Business Development Executive / Assistant Manager (Sugar, Distillery, Ethanol)

About the role

This is a newly created, greenfield position: the first dedicated commercial and technical resource for the business in Thailand, working closely with an experienced overseas technical and application team. The role covers the sugar, distillery, ethanol and fermentation markets.

Key responsibilities

• Map the Thailand sugar, distillery, ethanol and fermentation market, identifying key customers, decision-makers and opportunities
• Build and manage a target-customer pipeline covering sugar mills, distilleries, ethanol plants, breweries and related process industries
• Establish credibility through technical and process discussions rather than traditional sales pitching
• Coordinate product trials and technical evaluations with the overseas technical and application team
• Convert opportunities into active customers and build the company's first commercial references in Thailand
• Build strong working relationships between the company, local partners and end customers

Required profile

• 4-5 years of B2B, technical sales or business development experience in distillery, sugar, ethanol, fermentation, enzymes, industrial biotechnology or related process industries; candidates with about 10 years total experience will also be considered if 4-5 years are directly relevant
• Fluent Thai with functional English, sufficient to coordinate with the overseas technical team
• Comfortable working in a greenfield environment with frequent travel across Thailand
• Preferred education: Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology/Industrial Biotechnology, Process Engineering, Sugar Technology or Alcohol/Fermentation Technology

Required skills

• Strong technical and process knowledge of sugar, distillery, ethanol or fermentation processes, able to engage credibly with plant-level stakeholders
• Proven ability to map markets, generate leads and drive opportunities to commercial closure
• Strong hunter mentality, negotiation and presentation skills