Air Liquide is Hiring for a Business Development Manager This position is located at our Montreal office located at 1250 Blvd René Levesque W, 18th floor. Recruiter: Manon Belanger/[email protected]/514-241-9029 Summary Job Description: The Business Development Manager (BDM) – Critical Minerals is responsible for driving solution-oriented sales growth within the Metals & Resources Pillar, one of the three core growth engines for North American Business Development. This role treats Critical Minerals as a foundational "gateway" sector; by securing the upstream supply chain, the BDM creates a strategic pathway for Airgas to win in downstream markets including but not limited to Semiconductors, Aerospace, Defense, Battery and Renewable Energy. Achieving deep Customer Intimacy is mission-critical to this role. By identifying and mitigating complex operational pain points at the executive and engineering levels, the BDM converts technical challenges into high-value sales opportunities. This is a high-level individual contributor role—a "Manager of a Process"—that influences regional sales teams and directs cross-functional technical groups to deliver revenue growth across the U.S. and Canada.

Requirements

Education: Bachelor’s Degree required; Engineering (Mining, Chemical, or Materials) preferred.
Experience: Minimum of five (5) years of Business Development or Technical Sales experience in industrial gases, mining, or complex chemical processing.
Proven track record of using customer intimacy to drive long-cycle technical sales and account growth.
Strategic Mindset: Ability to articulate how the Metals & Resources Pillar serves as the upstream pathway to the Semiconductor, Aerospace, Battery and Defense sectors.
Communication & Language: Bilingualism (English/French) is highly preferred to effectively manage the Montreal hub and the Canadian mining landscape.
Technical Aptitude: Understanding of critical minerals mining processes and the application of Airgas/Air Liquide products to those processes.
Analytical Skills: Strong ability to research market trends and perform project economic evaluations.
Knowledge and proven use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is strongly preferred.
Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to interface diplomatically with diverse stakeholders.
Customer focus and ability to understand concepts from a customer perspective and valuation.
It is critical that offerings are evaluated from both Airgas and target customer perspectives within the steel and nonferrous ecosystem.
Excellent negotiation skills
Project management skills (managing initiatives from idea generation to full execution)
Ability to travel as needed
Ability to work long hours in a high stress environment as required while maintaining a calm demeanor
Hold a valid driver’s license
Must be able to traverse office and manufacturing/job site locations.
Ability to work in a high-stress, fast-paced environment while maintaining a professional demeanor.
Ability to travel up to 50% across the U.S. and Canada, including visits to remote mining and industrial sites.
Employee may occasionally be required to traverse through office and/or manufacturing locations.

Responsibilities

Technical collaboration and feedback
Solution Architecture: Direct cross-functional technical groups to deliver bespoke solutions that mitigate identified operational risks at customer sites.
Innovation Feedback Loop: Act as the primary conduit between the field and the ALTEC; Innovation Campus Delaware (ICD) and World Business Lines (WBL) to ensure R&D projects are aligned with emerging customer needs.
Customer Engagement SupportSupport On-site and Regional sales teams during technical conversations with customer procurement and engineering leads.
Assist in validating customer value propositions aligned with their long-term sustainability and production ambitions.
Maintain accurate projections of segment demands and volume requirements for the organization.
Work to understand key EV & ESS Battery Customer Pain Points where Airgas and Air Liquide can potentially provide solutions and differentiate our offering from the competition.
Offer and Ecosystem Integration Contribute to the development of the Airgas offer for the Critical Minerals Sector, highlighting unique value-added factors.
Ensure offers include the full Airgas portfolio, including On-Site; Bulk Gases; Microbulk; Specialty Gases for on-going operations; Hardgoods/Safety primarily for the construction of the facilities; and AL entities like Engineering & Construction (E&C).
Support the creation of marketing materials and sales tools tailored to the critical minerals ecosystem.
Strategic Growth and Go-to-Market Execution Determine the "Go to market approach" including channel, lead generation, training, and sales tools.
Direct and influence resource teams to accomplish agreed upon initiatives.
Consider strategic approaches such as acquisition of products, access to markets, 3rd Party Cooperation (to include vendors and engineering companies), and potential investments with ALIAD, all aimed at maximizing share in reshoring and/or greenfield Critical Mineral sites.