Regional Business Development Director, Asia

Location: Singapore, with regular travel across Southeast Asia and Taiwan
Function: Business Development and Sales
Employment Type: Full-time
Sector: Industrial water and wastewater treatment, with consideration given to candidates from adjacent industries

The Opportunity

Our client is a global provider of advanced water and wastewater treatment solutions for industrial and infrastructure markets. The business delivers technologies and services across industrial water treatment, wastewater reuse, desalination and zero liquid discharge.

As demand for water security continues to accelerate across Asia, driven by semiconductor manufacturing, data centre development, industrial expansion and increasingly stringent environmental requirements, the company is strengthening its regional commercial team.

They are now seeking an enterprising and highly networked Regional Business Development Director to generate new business, develop strategic accounts and convert complex opportunities into profitable contracts across Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

This is a hands-on, individual-contributor role suited to someone who enjoys building markets, opening doors and taking ownership of the complete commercial cycle.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development and Pipeline Generation

• Identify and develop new business opportunities across Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
• Build relationships with prospective clients across semiconductors, data centres, industrial manufacturing, chemicals, power, metals and mining, and other water-intensive industries.
• Create and manage a structured commercial pipeline from initial lead generation through qualification, proposal, negotiation and contract award.
• Develop territory and account strategies aligned with regional growth priorities.
• Take direct ownership of opportunities involving industrial water treatment, industrial wastewater treatment, wastewater reuse and selected desalination solutions.
• Build sufficient pipeline coverage to support regional revenue and profitability objectives.

Strategic Account Development

• Manage and expand selected regional and global accounts headquartered or operating across Asia.
• Develop senior relationships with key decision-makers across engineering, operations, procurement, sustainability and executive leadership.
• Create account-specific growth plans focused on new projects, service contracts, technology upgrades and additional solution opportunities.
• Coordinate with international account teams where projects involve multiple regions or global stakeholders.
• Act as the internal commercial advocate for strategic clients, ensuring engineering, project delivery and service teams remain aligned with client priorities.

Consultant, EPC and End-User Engagement

• Build strong relationships with engineering consultants, EPC contractors, technical advisors and other stakeholders who influence project specifications.
• Engage directly with industrial end users, plant operators and facility owners to identify upcoming requirements at an early stage.
• Position the organisation as a preferred technology and solutions partner for complex water and wastewater challenges.
• Translate client needs into commercially viable solution scopes in collaboration with technical, engineering and proposal teams.
• Strengthen the company's presence within Singapore's industrial and water ecosystem.

Bid Strategy and Commercial Ownership

• Lead the qualification of major opportunities and support robust bid or no-bid decisions.
• Develop opportunity-specific win strategies, value propositions and competitive positioning.
• Guide the preparation of technical and commercial submissions for tenders and requests for proposal.
• Own commercial negotiations relating to pricing, contract terms, risk allocation and margin expectations.
• Work closely with finance, legal, engineering and proposal teams to ensure each opportunity is technically deliverable and commercially sound.
• Maintain accountability for opportunities through to contract execution and handover.

Market Intelligence and Regional Positioning

• Monitor competitor activity, technologies, pricing approaches and regional win-loss patterns.
• Track market developments including semiconductor investment, data centre expansion, water reuse requirements and ESG-led water security initiatives.
• Develop relationships with relevant government agencies, regulators and industry associations.
• Provide market intelligence that informs regional business-development, pricing and positioning strategies.
• Collaborate with marketing teams on regional campaigns, case studies, thought leadership and targeted commercial collateral.

External Representation

• Represent the organisation at industry conferences, exhibitions, trade fairs and technical forums.
• Deliver webinars, presentations and client workshops that communicate the company's technical capabilities and commercial value.
• Build brand visibility and generate qualified opportunities through consistent market engagement.
• Develop a credible external profile within the regional industrial water and wastewater market.

Reporting and Internal Collaboration

• Maintain accurate opportunity records, rolling sales forecasts and account-development plans.
• Report on pipeline value, conversion rates, average sales cycle, pipeline coverage and contract closures.
• Collaborate with engineering, proposals, project delivery, finance, legal and service teams throughout the commercial process.
• Ensure commercial commitments are realistic, clearly documented and supported by the relevant delivery functions.
• Provide guidance to local sales representatives or channel partners where required.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be an experienced business-development professional with a strong record of originating and closing complex industrial or infrastructure opportunities across Asia.

They are likely to offer:

• Significant business-development, strategic sales or key-account experience within industrial water, wastewater treatment or an adjacent technical sector.
• An established network across Southeast Asia, with exposure to Taiwan considered highly advantageous.
• Experience selling complex, engineered or technology-led solutions with extended sales cycles.
• Strong relationships with industrial end users, consultants, EPC contractors or major project stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success developing opportunities from initial market engagement through to signed contract.
• Commercial experience involving pricing, contract negotiation, margin management and bid strategy.
• The ability to communicate credibly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong market-development, networking and relationship-building capabilities.
• The confidence to operate autonomously while collaborating effectively across regional and global teams.
• Willingness to travel regularly across Asia.

Relevant Sector Backgrounds

Direct experience within industrial water or wastewater treatment is preferred. However, the company is also open to accomplished business-development professionals from adjacent industries where candidates have sold complex solutions directly to industrial clients.

Relevant backgrounds may include:

• Energy-as-a-service
• District or industrial cooling
• Industrial gases
• Environmental technologies
• Process equipment
• Industrial utilities
• Engineering services
• Specialised infrastructure solutions
• Other technically complex, project-based industrial sectors

Personal Attributes

• Enterprising and commercially driven
• Highly proactive and comfortable opening new accounts
• Strong regional networker and relationship builder
• Hands-on, resilient and accountable
• Consultative rather than transactional
• Comfortable navigating long and technically complex sales cycles
• Able to balance revenue growth with commercial discipline
• Credible in senior client and technical environments
• Effective across different cultures and markets

Why Consider This Opportunity?

• Take ownership of a strategically important Asian growth market.
• Join an established global organisation operating within the critical water and environmental infrastructure sector.
• Develop business across high-growth verticals including semiconductors, data centres and advanced manufacturing.
• Work on complex, high-value solutions addressing water scarcity, reuse and industrial sustainability.
• Operate with significant regional visibility and access to global technical expertise.
• Build a long-term commercial platform rather than inherit a narrowly defined sales territory.