Are you looking for a meaningful sales job that serves a true purpose and has a real impact? At VTT, you can make a difference together with other brilliant minds. Our VTT Commercial Operations unit drives customer centricity in the organisation. As part of our sales team for Industrial Biotechnology, you will play a central role in shaping the commercial offering and building our customer base in the fast-developing R&D field of biotechnology.

VTT is one of the leading applied research organisations in Europe. What unites us are curiosity, a passion for learning, and a purpose: to solve the biggest challenges of our time and turn them into sustainable growth and well-being. Our cross-disciplinary community of over 2300 brilliant minds focuses on creating impact through science-based innovation. Get to know us further by exploring VTT's tech & infra.

We are now looking for two team players for distinct roles to coordinate sales activities between VTT’s Industrial Biotechnology research area and customer accounts! 

At VTT, we have strong expertise in industrial biotechnology and have excellent capabilities from strain engineering to piloting. We are complementing and accelerating our customers’ research, development, and innovation capabilities. With our bright-minded experts and state-of-the-art facilities, we help our clients to develop novel and innovative solutions to solve the global challenges we face today. Our customers are working in various industry areas including food, chemicals, biomaterials, and pharmaceuticals. 

As Solution Sales Lead, you will have dual responsibilities, leading the sales operations for the Industrial Biotechnology and Food research area and handling a portfolio of named customers. In this role, you’ll expand VTT's reach by identifying and capturing new business opportunities, building strong customer relationships, and collaborating with research teams to create tailored solutions that align with emerging market needs. In this role you will participate in the overall development of the research area's commercial operations, reporting, and lead a virtual sales team of research team leaders and key experts to drive coordinated efforts toward shared goals.

As Customer Account Lead, your focus will be on identifying new customer opportunities and manage sales pipeline both with international and domestic customers. You will also build and maintain relationships with named customers, understanding their goals and challenges, and delivering solutions that drive sustained partnerships. We are looking for a person capable of and motivated to transform research findings to business opportunities and help our customers succeed together with VTT teams of experts. 

If you have a specific preference for one of these positions, please feel free to indicate it in your application. However, we are eager to hear about your experience and skills at this stage, and we can discuss the specific role in more detail as the recruitment process progresses.

With us, you'll be responsible for:

• Actively analysing the market and customer needs, creating opportunities for VTT to better support customers’ business success, driving for a strategic position in the eyes of the named customers, matching customers’ challenges and opportunities with VTT excellence.
• Seeking new business opportunities among named customers, acquiring new customers, and driving sales growth in the field of industrial biotechnology.
• Building and managing international and domestic customers sales and partnership activities in the field of industrial biotechnology.
• Ensuring continued business relationships with the existing customers.
• Keeping track of the sales funnel in the CRM (Salesforce), effectively using digital sales tools.
• Creating NDAs, offers and contracts according to VTT’s sales guidelines, ensuring all different aspects are taken into account (pricing, deliverables, IPR rights).
• Contributing to offering creation and service models together with other stakeholders.
• Participating to marketing action planning and execution, representing VTT in the industry events.

What we are looking for:

• Experience of managing customer relationships, understanding customer needs, and enabling our customers’ business growth.
• Experience in a hands-on sales role in value-based and consultative solution sales, including a demonstrated ability of selling project entities and solutions that are tailored and fitted to specific customer needs.
• A team player with ability to collaborate with internal stakeholders in a matrix organization and engaging relevant people in building winning cases.
• Working experience or understanding of business logics within biotech industries. Experience of working with pharmaceutical industry is regarded as an advantage. 
• Fluent communication skills in English, both spoken and written, are required.
• Finnish skills are considered as a significant advantage. Other possible language skills are considered as an advantage.
• Higher level degree in a relevant field, e.g. life sciences, knowledge from chemistry is beneficial.
• A passion for commercial activities including excellent negotiating and networking skills.
• Willingness to travel as the customers and industry events typically need presence abroad.

As a person, we hope that you are:

• You are an energetic and dynamic professional who is thriving on actively grasping leads, developing customer relationships and seeking new business opportunities.
• You are passionate about finding solutions for customers, equipped with business acumen.
• Besides having a humble attitude, you have the ambition to drive results and close deals.
• You are result-oriented and proactive, have a broad perspective and a can-do attitude.
• You have an analytical mindset and utilize a systematic approach in sales.
• You successfully motivate and influence colleagues and customers reaching your goals in collaboration with others.
• You are comfortable working with the scientists and building business opportunities in a multidisciplinary research organisation.
• In addition, you are a team player with strong collaboration and networking capabilities.

With VTT, you’ll enjoy:

• Work with a strong purpose. At VTT, you’ll get to use your professional expertise to help solve the greatest challenges of our time through science and innovation. Our research agenda is dedicated to creating solutions for systemic and technological challenges, such as reaching carbon neutrality and creating superior digital systems. At VTT, you’ll get to do your part in driving this meaningful change through your professional skills. Read more about our strategy, the path of exponential hope, and our organisational culture as the builder of the world's most meaningful place to work.
• An inspiring community. VTT houses all the cutting-edge fields of innovation, from quantum technology to synthetic biology, under one roof. As a professional at VTT, you’ll witness and influence the future of science and technology as it happens. 
• Career and learning opportunities. As a scientific expert organisation, we emphasise learning and development and support our people in reaching their full potential. People stay at VTT for more than ten years, as we offer opportunities to develop and grow into new responsibilities. If you’re curious, ambitious, and willing to learn, VTT is the place to take your career to the next level.
• Support for your well-being. Our people are our main asset, so we take good care of them. We aim to nurture excellent team spirit and leadership and offer versatile well-being services to enable a good work-life balance. On top of 6 weeks of paid holidays annually (after one year of work), we offer exercise and culture benefits, hobby clubs, and voluntary well-being services such as meditation and cognitive ergonomics training.

Apply now and join our community of brilliant minds!

Please send your CV and application with your salary request via our recruitment system as soon as possible but at the latest by 17 November 2024. We will process applications as they come in and fill the position as soon as we find the right candidate. A security clearance procedure may be conducted during the recruitment process.

Interested and want to know more?

For further information, please contact Jari Rautio, jari.rautio@vtt.fi, +358 40 631 1933, on Tuesday 5.11. at 15-16 or Tuesday 12.11. at 11-12 (Finnish time). 

We look forward to hearing from you!