Are you the kind of person who is always thinking, sketching, seeking and adjusting? Do you need to understand how things work and then determine how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious problem solver who enjoys working with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive and ingenious?

Are you always solving?

Then we’d like to meet you, and we bet you’d like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for an Automotive & Energy Storage Business Development Manager to join our Specialty Additives team in Schaffhausen, Switzerland or remotely from France. This highly visible role combines global customer-program leadership with regional business development across lithium-ion batteries, energy storage systems and emission control & catalyst markets. The position reports to the Sr Business Development Manager, Performance Specialties, Europe.

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Lead global customer programs for defined multinational automotive lithium-ion battery (LiB) and emission control and catalyst (EC&C) customers, from request for quotation (RFQ) through series production and lifecycle management.
• Drive regional business development for LiB, including energy storage systems, and EC&C markets by identifying opportunities, unmet customer needs and attractive market segments.
• Lead priority innovation projects through the INNOVA stage-gate process, including market analysis, segmentation, business cases, launch planning and commercialization.
• Build trusted relationships with customer stakeholders across R&D, procurement and quality; lead RFQs and contract negotiations in partnership with Sales and Legal.
• Partner closely with Operations and Quality, particularly at the Alizay, France productionsite, to support IATF 16949 accreditation, VDA 6.3 compliance, customer audits, change management and certification readiness.
• Coordinate international, cross-functional teams across Sales, R&D/Innovation, Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, Marketing, Finance, Sustainability, Regulatory and Legal.
• Be accountable for clear ownership, timely decisions, consistent execution and customer commitments relating to quality, cost, delivery, service, compliance and growth.
• Lead internal performance-improvement initiatives using structured project-management and DMAIC methods, tracking actions through completion.
• Travel regularly for regional customer visits, customer audits and rapid on-site support when urgent issues arise.
• Actively contribute to organizational goals by taking initiative, executing goals and focusing on performance and safety.
• Improve organizational capacity and capabilities by building collaborative relationships, optimizing diverse talent and using positive communication and influence with others.

What This Role Is Not:

• Not a people-management position: this is an individual-contributor role with no direct reports, requiring leadership through influence in an international matrix organization.
• Not a desk-only role: success requires close collaboration with manufacturing sites, regular customer visits, participation in audits and rapid on-site support.
• Not a purely commercial sales role: the position combines customer leadership with technical understanding, innovation, quality, compliance and operational coordination.

In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:

• Demonstrated experience in automotive project management, business development and continuous-improvement methods.
• Experience with automotive customers, RFQs, contract negotiation, project delivery and product lifecycle management.
• Working knowledge of automotive quality standards, including IATF 16949 and VDA 6.3.
• Ability to lead market segmentation-led business cases, go-to-market strategies and product-launch plans.
• Strong technical or scientific understanding, with the ability to translate complex information into concise recommendations and decisions.
• Professional proficiency in English and confidence working across regional and global teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, CRM systems and digital tools.
• A valid driving licence and willingness to travel regularly within the region.
• Demonstrated responsible and ethical behavior at all times.
• The ability to help the company drive greater value through understanding the business, making complex decisions and creating the new and different.

The following skill sets are preferred by the business unit:

• Six Sigma Yellow Belt or Green Belt capability.
• Experience leading customer plant audits, questionnaires, certification-readiness activities and change-management processes.
• Experience in lithium-ion batteries, energy storage systems, emission control or catalyst markets.
• Experience coordinating multinational customer programs across Europe, North America and China.
• Practical knowledge of structured stage-gate innovation and DMAIC methodologies.

What you can expect in this role:

• A global and regional scope with meaningful exposure to strategic automotive and energy-storage customers.
• Close collaboration with the Alizay, France site and other relevant manufacturing locations in Belgium and the Netherlands.
• The opportunity to shape growth, innovation and customer execution across a highly cross-functional international network.
• Location flexibility: Schaffhausen, Switzerland or remote working from France, with regular regional travel.