Business Development Manager - Animal Nutrition

Job Responsibilities  & Duties

Commercial Development & Sales Execution

• Develop and manage the Poultry business executing the agreed upon sales plan.
• Identify, qualify, and close new business, directing sales to end users, distributors and manufacturer’s representatives.
• Establish and develop business relationships with established and new business partners to drive repeat purchases and multi-product adoption.
• Develop and execute plan for revenues, volume and gross margin of poultry products; establish pricing, commercial terms and account-level sales plans in coordination with leadership.
• Build and maintain an active sales pipeline; maintain record of activities via established call and sales reporting methods.

Channel & Market Development

• Represent J Rettenmaier in the poultry market, building brand presence and distribution coverage.
• Exhibit in and present at appropriate trade shows, conferences and expositions.
• Create and maintain directory listings and advertisements.
• Research and document customer, competition, application and market information; monitor competitive activity, pricing and product positioning, providing structured market feedback to leadership.

Technical Selling & Customer Support Coordination

• Maintain a detailed understanding of poultry products, applications, volumes and pricing, with focus on Poultry Nutrition.
• Develop relationships with key upper level decision makers at target accounts.
• Frequently travel to customer sites and market events to support customers and accelerate adoption.
• Create and present papers at internal J Rettenmaier poultry seminars.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work with CEO to create tactical and strategic sales growth plans.
• Generate quotations to be recorded in SAP; create sales call reports and appropriate customer data.
• Create sales forecasts for production planning and annual budget process.
• Provide input on format, layout and printing/creation of marketing materials such as technical data sheets, newsletters and promotional giveaway materials.
• Provide leadership example in support of company business goals, plans and objectives.
• Maintain regular consistent and professional attendance, punctuality, personal appearance and adherence to all relevant policies and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

What Success Looks Like (First 12 Months)

• Establish strong customer relationship in priority poultry segments.
• Convert trials and first orders into repeat business.
• Build a qualified opportunity pipeline aligned with existing Feed product offerings.
• Develop customer proof points and case studies in targeted poultry applications.
• Create a predictable forecasting and reporting cadence.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Poultry Animal Science or equivalent.
• Strong technical knowledge of the livestock/poultry industry with focus on Poultry Nutrition.
• Independent strong negotiation skills.
• Able to effectively communicate complex matters on the telephone, in person and in writing.
• Competent use of business English in formal communication via email, letter and presentations.
• Valid driver’s license and willingness to travel approximately 50%.
• Adept in use of MS Office, particularly Outlook, Excel and Word, and Power Point.
• Able to perform business and scientific math calculations.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Proven success B2B selling and managing multi-stakeholder customer relationships.
• Strong consultative selling capability, including the ability to communicate technical concepts in practical commercial terms.
• High proficiency in market development, sales planning, and pipeline management.
• Valid driver’s license and willingness to travel extensively (typically 40–60% depending on customer demands and season).

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven consistent sales track record.
• Minimum 5 years of B2B sales experience in poultry nutrition, feed additives, or a closely related field.
• Experience with international business partners, specifically German.
• Knowledge of poultry markets and seasonal demand cycles.
• Experience with feeding trials and performance validation a plus.

Core Competencies/Skills

• Results-driven business development mindset.
• Strong territory planning and account prioritization.
• Customer credibility with producers, nutritionists and feed manufacturers.
• Structured communication and internal coordination.
• Comfort operating in a growth-focused, entrepreneurial environment.
• Ability to work cross-culturally with international business partners.