Director, SCJ New Ventures

SC Johnson•Racine, WI

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Business Development will play a leadership role in advancing SC Johnson New Ventures’ growth agenda, with responsibility for identifying, developing, evaluating, and advancing external growth opportunities aligned with company objectives. Interaction within the external ventures’ ecosystem will be a significant part of the role, with responsibility for initiating, building, and nurturing relationships that support New Ventures strategies. This multi-dimensional role provides the opportunity to identify and develop new business opportunities, assess investment, partnership, or acquisition candidates, and contribute across the deal development lifecycle, including opportunity assessment, business case development, due diligence, deal structuring, negotiations, and transaction execution. The Director will apply strong business judgment to complex and ambiguous opportunities and develop recommendations that influence New Ventures priorities and senior business and investment decisions. The position reports to the Executive Director of SCJ New Ventures and Acquisitions and is an individual contributor role within the New Ventures team based at SC Johnson’s Corporate Headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
10+ years of relevant experience in business development, strategy, innovation, brand management, corporate development, venture investing, consulting, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience evaluating and developing new business, innovation, growth, or strategic opportunities.
Strong business acumen and ability to evaluate opportunities across strategic, consumer, commercial, operational, and financial dimensions.
Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities, with the ability to identify the critical factors within complex information and combine data, experience, and judgment to develop recommendations.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive results though credibility, judgment, relationships, and influence rather than formal authority.
High comfort level with ambiguity and demonstrated ability to work autonomously in a dynamic environment.
Exceptional interpersonal, networking, written, and oral communication skills, including strong presentation capabilities and the ability to quickly establish rapport and credibility with internal and external stakeholders.
Ability to balance conceptual and analytical thinking and move effectively between strategic questions and detailed opportunity assessment.
High sense of urgency, ownership, curiosity, and follow-through.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally based on business needs.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or equivalent relevant experience preferred.
5+ years of consumer packaged goods or relevant consumer industry experience preferred.
Significant experience in innovation, new business development, corporate development, strategic partnerships, venture investing, or related external growth activities.
Understanding of the start-up and venture ecosystem and how external companies, technologies, partnerships, and capabilities can be leveraged to create enterprise value.
Global curiosity, business savvy, and strong insight into consumer, customer, market, and business trends.
Passion for innovation and continuous improvement, with an ability to think expansively about new sources of growth and value creation.
Strong external orientation and demonstrated ability to build and maintain productive professional networks.
Technically curious and able to quickly grasp new concepts, technologies, and business models and identify the expertise needed to evaluate or advance an opportunity.
Self-confident, straightforward, collaborative, and flexible, with the ability to challenge thinking constructively and contribute effectively within a highly experienced team.

Responsibilities

Contribute to the development and execution of New Ventures and Business Development strategies aligned with SC Johnson’s growth objectives, bringing external perspectives, market insights, and opportunity recommendations to the team.
Originate, identify, research, and develop new business opportunities and potential “white space” for New Ventures, evaluating markets, business models, technologies, consumer needs, and other external developments that may create a competitive advantage for SC Johnson.
Identify and assess prospective investment, partnership, and acquisition candidates across multiple dimensions, including strategic fit, market attractiveness, consumer and customer relevance, business potential, capabilities, financial considerations, and execution risk.
Develop business cases, analyses, and recommendations that help shape New Ventures priorities and support decisions on whether and how to advance opportunities.
Lead complex Business Development opportunities and cross-functional workstreams, establishing the approach, engaging the appropriate expertise, and driving work from initial exploration through recommendation, negotiation, and execution.
Engage actively with the external ventures and innovation ecosystem, including entrepreneurs, venture capital firms, accelerators, advisors, innovation practitioners, and other external partners. Initiate, build, and nurture relationships and opportunities that may be relevant to SC Johnson’s strategic exploration areas.
Build a strong external focus and maintain awareness of emerging companies, technologies, business models, consumer trends, and market developments that may create opportunities for SC Johnson.
Manage and participate actively in deal flow discussions, bringing informed perspectives and recommendations to opportunity prioritization and helping continuously improve Business Generation strategy and processes.
Lead opportunities across the deal development lifecycle, including opportunity assessment, due diligence, business case development, deal structuring, negotiations, and transaction execution. Partner with New Ventures leaders on activities requiring broader enterprise alignment or senior-level decision authority.
Work seamlessly across the organization and partner with cross-functional leaders and subject matter experts to bring the New Ventures perspective, assess external opportunities, and determine how external companies and capabilities could create value for SC Johnson.
Maintain open and effective communication among the New Ventures team and cross-functional partners, including Finance, Sales, Marketing, Consumer Insights, RD&E, Legal, Operations, Procurement, and other functions, to ensure strong information flow, alignment, feedback, and execution.
Establish clear project and operating plans and drive work to deliver results that add meaningful strategic value to Business Development and New Ventures.
Develop and deliver clear, compelling analyses and presentations for New Ventures leadership and other senior stakeholders, translating complex or ambiguous information into actionable recommendations.
Operate with a high degree of autonomy, ownership, and urgency while recognizing when broader alignment, expertise, or leadership involvement is required.