Strategic Business Development Manager - Specialist milk fats

Strategic Business Development Manager – Specialist milk fats

Belgium, The Netherlands & Eastern Europe

Lakeland Dairies Co-operative Society Limited (The Group) is the second largest dairy processor on the island of Ireland. The business is complex and ambitious with a milk supply pool of 2 billion litres of milk, drawn from over 3,200 family farms across 16 counties.

Lakeland Dairies acquired the commercial activities of De Brandt in March 2024, marking an exciting new chapter in the company's growth and long-term development. As we continue to strengthen our presence across international markets, we are seeking an experienced and commercially driven Strategic Business Development Manager to play a key role in delivering our strategic growth ambitions.

The opportunity:

This key, strategic role will lead commercial growth initiatives across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Eastern Europe. Reporting into the commercial leadership team, this strategically important role will focus on developing key customer relationships, expanding market share, and identifying new growth opportunities within the industrial food manufacturing sector. The successful candidate will combine commercial acumen, market insight, and customer focus to drive sustainable business growth and strengthen our position within the European dairy ingredients market.

        What success will look like:

• Drive commercial growth across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Eastern Europe through strategic account management and new business development.
• Manage and grow a portfolio of key industrial food manufacturing customers, building strong, long-term partnerships.
• Identify and secure new sales opportunities to expand market share and drive profitable growth of the dairy fat ingredients portfolio.
• Develop relationships with senior stakeholders across Procurement, Category Management, R&D, Product Development, and Commercial functions.
• Lead commercial negotiations, pricing discussions, and contract agreements to deliver sustainable business results.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Supply Chain, Operations, Technical, Quality, Customer Service, and Finance teams to ensure exceptional customer delivery.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activity, and emerging opportunities to inform commercial strategy and support growth initiatives.
• Deliver sales, margin, and volume targets while representing the business at customer meetings, industry events, exhibitions, and trade shows.

What will you bring?
We are seeking a commercially driven Business Development professional with proven experience in the dairy, food ingredients, or wider food manufacturing sector. You will have a strong track record of developing new business opportunities, growing key customer accounts, and delivering sustainable sales growth within a B2B environment. Strong commercial awareness, including experience analyzing pricing, profitability, and market trends, combined with excellent negotiation and relationship-building skills, will be essential to success in this role.

The ideal candidate will be a highly organised and self-motivated individual, capable of managing a diverse customer portfolio across multiple international markets. You will be an effective communicator who can build strong relationships with customers and collaborate successfully with cross-functional teams. Fluency in Dutch and English is required, with French considered advantageous. Flexibility to travel throughout Europe, together with a valid driving licence and strong Microsoft Office skills, is also essential.

If you have the necessary skills and attributes to meet this exciting opportunity in a dynamic, high volume and fast-moving business, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Application Process: To apply or for further information, please complete our online application process by no later than Monday 30th November 2026.

Lakeland Dairies Ltd is committed to having an inclusive workplace where every employee feels they belong. If you require accommodations to be made during the recruitment process or have questions relating to accessibility, please contact us at careers@lakelanddairies.com.

We are committed to equality and believe in building a diverse organisation that is representative of and responsive to the needs of our customers and stakeholders.

A NOTE FOR RECRUITMENT AGENCIES:

We prefer to hire people directly, but we do have a preferred supplier list for when we need a helping hand. We'll be in touch directly if we need you!

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