Strategic Sales & Business Development Manager

Job Description

The Country Strategic Sales and Business Development Manager for Chile will define and lead Fugro’s sales, commercial, and business development strategy for the country, with a key focus on building the backbone of a professional function. This leader will bring a true passion for leading transformational change and positioning Strategic Sales & Business Development (SSBD) as a key enabler of our business at the country level.

This role is a pivotal leadership position within the country organization, integral to the Country Management Team and a key interface with the regional and global SSBD leadership. The role involves partnering closely with the Country Manager to set the strategic direction and framework for the function in the country. With a focus on solid leadership skills and actions rooted in the company’s values, this leader is responsible for defining the strategies and tactics needed to improve our positioning as strategic partners and advisors to current and future customers in key target markets, building strong, confident client-facing and business development teams with an outside-in, not inside-out culture.

Additionally, the role requires the development of strong internal partnerships across various business lines and service lines to drive best practices and foster business growth while ensuring alignment with the global function and leveraging tools and resources from other countries and regions. By introducing modern practices and improving current processes, the Country SSBD Manager will elevate the country SSBD organization, ensuring it operates at the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and Execute Strategy: Define, align, and implement the country’s sales and business development strategy, ensuring it supports Fugro’s corporate, regional, and country objectives. Lead the transformation and professionalization of the sales and BD function, instilling best practices across sales, market intelligence, commercial excellence, and customer experience.

• Drive Commercial Success: Build and maintain a robust sales pipeline, generate prioritized target accounts, and maximize conversion rates from lead to order. Collaborate with Service Line Managers and Strategic Sales Managers to set sales targets, establish business development plans, and define commercial priorities that support financial targets.

• Market Intelligence & Client Engagement: Conduct market research and analysis to identify opportunities, threats, and trends. Develop Fugro’s value proposition based on a deep understanding of local customer needs and market dynamics. Foster relationships with key industry stakeholders, clients, and partners to enhance business opportunities and market presence.

• Commercial Excellence: Ensure optimal allocation and utilization of resources, including budget, personnel, and technology, to achieve business objectives. Monitor and analyze performance metrics, review monthly operational results, and implement corrective actions as needed. Represent the company in agreements with clients, and identify and mitigate risks to the sales and BD function.

• Collaboration & Communication: Regularly interact with the Country Manager, Business Line Managers, and regional/global teams to share market updates, trends, and strategic opportunities. Promote open communication and collaboration across business lines and functions, sharing best practices and lessons learned.

• Customer Experience: Execute country communication plans in line with regional strategies. Ensure continuous improvement of customer satisfaction (Net Promoter Score), and implement actions to elevate Fugro’s positioning as a trusted advisor.

• Compliance & Ethics: Ensure adherence to Fugro’s Code of Conduct, HSSE, and HR policies by all staff under your responsibility. Maintain high standards of ethics and compliance with all local laws.

• Talent Development: Lead, develop, and coach the country sales and BD team. Identify training and development needs, foster a positive and inclusive work environment, and manage succession planning to ensure continuity in key roles. Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback.

• Innovation & Change Leadership: Encourage a culture of innovation by fostering creativity and supporting new ideas and initiatives. Drive organizational and cultural change to facilitate development and growth, adapting quickly to changes and leveraging opportunities.

• QHSSE Leadership: Support the QHSSE team in implementing preventive measures, integrating management system requirements, and promoting conditions for achieving QHSSE indicators. Conduct site visits and behavioral audits to ensure safety and compliance.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE

• Strategic Sales Leadership: 10-15+ years of multinational strategic sales and business development experience in a relevant industry, in roles of progressive leadership experience, with strength in L2C sales, CRM management processes, pricing structure, and key account management.

• Country-Level Experience: Experience leading through influence in a team or being a member of a matrixed, globally based organization with proven success working across multiple time zones and diverse cultures, with a focus on country-specific market dynamics.

• Growth or Transformation Experience: Experienced change agent with proven success guiding a country through growth or transformation. Experience building, implementing, and leading the transformation of a commercial organization from relationship-driven sales to automated and sophisticated sales processes.

• Team Leadership: Proven success building, leading, and growing one’s own team and upgrading talent in the wider organization. Experience driving development, performance appraisals, and succession planning of staff from diverse backgrounds.

• Other: Strong business skills including effective communication, team building, leading and influencing, resilience, and adaptability. Strong passion in promoting a culture of safety first and environmental stewardship. Ability to do strategic and innovative thinking, program development, and execution. Ability to work effectively with senior management as well as all levels in the organization. Must be able to travel primarily within the country and occasionally regionally/globally, up to 30%.

CRITICAL LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES

• Client oriented: Supporting both internal and external clients. Attune and confidently acts to their needs, adding value and builds strong relationships.

• Change agent: Drives organizational and cultural change to facilitate organizational development. Deals with ambiguity, making positive use of the opportunities it presents.

• Influencing: Ability to work well alongside peers, colleagues, and partners to impact positively on business performance. Ability to persuade and negotiate.

• Connecting: Strong communicator and promotes open communication across the organization. Empowers & connects other people with positive impact, provides energy and demonstrates, passion, trust & respect.

• Accountability: Takes ownership and initiative, acts with confidence and works under own direction. Is able to make prompt and clear decisions, which may involve tough choices or considered risk.

• Business acumen: Provides insightful assessment on key business deliverables. Identifies business opportunities and demonstrates strong financial awareness. Reflects in terms of profit, loss, and added value.

• Lead Innovation: Experiment, collaborate across boundaries, and scale and invest in new ideas.

OTHER PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Modern leader with strong people management skills, able to connect people in business and functions, getting the best out of a team, striving for team excellence and able to bring structural change. A team player and team builder and leader.

• Familiar and comfortable with the use of AI tools.

• Flexible and agile, able to adapt quickly in case of changes.

• Excellent and effective communicator with strong interpersonal skills who relates and communicates in a clear and impactful manner.

• Strategic overview with hands-on management style.

Disclaimer for recruitment agencies:

Fugro does not accept any unsolicited applications from recruitment agencies. Acquisition to Fugro Recruitment or any Fugro employee is not appreciated**.**