Business Development Manager Chemicals

About the Role

Front End Limited Company is seeking a Business Development Manager – Chemicals to join their team in Al Khobar. This full-time role focuses on developing and expanding sales of industrial and specialty chemicals within the energy, petrochemical, and industrial facilities sectors across the Kingdom. The position involves both new market development and the management of strategic accounts, working closely with technical specialists to deliver consultative, value-based solutions.

Role Focus

The Business Development Manager will primarily focus on identifying and securing new business opportunities, which accounts for approximately 70% of the role. The remaining 30% will be dedicated to growing and protecting high-value existing accounts. This involves engaging with refineries, petrochemical complexes, power and utility operators, and heavy industrial facilities to provide tailored chemical solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic sales plans to achieve chemical sales revenue targets across specified sectors and accounts.
• Identify, qualify, and convert new opportunities, building a robust pipeline through prospecting, networking, and targeted outreach.
• Map key accounts and decision-making units, fostering relationships with procurement, operations, process engineering, maintenance, and C-level stakeholders.
• Lead complex, multi-stakeholder B2B sales cycles from lead generation to contract closure.
• Understand client process units and economic drivers to position appropriate chemical solutions, including process and water treatment chemicals, corrosion and scale inhibitors, biocides, demulsifiers, catalysts, and cleaning chemicals.
• Translate technical product features into commercial value, preparing value-added recommendations, technical proposals, and business cases.
• Collaborate with technical specialists, suppliers, and principals to develop and validate customized solution scopes.
• Interpret basic engineering documentation (P&IDs, PFDs, datasheets) to support solution design.
• Negotiate pricing, supply agreements, and Master Service Agreements (MSAs), balancing margin protection with competitiveness.
• Manage tenders and bid submissions, coordinating internal pricing, technical, and approval inputs.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activity, pricing, and regulatory developments within the energy and petrochemical landscape.
• Identify new chemical product lines, principals, and partnerships to expand the portfolio.
• Provide regular forecasts, pipeline reports, and market insights to leadership.
• Maintain accurate pipeline, activity, and forecast data in the CRM system.
• Coordinate with finance, supply chain, HSE, quality, and technical functions to ensure commitments are met.

Target Sectors and Chemical Scope

The role targets sectors including oil & gas (upstream, midstream, downstream), refineries, petrochemical and chemical complexes, power generation and utilities, water and wastewater, and heavy industrial facilities. Indicative chemical lines include process treatment chemicals, water treatment chemicals, corrosion and scale inhibitors, oilfield production chemicals, refinery and process catalysts, cleaning and decontamination chemicals, and other specialty/industrial chemicals relevant to these sectors.

Qualifications and Experience

• 5-10 years of experience in business development or sales, specifically within the chemicals industry.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and grow sales of industrial and specialty chemicals.
• Strong understanding of the energy, petrochemical, and industrial facilities sectors.
• Proficiency in consultative and value-based selling approaches.
• Ability to interpret basic engineering documentation.

Performance Indicators

Key performance indicators for this role include revenue and gross margin growth from chemical sales, new accounts opened and pipeline value generated, conversion rate and sales-cycle efficiency, forecast accuracy and CRM data quality, and customer retention and share-of-wallet growth in strategic accounts.