The posting
We are an early-stage Singapore company in the health, wellness, and digital health sector preparing to establish our commercial presence overseas.
Candidate Profile
We are seeking an experienced Business Development Director to lead our in-market business development activities and establish the commercial foundations in our overseas target market. This is a hands-on role suited to an experienced commercial professional who is comfortable operating and working independently in an entrepreneurial, early-stage small environment, building markets, relationships and opportunities from the ground up.
The Business Development Director will be responsible for developing the company’s local commercial presence, identifying and engaging prospective customers and strategic partners, generating qualified leads and business opportunities, and building a structured pipeline for future revenue growth.
A commercially minded and resilient professional who is comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy and integrity.
The successful candidate should be willing to work in an environment where processes, systems, customer relationships and market presence are still being built. This role requires someone who can move comfortably between strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and execute the company’s business development and market-entry activities.
- Conduct market research and assess local market opportunities, customer segments, competitors, commercial channels and market-entry considerations.
- Identify, qualify and engage prospective customers, strategic partners, distributors, channel partners and other relevant commercial stakeholders.
- Generate qualified leads and build a structured business development pipeline.
- Arrange and conduct in-person business meetings with prospective customers, partners and other stakeholders.
- Develop and strengthen local partnerships relevant to the company’s growth strategy.
- Progress commercial opportunities from initial engagement through follow-up, proposal development, pilot discussions and potential agreements.
- Represent the company professionally in external meetings, market-development activities and relevant industry engagements.
- Gather market intelligence and customer feedback to support refinement of the company’s commercial and market-entry strategy.
- Prepare commercial proposals, presentations and business cases in collaboration with the Singapore management team.
- Execute appropriate in-market business development and marketing activities to support brand awareness and lead generation.
- Maintain accurate records of prospects, meetings, opportunities, follow-up actions and commercial outcomes.
- Track and report key business development metrics, including leads generated, meetings conducted, partnership opportunities progressed and measurable milestones achieved.
- Prepare regular progress reports and provide management with practical recommendations on market opportunities, risks and next steps.
- Support the development of the company’s longer-term overseas expansion strategy based on commercial validation.
Job Requirements
The ideal candidate should have:
- Significant track record and professional experience in business development, partnerships, sales, commercial strategy and international market entry.
- Relevant experience in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, health and wellness, digital health or a similar related sector.
- Strong understanding of the commercial dynamics, stakeholders and partnership models relevant to the industry.
- Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities, generate leads and develop commercial relationships.
- Strong experience in stakeholder engagement, partnership development and external business representation.
- Ability to operate independently in the target market.
- Strong commercial judgement, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to interact confidently with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including data analysis, reporting and commercial tracking.
- Excellent time-management and organisational skills.
- Strong attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.
- Ability to remain focused while managing multiple priorities.
- Self-motivated, proactive and independent.
- Positive, solutions-oriented and adaptable working style.
- Strong sense of ownership and accountability.
- Ability to work effectively with a small team while operating independently.
- Willingness and ability to be physically based in the target market for the required assignment period.
The candidate should be comfortable:
- building commercial relationships from an early stage;
- working without an established local team or mature sales infrastructure;
- adapting quickly to changing priorities;
- managing multiple workstreams independently;
- taking ownership from initial market engagement through to commercial follow-up; and
- contributing practically to the company’s market-entry strategy.
Working Environment
As an early-stage company, we operate with a disciplined cost structure and a practical, hands-on working culture.
During the initial market-entry and business-building phase, there may be periods requiring flexibility beyond standard working hours, particularly around important business meetings, commercial deadlines, market-development activities and coordination across time zones.
The successful candidate should therefore be comfortable working in an entrepreneurial environment and supporting the company through its early growth phase.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this role will be measured through tangible commercial progress, including:
- establishment of a qualified prospect and partner pipeline;
- number and quality of prospective customers and partners engaged;
- in-person business meetings conducted;
- qualified leads generated;
- strategic partnership discussions initiated and progressed;
- commercial proposals, pilots or collaboration opportunities developed;
- market intelligence and customer insights obtained;
- measurable progress toward establishing a sustainable commercial presence in the target market; and
- development of a clear commercial roadmap for continued market expansion.
