Europe
Our client is the world’s leading producer of Niobium, a metal that belongs to the transition metals. When very pure, it’s soft, ductile, and highly resistant to corrosion. Niobium products are obtained from metallurgy processes and because it enhances properties and functionality, Niobium is used in a wide range of materials, such as alloy steel and oxides, and applications in sectors like mobility, energy, and construction. As the world transitions towards a greener future, role of Niobium-enhanced nanocrystalline magnetic materials in applications like batteries, inverters/converters, on-board chargers, and charging stations becomes indispensable in driving innovation towards a more sustainable and electrified world.
Niobium can contribute to the creation of more efficient and sustainable energy solutions, be it through the advancement of next-generation batteries, or the development of powerful nanocrystalline magnetic materials. Through its diverse roles in energy storage, conversion, and transfer, Niobium is assuming a pivotal role in advancing the generation of cleaner energy, bringing us closer to a carbon-neutral future.
Due to expansion, they are seeking a seasoned expert in the battery technology applications in Europe, from cell producers to the end-user, to play an important role as a specialist in developing a new generation of niobium containing high power battery cells, providing technical support and guidance through the development process until the final stage of homologation.
The Anode Senior Specialist – Europe will be responsible for develop technical partnerships with some of the largest companies in Europe from the battery segment, developing technical relationships and identifying technical growth opportunities, facilitating business development, and collaborations with product-line and center-led groups to capture and deliver products to customers according to the customers’ expectations.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
ANODE SENIOR SPECIALIST – EUROPE
Responsibilities:
• Develop technical partnerships with some of the largest companies in Europe from the battery segment, developing technical relationships and more mature partnerships with customers.
• Identify technical growth opportunities and facilitates the business development, collaborates with product-line and center-led groups to capture and deliver products to customers according to the customers’ expectations.
• Provide technical assistance and reporting to assist the battery system approval process with the end user, partner and/or authorities (homologation).
• Experience with high power battery cell technology, as LTO, shall be considered a plus
• Develop impactful showcases to leverage growth opportunities.
• Manage complexity and lead the stakeholder’s engagement planning.
• Develop and sustain effective relationships with stakeholders.
• Engage in client development opportunities.
• Engage in open innovation initiatives to create full scale prototypes as proof of value of new technologies.
Requirements:
• 7+ years of experience in the battery supply chain in Europe (and abroad), preferably in cell producers, pack producers and end-users, such as OEMs or grid power management companies.
• Deep knowledge of the European battery supply chain market and players.
• Extensive experience conducting battery packs and systems homologation process in line with local and other international standards and regulations
• Experience with multi-stakeholder engagement, including executive or C-level customers.
• Experience building bridges cross-functionally to align and execute common goals and deliver results in a matrix organization.
• Business or technical (battery related) degree.
• Knowledge of environmental legislation trends and impacts for the energy storage market desirable
• Excellent organizational, strategic, planning and implementing skills
• Excellent presentation and verbal communication skills
• Ability to assign and delegate work, problem solve, answer questions and evaluate results of performance
• High level of critical and logical thinking, analysis, and/or reasoning to identify underlying principles, reasons, or facts
• Ability to follow through and complete overlapping projects
Job Position:
• Full time
Language Skills:
• English mandatory
• Additonal European languages will be considered a positive attribute
Our client is the world’s leading producer of Niobium, a chemical element/mineral resource that primarily improves the strength of steel and has many different applications. The nature of their business involves the extraction, processing, manufacturing, and marketing of this chemical element, developing and providing technology for each application and final product. The task is to add value to the supply chain where the element is used. This element is widely used in structures for buildings, bridges and façades, structures of automotive bodies and also in superconducting magnets of MRI scanners and hot parts of aeronautic engines, to name but a few examples. They work closely with a variety of industries involved in steel production, welding, nuclear, and electronics, and dedicate their special attention to their customers, wherever they may be globally.
Due to expansion within Europe, they are seeking a Commercial Manager to focus on the German marketplace and manage and promote the sales of niobium products. This includes but is not limited to developing and maintaining customer relations, customer credit management, market analyses and supporting market development efforts.
Mission:
This a role focuses on the sales and business development processes of identifying and building prospects and customers for business opportunities. The main purpose of the role to achieve the planned sales goals of the Niobium products in Germany. This will involve sourcing and developing new business and market opportunities, as well as maintaining and further strengthening the relationship with existing customers, involving the technology program of the company to support sales and increase the total market size.
This role is a fit for someone experienced in selling solutions and technology to the steel industry. This position demands an experienced salesperson with also a good technical understanding of the steel production sector in Germany, who can work with a variety of different stakeholders and a multicultural environment, fostering teamwork. The responsibilities include but are not limited to business development, business partnerships, negotiating and overseeing contracts, maintaining customer relations, credit and risk management, market analyses and supporting market development efforts. Through engagement with the global and regional Technical Teams, Product Managers and Marketing, this role will be involved in all activities related to sales, post-sales, lead follow-ups, business development, partnership development, sales pipeline management, overlooking the whole sales development process.
