Business Development Manager (m/f/div) – Plant Extracts, Personal Care

What we offer Explore a world of opportunities with us. Look ahead with us and help shape innovative solutions to make our world more sustainable and life healthier, more vibrant and more comfortable. At Evonik, you have the chance to explore, thrive, and grow alongside 33,000 colleagues. Among attractive career paths and high-quality development programs, we not only offer performance-based remuneration and occupational health benefits but also hybrid and flexible working environments with #SmartWork. Bring your fresh perspective, develop your strengths, break out your mold, and find a career that fits your dreams with us. Click on the link below to learn what our employees have to say about Evonik: https ://careers.evonik.com/en/about/meet-the-team/ RESPONSIBILITIES Drive the business development of botanical extracts for cosmetic applications with focus on France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and later multiplication to other key EMEA sub-regions Build, grow, and manage a strong opportunity pipeline aligned with the segment’s commercial strategy, ensuring continuous conversion of opportunities into sustainable business. Identify, approach, and develop existing and new customers to generate new project leads and long‑term collaborations. Conduct regular in‑person and virtual customer meetings to present Evonik botanical extracts concepts, emphasizing the emotional and sensory value of extracts, their strong storytelling potential, and their relevance to consumers’ perceptions of nature and wellbeing. Articulate the company’s strengths—sourcing excellence, quality standards, flexibility, versatility, and customization capabilities Promote and position the Botanicals Extracts segment as a strategic partner for customers developing cosmetic formulations and new product lines based on strong stories and emotional marketing claims. Support Sales Managers by providing guidance, botanicals expertise, trend insights, project management coordination, and active participation in customer visits. Collaborate closely with Marketing, Segment Management, and Applied Innovation to translate market trends into commercially relevant marketing and plant extract concepts Represent the segment at trade shows, conferences, customer seminars, and other market‑facing events; contribute to marketing activities and storytelling‑driven communication materials. Monitor and analyze market dynamics, competitor activities, emerging trends, consumer preferences, and the evolution of naturality in cosmetics to identify areas of opportunity and differentiation. Ensure accurate and timely reporting of opportunities, customer interactions, and project progression through the D365 system. Maintain high professional competence through continuous learning, networking, participation in industry events, and internal knowledge sharing. REQUIREMENTS Deep passion for plants, nature‑derived ingredients, and botanical storytelling, with a genuine understanding of the origin, history, symbolism, and emotional value of plants. Solid foundational knowledge of botanicals and strong ability to translate the character of individual plants into compelling cosmetic stories, inspirations, emotional claims, and concept narratives that resonate with marketing teams and brand developers. Experience with plant extracts, botanicals, or natural cosmetic ingredients —including basic understanding of regulatory aspects. Strong marketing mindset: capable of positioning plant extracts in a way that aligns with customer brand identity, product concepts, and emotional value propositions Successfully completed bachelor’s or master’s degree in Biology, Botanicals, Biotechnology, Marketing or similar. 3–5 years experience in Sales, Marketing, Business Development, or Technical Service within the cosmetics, botanicals, natural ingredients, fragrances, wellness, or related industries Ability to build strong customer relationships and network effectively with external and internal stakeholders. Fluent English and French skills, other languages is a plus Willingness to travel internationally (approx. 50%) for customer meetings, trade shows, workshops, and other relevant market visits. Excellent communication and “people skills” Strong planning, organizational and project‑management skills, including timely, structured reporting. Your Application To ensure that your application is proceeded as quickly as possible and to protect the environment, please apply online via our careers portal . Further information about Evonik as Employer can be found at https://careers.evonik.com . Please address your application to the Talent Acquisition Manager, stating your earliest possible starting date and your salary expectations. Your Talent Acquisition Manager: Kristof Heyselberghs Company is Evonik Operations GmbH, Europe Sales Force