Business Development Innovator

Reporting to:   Commercial Director

Salary: To be negotiated, based on experience

Location:           Nottingham, UK

About Nova Biochem

Nova Biochem is a climate-tech company pioneering the transformation of industrial by-products into high-value, sustainable chemicals. Using our proprietary hydrothermal depolymerisation process, we convert lignin-rich residues from pulping and agriculture into renewable aromatic building blocks used in coatings, plastics, and resins - replacing fossil inputs and cutting emissions at the source.

Our mission is to unlock a circular, low-carbon model for industrial chemistry - creating new value from waste while reducing millions of tonnes of CO₂ emissions. Based in Nottingham, we’re entering a scale-up phase, expanding lab and pilot operations, delivering a €7.5M EU-funded project, and laying the groundwork for commercialisation.

This is a pivotal moment to join a small, mission-driven team determined to reshape the chemical industry through practical innovation.

The Role

We are seeking a Business Development Innovator to build momentum behind Nova Biochem’s growing commercial pipeline. Reporting to the Commercial Director, you will identify prospects, build customer and partner relationships, and keep opportunities moving from first contact through meetings, trials and commercial discussions.

This is a high-energy, externally focused role for someone who creates activity rather than waits for it. You will research prospects, reach out, follow up quickly and generate new commercial opportunities, with the Commercial Director providing overall direction. You will work across a broad range of potential customers, markets and applications, coordinating closely with the Applications Specialist and wider technical team to get samples, technical input and follow-up to prospective customers and keep opportunities moving.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development

• Research, identify and approach prospective customers, partners and new opportunities across Nova’s target and adjacent markets, while following up inbound and externally generated leads quickly.
• Build relationships through email, calls, meetings and industry events, keeping promising conversations active and moving.
• Take ownership of progressing opportunities from first positive response through meetings, sample evaluation, trials and commercial discussions, with clear next steps and strong follow-through.
• Maintain a structured commercial pipeline so actions, learning and next steps are clear and promising leads do not lose momentum.

Opportunity Development

• Look for new customers, applications, partnerships and commercial opportunities where Nova’s technology and products could create value.
• Bring customer feedback, market observations and new ideas back into the business, working with commercial and technical colleagues to decide what should happen next.
• Learn enough about Nova’s technology to connect customer needs with the right internal expertise and help turn promising ideas into practical opportunities.

Commercial Delivery

• Support the Commercial Director with value propositions, proposals, pricing inputs, business cases and partnership structures for individual opportunities.
• Work closely with the Applications Specialist to coordinate sample preparation and dispatch, ensure prospective customers receive the right technical information, and track feedback and next steps from evaluations.
• Represent Nova confidently at industry events, customer visits and partner meetings, bringing technical colleagues into conversations when needed.

Who You Are

You bring energy, initiative and a strong bias for action. You spot an opportunity and immediately start thinking about who to contact, what to try and how to move it forward. You enjoy generating ideas, opening doors and creating momentum, and you do not wait to be asked before taking the next sensible step.

For you, a positive response is the start of the work, not the finish. You follow up quickly, turn interest into meetings and actions, and keep pushing promising opportunities forward. You are curious, highly coachable and quick to learn; you do not need to arrive as an expert in chemistry or Nova’s markets, but you ask good questions, build knowledge quickly and know when to draw on the expertise around you. You thrive where pace, ownership and follow-through matter every day.

Essential Skills / Experience

• Previous experience in business development, sales, partnerships, account development or another commercially focused role.
• Highly proactive and self-starting, with evidence of creating activity and moving work forward without constant direction.
• Strong interpersonal skills and confidence approaching new people, building relationships and following up consistently.
• Experience taking a lead, opportunity or initiative from initial interest through to tangible progress or results.
• Curious and quick to learn, with the ability to understand new products, technologies and markets.
• Clear and confident communicator, able to explain value simply and involve the right specialists when needed.
• Organised, resilient and self-driven, able to manage multiple priorities and maintain strong follow-through.

Desirable Skills / Experience

• Experience in chemicals, materials, industrial technology, manufacturing or another technical B2B market.
• Exposure to technical sales, customer testing or validation, pilots, trials or joint development partnerships.
• Start-up or scale-up experience, or familiarity with CRM tools, pipeline management and structured outbound business development.

Why Join Us?

At Nova Biochem, you’ll work where breakthrough science meets the market, developing customer partnerships that shape how our technology is tested, refined and commercialised. You’ll join a small, ambitious team where ideas move quickly from customer conversation to technical action, with meaningful ownership and room to grow as our commercial function expands.

If you’re motivated by purpose, curious about how new technologies find their market and excited by the challenge of turning innovation into commercial reality, we’d love to hear from you.