Head of Market Development, Europe in Berlin

Purpose

The Head of Market Development, Europe (HMD Europe) is GDT’s dedicated new business hunter for the European market. This role exists to significantly grow GDT’s seller base by attracting new European dairy producers onto the platform, develop mutually beneficial partnerships, expand data insights commercial relationships, and grow bidder participation across the EU and MENA regions.

This role is focused on opening new doors, winning new customers, and expanding the reach and relevance of GDT in the European dairy ecosystem from the perspective of buyers, sellers, data consumers, and partners.

The right person will bring demonstrated consultative sales experience, the commercial drive to originate and convert a long-cycle sale where GDT may not yet be a known quantity to all prospects, and be energised by the role they can play in furthering GDT’s mission and purpose.

Key Accountabilities

The HMD Europe is accountable for growing GDT’s active participant base across Europe and MENA. All accountabilities are executed in alignment with the Customer Team strategy and GDT’s commitment to operating as an independent, neutral, and transparent price discovery platform and sales channel.

• New Seller Acquisition - Europe: Accountable for identifying, prospecting, and closing new European dairy sellers onto the GDT platform. This means maintaining a healthy pipeline of target producers, conducting the majority of prospect meetings personally, building compelling value propositions tailored to each prospect’s commercial situation, and navigating long sales cycles with persistence and precision. Success is measured by new sellers contracted and corresponding incremental supply volumes brought onto the platform.
• Bidder Growth - EU & MENA: Work closely with GDT’s Marketing team to identify and qualify prospective buyers not yet registered on GDT and build the case for their participation, including attending market conferences. Bidder depth and auction competitiveness are critical to GDT’s value proposition to sellers - this role owns that outcome for the region.
• Data Insights Sales - Europe: Identify and convert commercial opportunities for GDT’s data and market intelligence products among new prospects and other participants across the European dairy ecosystem. This covers three audiences: prospective sellers (data as an entry point to the GDT relationship); prospective buyers (intelligence alongside auction participation); and broader ecosystem participants - financial institutions, agri banks, market intelligence providers, and commodity traders who use GDT price data as a reference benchmark but may not become platform participants. Note: Upselling data products to existing platform sellers sits with the Head of Seller Growth, Europe. This role focuses exclusively on new and prospective relationships.
• Partnership Development - Europe: Identify, build, and formalise strategic partnerships that extend GDT’s reach and credibility across the region, including European dairy industry associations and trade bodies, national and regional dairy co-operative federations, market intelligence and data providers, and financial institutions or exchanges for which GDT price data serves as a reference benchmark. These relationships open access to networks of prospective sellers and bidders that direct outreach alone cannot reach, reinforce GDT’s standing as the independent price benchmark for the region, and create channels for co-marketing, joint content, and referral pipeline. Partnerships are pursued alongside core prospecting activity, not as a substitute for it.
• Pipeline Management & Forecasting: Accountable for maintaining an accurate, up-to-date pipeline of seller, bidder, data product, and partnership prospects in GDT’s CRM. Provide reliable forecasts of expected new business, document key stakeholder relationships and deal progression, and ensure the CCO has clear visibility of the European new business outlook. Apply consistent use of GDT’s sales methodology and stage gate definitions.
• Market Intelligence & Brand: Pro-actively monitor European dairy market dynamics: competitive alternatives, regulatory developments, and shifts in producer selling behaviour, and feed that intelligence back into GDT’s commercial strategy. Actively represent GDT at European dairy industry events, conferences, and trade bodies to build profile. Protect and promote GDT’s reputation as an independent, neutral, and transparent trading platform.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with the Dublin-based Head of Seller Growth, Europe to ensure seamless handover of newly contracted sellers into ongoing relationship management, and with Marketing to dovetail with GDT’s marketing efforts. Work with Customer Operations Support on seller and buyer onboarding. Provide input to the CCO and Head of Commercial Operations & Enablement on European market priorities, value proposition refinement, and sales content needs.
• Customer Team Membership: Fulfil GDT Clear team member accountabilities and engage as an active partner with the Customer Team, contributing regional perspectives and participating in collaborative decision-making.

Experience & Capability Requirements

Skills & Experience

• Minimum 10 years B2B sales experience ideally in the dairy, soft commodities, or related sector with a track record of identifying and developing new accounts and winning business through proactive prospecting, networking, and consultative selling techniques.
• Existing network of senior commercial relationships within European dairy or adjacent industries; able to open doors on the basis of personal credibility and professional standing.
• Experience selling a financial, exchange, or market intelligence product to dairy or commodity market participants is a strong advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and convert a complex, multi-stakeholder sales pipeline over a 3-6 month cycle.
• Comfortable representing GDT at industry events and building profile in a market where the brand is still growing.
• Experience building or managing institutional or channel partnerships (e.g. with industry associations, trade bodies, or complementary service providers) is an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to a new industry and develop relationships and pipeline quickly.
• Fluent in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of the European dairy industry: understanding of how producers, co-operatives, and traders make selling decisions, and familiarity with key players across DACH, France, Netherlands, Ireland, and broader Europe.
• Professional proficiency in German, Dutch, Italian, and/or French.
• This role is based in Berlin. For exceptional candidates, we may consider other European locations.

Personal Attributes

• A true hunter, energised by forging new relationships, resilient in the face of a slow ’no’, strong consultative selling skills, and persistent without being transactional.
• Highly accountable with proven ability to own and meet targets.
• Deeply curious about dairy markets and motivated to help producers find better commercial outcomes.
• Highly organised with a rigorous approach to pipeline management - not easily distracted from core prospecting activity.
• Credible and confident with senior commercial counterparts at major European dairy businesses, including at CFO and CEO level.
• Comfortable working as a field-based individual contributor with high autonomy and direct accountability to the CCO.

Success Indicators

• A growing, well-qualified pipeline of European seller, EU/MENA bidder, data product, and partnership prospects is maintained, with consistent progression through stage gates.
• New European dairy producers and/or traders are contracted onto the GDT platform, contributing incremental supply volume and auction depth.
• Bidder participation from EU and MENA grows, improving auction competitiveness and strengthening GDT’s value proposition to sellers in the region.
• GDT’s data and intelligence products gain commercial traction in Europe: new data product customers contracted and a pipeline of further opportunities identified.
• A small number of high-value strategic partnerships are established or deepened, generating measurable new seller, bidder, and data product pipeline and reinforcing GDT’s credibility in the region.
• GDT’s brand and profile within the European dairy industry strengthens: the platform becomes better known and more credible among target producers and traders.
• The CCO has reliable, accurate visibility of the European new business pipeline and can plan resourcing and revenue accordingly.
• A clear and collaborative working relationship with the Head of Seller Growth ensures newly contracted sellers transition smoothly into ongoing customer management.

Note: GDT Clear is GDT’s organisational framework, inspired by Requisite Organisation principles, ensuring work complexity matches capability, roles have clear accountability and authority, and organisational structures support long-term value creation.