Requirements:
- Plan, implement and coordinate sales and market strategy improving competitive position together with visiting customers and potential users of the company products.
- Work together with technical team to implement the best solutions to grow company sales in the region.
- Deliver presentations of differentiated company products and applications to existing customers, as well as potential consumers instructing them about the benefits for their company.
- Evaluate market situations and forecasts to identify opportunities and further market developments, interacting with the supply chain to draw valid and sustainable scenarios.
- Develop and implement sales objectives/forecasts and action plans.
- Maintain close relationships with representatives, agents, and customers to determine customer needs and support their requests.
- Coordinate and contribute to activities of personnel engaged in sales support, market intelligence, technical consultants, and logistics operations.
- Support and resolve customers’ requests regarding logistics, product quality, and development of solutions using the company products.
- Prepare and review quotations, offers, and other documents related to sales.
- Introduce and maintain strong Sales Operations processes, use of CRM, ERP tools, forecasting, and pipeline management.
- Conduct customer risk and credit management.
Desired Qualifications and Experience
- More than 5 years of experience in sales as an Account Manager, Sales Manager, Commercial Manager, or similar position.
- Excellent levels of customer service experience within international marketplaces
- Familiarity with the steel industry and ferroalloys market specific characteristics
- Familiarity with the procurement and purchasing of steel raw materials, ideally gained from working closely with German steel producers.
- Previous usage of Salesforce, SAP, CRM, and project management tools
- Exceptional interpersonal, negotiation and relationship building skills
- Driven to succeed and renowned for strategic business thinking and solution-focused approach
- Ability to deliver market development strategies
- Highly numerate and able to formulate and monitor budgets and targets
- Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills
- Ability to write clear and objective reports and business correspondences
- Ability to effectively support, present information and respond to requests from managers, colleagues, partners, representatives, and customers.
- Good problem solving and analytical skills to be able to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
- High level of computer literacy in MS Office – Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Additional skills:
- Highly capable in evaluating market scenarios and forecasts to identify opportunities and further market developments, not only with the direct consumers of raw materials, but also interacting with the supply-chain of steel intensive segments, such as automotive, energy, construction, aerospace, and home appliances.
Personal Attributes:
- Team player
- Diplomatic
- Honest, open, and direct
- Good communicator
- Self-motivated
- Able to travel regularly and extensively across Germany.
Our client is the world’s leading producer of Niobium, a chemical element/mineral resource that primarily improves the strength of steel and has many different applications. The nature of their business involves the extraction, processing, manufacturing, and marketing of this chemical element, developing and providing technology for each application and final product. The task is to add value to the supply chain where the element is used. This element is widely used in structures for buildings, bridges and façades, structures of automotive bodies and in superconducting magnets of MRI scanners and hot parts of aeronautic engines, to name but a few examples. They work closely with a variety of industries involved in steel production, welding, nuclear, and electronics, and dedicate their special attention to their customers, wherever they may be globally.
Due to expansion within Europe, they are seeking a Technical Market Development Specialist – Europe to be responsible for providing technical support to their customers (focusing on steel production), potential customers and partners in the whole world, including intermediates and end-users of steel, with the main purpose of enlarging the Niobium marketplace.
Responsibilities
- Providing technical support to their customers (focusing on steel production), potential customers and partners in the whole world, intermediate and end-users of steel with the objective of solving problems, improving quality, reducing costs, improving productivity and production stability, or developing the production of a specific product.
- Research scenario, development of products or processes that can create new market opportunities.
- Establishing links with various companies, agents, consultants, and suppliers within the supply chain to facilitate potential new business and technology developments.
- Building knowledge of customers and informing them on market demand, market trends and the demands for technology.
- Coordinate technical projects and technology developments involving companies, universities, research centers/institutions and customers.
- Niobium technology management (monitoring, transfer, implementation, development, dissemination, promotion, documentation, and generation).
- Intensive routine of business trips in Europe to interact with the steel mills.
Requirements:
This is a technology focused role which would require a background education and solid experience in the specific area of expertise of long and flat steel products. It also requires communication and personal skills for an international role with direct interaction with customers and partners.
- The candidate is required to be a Materials/Metallurgy/Industrial/Mechanical/Materials Science engineer.
- Postgraduation in Metallurgy or Materials Science is highly appreciated.
- Minimum of 10 years’ experience interacting with steel mills with good knowledge of steel products and production processes (steelmaking, continuous casting, hot rolling, finishing/conditioning, and heat treatments).
- Experience and knowledge on steel characterization, including microstructure analysis, mechanical testing, and interpretation of results.
