Business Development Manager - Freight Industry

POSITION TITLE: Business Development Manager 
FUNCTION/DEPARTMENT:COMMERCIAL
REPORTS TO:Commercial Manager
DIRECT REPORTS/SUPERVISES:N/A
JOB PURPOSE:The Business Development Manager (BDM) is responsible for driving commercial growth by identifying, developing, and securing new business opportunities across strategic industry verticals including FMCG, Retail, Healthcare, Energy, Industrial, and Agri-commodities. The role focuses on delivering sustainable revenue, margin improvement, and market share expansion for our client through proactive business acquisition, customer relationship management, and cross-functional collaboration with Operations, Finance, and Vertical Heads.
Working relationships:
INTERNAL
•    Commercial Manager
•    Logistics team
•    Operations team
•    Finance Manager

EXTERNAL
•    Clients
•    Shipping lines 
•    Airlines
Key Responsibilities
1.    Business Growth & Acquisition
•    Develop and execute a robust pipeline for new business across assigned verticals and trade lanes (import/export, sea, air, logistics, contract logistics, SEZ, and project cargo).
•    Identify, qualify, and convert leads into profitable accounts through structured prospecting, solution design, and negotiation.
•    Achieve defined volume (TEU), revenue, and margin targets while maintaining high conversion ratios.
•    Drive end-to-end commercial proposals including pricing, quotations, and RFQ responses ensuring competitiveness and alignment with corporate guidelines.
2.    Strategic Account Management
•    Map key customers, decision-makers, and influencers to strengthen relationships and ensure our client becomes the partner of choice.
•    Maintain and expand relationships with existing clients by ensuring service excellence, identifying upselling/cross-selling opportunities, and supporting key account strategies.
•    Work with the Commercial Manager and other business Heads to develop and execute customer specific account plans.
3.    Market Intelligence & Strategy Execution
•    Gather and analyse market insights, competitor intelligence, and customer trends to support data-driven decisions and pricing strategies.
•    Support the rollout of vertical and corridor strategies by contributing to sector development plans (e.g., FMCG, Retail, Healthcare, Agri business, Oil and Gas).
•    Collaborate with the SEZ commercial team to position our client as a one-stop solution for port-centric logistics and regional trade growth.
4.    Cross-Functional Collaboration
•    Work closely with Operations, Customer Service, and Finance teams to ensure seamless client onboarding, service delivery, and profitability.
•    Participate in internal planning meetings to align customer requirements with operational capabilities and trade-lane capacities.
•    Support the implementation of CRM systems by tagging prospects, logging interactions, and updating pipeline stages regularly.
•    E. Reporting & Performance Management
•    Prepare weekly and monthly reports on pipeline performance, conversion rates, and customer activity.
•    Ensure accurate CRM data entry and reporting to support visibility and management decision-making.
•    Track key metrics including TEU volumes, gross margin, and account retention.
Experience
•    5 years in freight industry
Personal Attributes
•    Integrity
•    Proactive
•    Customer focus
•    Collaboration
Qualifications
•    Business Degree
•    Diploma in Sales & Marketing
•    MSK/CIM membership
•    Knowledge of the freight industry
Key Skills
•    Entrepreneurial and commercially minded
•    Results-driven with strong accountability
•    Strategic and analytical thinker
•    Customer-focused with a partnership mindset
•    Resilient, adaptable, and self-motivated
•    Resilient, adaptable, and self-motivated
•    Collaborative and team-oriented
Benefits:
•    Car Allowance
•    Fuel
•    Airtime
•    Medical
•    Pension
•    Group life