Business Development Manager (Food Ingredients)

Overview

Job Title: Business Development Manager(Food Ingredients)

Reporting to: Commercial Manager

Role Type: Permanent, Full Time

Location: Grannagh, Co. Waterford

Role Summary:

Dawn Meats is a premium meat processor and supplier of choice for a range of leading supermarket, foodservice and restaurant businesses. Employing over 12,000 staff across 13 countries, Dawn Meats processes in excess of 8 million cattle and sheep annually, exporting to more than 70 countries worldwide, with a turnover of approximately €4.5bn. Dawn Meats Group is recruiting for a commercially driven Business Development Manager to support the growth of our value-added beef stock portfolio across EU markets. Following significant investment in a new stock manufacturing plant, this is a key strategic role focused on developing new markets and building customer partnerships across food manufacturing, ingredient, and pet food sectors.

We are open to candidates from two complementary backgrounds:

• Experienced sales/business development professionals within food ingredients, pet food, or protein-based products, or
• Food science / technical / quality professionals from relevant industries who have a strong understanding of product application and are looking to move into a commercial, customer-facing role.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be based at our production site in Grannagh, Co. Waterford and will be responsible for:

• Drive business development activities for the beef stock product range across EU markets
• Identify and develop new B2B customers across food manufacturing, food ingredients, pet food, and related sectors (including palatant/flavouring companies)
• Build strong, long-term customer relationships, acting as a trusted commercial and technical partner
• Present product capabilities, applications, and value propositions to customers
• Support or lead the full commercial process including prospecting, proposals, pricing, and negotiations (depending on experience level)
• Translate technical product knowledge into commercially relevant solutions for customers
• Collaborate closely with production, NPD, and quality teams to ensure products meet customer and market requirements
• Gather and share market intelligence, including trends in protein ingredients, pet food, and flavouring/palatant sectors
• Support product positioning and continuous improvement through customer feedback
• Represent Dawn Meats at trade shows, customer meetings, and site visits across the EU

Qualifications

We are open to a range of profiles; candidates should meet a combination of the below:

• Experience in food ingredients, pet food production, palatants/flavourings, or value-added protein products
• Either Proven experience in B2B sales, business development, or account management or a background in food science, technical, quality, or NPD with a strong desire to move into a commercial role
• Strong understanding of food or ingredient manufacturing processes and product applications
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers and translate technical information into commercial solutions
• Commercial awareness and relationship-building capability
• Experience dealing with customers in an EU or international market is an advantage
• Willingness to travel across the EU as required

Desirable (Not Essential):

• Experience with stocks, broths, extracts, functional proteins, or palatants
• Existing network within food ingredient, pet food, or flavouring sectors
• Blend of technical and commercial exposure

INDLP