- Specific understanding of the role of Niobium in micro alloyed steels and experience with Niobium micro alloyed steels are very positive differentials.
- The candidate is expected to be fluent in English language and exhibit a very well-developed set of communication skills.
- Ability to develop working relationships with people from different backgrounds and cultures (customers, sales, production, industry leaders).
- Teamwork is an extremely important aspect internally and externally in this role.
- It is of the utmost importance that the candidate can objectively and proactively manage and lead the implementation of action plans with customers.
- Ability to live and work in either the Netherlands or Germany.
Qualifications:
- Engineering with any of those backgrounds: Materials, Metallurgy, Production, Mechanical.
- Master’s degree or PhD in Materials or Metallurgy is highly appreciated.
Competencies:
- Fluency in English
- Fluency in German (in addition to English) would be advantageous.
- Ability to develop working relationships with people from different backgrounds (customers, salespeople, production shop operators, industry leaders)
- Good communication skills
- Ability to implement action plans with customers, to follow up the actions, and to identify the divergences and propose countermeasures to keep the plan on track
- Results oriented
- Proactive
- Excellent adaptation skills
Europe 
Full Time, Direct Employee Overview
Our client is the world’s leading producer of Niobium, a chemical element/mineral resource that primarily improves the strength of steel and has many different applications. The nature of their business involves the extraction, processing, manufacturing, and marketing of this chemical element, developing and providing technology for each application and final product. The task is to add value to the supply chain where the element is used. This element is widely used in structures for buildings, bridges and façades, structures of automotive bodies and in superconducting magnets of MRI scanners and hot parts of aeronautic engines, to name but a few examples. They work closely with a variety of industries involved in steel production, welding, nuclear, and electronics, and dedicate their special attention to their customers, wherever they may be globally.
Due to expansion, they are seeking a Technical Market Development Manager (Soft Magnetic Materials) – Europe to be responsible for acting in the field of soft magnetic materials, especially ribbons, developing the company’s network in power component designers and producers, and, increasing nanocrystalline awareness and applications. In addition, the role will help to bridge the gap between nanocrystalline ribbon, core and component manufacturers and users, promoting showcases, proof of concepts and proof of values.
Responsibilities
Objective:
- Act in the field of soft magnetic materials, providing technical assistance in developing and disseminating applications for Nb in this segment with the aim to increase Nb market.
- Have strong interaction with market needs and trends, helping to translate and execute the company’s short and long-term strategic needs into technical actions that achieve these goals.
Tasks:
- Provide technical assistance for direct customers in the manufacture of ribbon and in the production process of components.
- Understand the different aspects of designing electronic components and identify what would be the value proposition needed for each one of the different applications.
- Dissemination of the use of niobium through meetings and technical presentations at direct clients, end users, being able to show the benefits and connect players in the supply chain.
- Prospect, plan, implement and coordinate projects that seek the improvement or development of new processes, products, applications, and technologies related to soft magnetic materials and Nb application. This comprises project management activities, such as budget follow-up, contract negotiation, follow-up of deliverables, evaluation of target achievements, among others.
- Development of competitive analysis together with the business intelligence department.
- Support understanding of database analysis (sales, competition, and market size).
- Close contact with the marketing team to select and promote projects and advertisement materials (show cases).
- Together with marketing give support in events like workshops and conferences.
Profile:
- Electrical Engineer, Electronic Engineer, Materials Science engineer, Metallurgical engineer, Power Electronics materials specialist in ceramic and metallic components, power component designer.
- Technical knowledge in magnetic materials and their application in power electronics.
- Preferably someone who has experience in the production process of different soft magnetic materials, especially ribbons (amorphous or nanocrystalline) and the production of cores and components made of ribbons.
- Preferably someone who has experience in market development of electronic components, in their applications, design and has knowledge about the component supply chain.
- Preferably has experience with project management.
- Knowledge of the market dynamics and application development is highly desirable.
- Be able to work in a team and be keen in explaining or translating to non-technical/specialists’ members technical points that are essential to the understanding of the strategy, the execution of the action plan and the definition of next steps.
- Desirable: Someone who has more than 10 years’ experience in the market development (sales department of power electronic companies) or technical assistance in power electronics/ Switch mode power supplies/passive components (transformers, Capacitors, Inductors).
- Good networking with Tier -1 and power electronic component designers and/or manufacturers.
- Someone who has had previous experience working with Nano and other magnetic materials.
- Important to have good communication (English) and networking skills, be able to work in a team, be proactive, be flexible to change in accordance with the changes in priorities that might happen along the way, self-motivated.
Competencies:
- Fluency in English
- Ability to develop working relationships with people from different backgrounds (customers, salespeople, production shop operators, industry leaders)
- Good communication skills
- Proactive
- Excellent adaptation skills
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