Strategic Business Development Manager

Freudenberg•Durham, NC

About The Position

The Strategic Business Development Manager will support the development and execution of business unit and enterprise growth strategies. This role involves identifying strategic growth vectors aligned with corporate objectives and market trends, facilitating strategic planning processes, and translating strategic priorities into actionable initiatives and roadmaps. The manager will also monitor market dynamics, conduct market attractiveness assessments, and identify market disruptions, growth opportunities, and potential risks. A key part of the role is generating and evaluating new business opportunities, leading opportunity screening and prioritization, and developing growth pipelines. Building robust business cases, partnering with R&D and Product Management for innovation commercialization, and leading strategic initiatives across various departments are also core responsibilities. The role requires strong cross-functional leadership to drive alignment and ensure successful execution of growth initiatives.

Requirements

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%

Responsibilities

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.