Business Development & Strategic Partnerships Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

About M2 Ingredients

M2 Ingredients is a leading organic functional mushroom company dedicated to producing high-quality mushroom ingredients for customers around the world. We are committed to operational excellence, innovation, and creating trusted partnerships that help bring the benefits of functional mushrooms to more people. Our team takes pride in delivering quality products while fostering a culture built on accountability, curiosity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Our Mission & Values

At M2 Ingredients, our mission is simple: To be the most TRUSTED mushroom company. Our values guide how we work every day:

Honor Your Commitments - We value accountability, clear processes, compassion, and respect.

Seek to Understand - We lead with honesty, transparency, recognition, respect, and humility.

Sweat the Details - We take pride in our work and believe strong processes and consistency create exceptional results.

Why Join M2 Ingredients? 

We are seeking an entrepreneurial Business Development & Strategic Partnerships Manager to drive growth through new business development, strategic partnerships, and commercial execution. This role connects Sales, Marketing, external partners, and company leadership to advance opportunities and key growth initiatives.

The ideal candidate combines strong commercial judgment and relationship-building skills with disciplined execution. This individual will manage inbound opportunities, support distributor and broker performance, coordinate commercial activation initiatives, develop strategic partnerships, and translate growth priorities into measurable business outcomes.

What You'll Do: 

Business Development & Lead Management

• Manage, qualify, and advance inbound sales opportunities, ensuring timely response, clear next steps, and consistent progress through the sales pipeline.
• Track and maintain visibility into opportunity status, potential revenue, timing, decision-makers, and required actions within the CRM, coordinating internal resources to support conversion.
• Support senior sales leadership in developing opportunities through customer research, meeting coordination, presentation materials, and cross-functional follow-up.
• Identify opportunities for new customer acquisition, cross-selling, market expansion, and increased account penetration.
• Coordinate with Sales, Technical, Product Development, and Operations to advance customer opportunities efficiently and align ownership based on relationship needs, strategic importance, and organizational priorities.
• Ensure effective customer and opportunity handoffs, maintaining continuity of relationships, account intelligence, and commercial momentum when ownership changes.

Distributor & Partner Management  

• Serve as the primary commercial point of contact for assigned distributors, brokers, and other external commercial partners.
• Develop and manage partner business plans defining target customers, growth priorities, pipeline objectives, revenue expectations, and required activities.
• Establish performance expectations, accountabilities, and reporting requirements for external partners.
• Lead regular distributor and partner business reviews covering revenue, pipeline, target-account activity, customer acquisition, market intelligence, and next steps.
• Monitor partner performance and develop corrective action plans when expectations or objectives are not being met.
• Support partner training, customer development, opportunity advancement, and product/application education.
• Improve market coverage, customer penetration, partner effectiveness, and commercial return.
• Coordinate account ownership, opportunity registration, customer protection, and cross-functional engagement.
• Coordinate distributor-generated opportunities with the appropriate M2 Sales Manager to ensure clear ownership and follow-through.
• Translate partner feedback and market intelligence into commercial, product, and marketing priorities.

Marketing & Commercial Enablement

• Lead M2’s digital marketing and commercial enablement efforts, coordinating with the OM Digital Marketing Manager, internal stakeholders, and external support as needed to strengthen brand awareness, customer engagement, and lead generation.
• Partner on geographic marketing initiatives, social media strategy and posting calendars, content planning and development, lead generation campaigns, and brand awareness programs, ensuring commercial priorities are reflected in marketing activities.
• Develop and maintain professional, customer-facing materials, including sales presentations, marketing collateral, case studies, partner resources, and commercial tools for customers, strategic partners, investors, and internal leadership.
• Translate commercial priorities, customer needs, product opportunities, and market insights into targeted marketing content and initiatives aligned with M2’s positioning and business objectives.
• Coordinate marketing calendars, trade show-related activities, and cross-functional deliverables while ensuring consistent, current, and effective commercial messaging.

Strategic Partnerships & Business Development

• Collaborate with company leadership and investors to identify, research, and evaluate strategic growth opportunities, including co-manufacturing, distribution, strategic alliances, and other commercial partnerships.
• Conduct market research, competitive analysis, and business case development to assess strategic fit, commercial potential, risks, and overall business value.
• Support partnership development from evaluation through diligence, internal alignment, negotiation, launch, and ongoing performance management.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution, including clear objectives, milestones, responsibilities, and performance expectations.
• Identify opportunities for joint customer development, new applications, market expansion, and commercial innovation.
• Support partnership agreements, governance, and follow-up activities in coordination with leadership, Legal, and the appropriate Sales Manager.

Commercial Operations & Cross-Functional Execution 

• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Operations, Product Development, Technical teams, and executive leadership to advance commercial initiatives and company growth objectives.
• Drive cross-functional project execution, accountability, communication, and disciplined follow-up, coordinating resources, timelines, risks, decisions, and next steps. 
• Identify and implement process improvements that strengthen visibility, responsiveness, accountability, and commercial execution.

Requirements:

What You'll Bring: 

• 5–8 years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, distributor or partner management, account management, commercial marketing, or a related commercial function.
• Experience working directly with distributors, brokers, agencies, strategic partners, or other external commercial organizations.
• Demonstrated experience developing or executing commercial plans, marketing programs, partnerships, or growth initiatives.
• Strong cross-functional project management skills with the ability to manage multiple stakeholders, priorities, and deadlines.
• Strong commercial judgment and the ability to evaluate opportunities, risks, resource requirements, and business value.
• Excellent written, verbal, relationship-building, and presentation skills.
• Strong organizational skills and comfort working with CRM systems, Microsoft Office, reporting tools, and commercial data.
• An entrepreneurial, self-directed approach with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Experience in ingredients, food and beverage, dietary supplements, pet, consumer products, or another relevant B2B environment is preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience will be considered.

What Success Looks Like 

In this role, success means building momentum and creating measurable commercial impact. You’ll help ensure that:

• Inbound opportunities are responded to quickly, qualified effectively, and consistently advanced toward conversion.
• Distributors and commercial partners have clear expectations and are accountable to agreed-upon growth objectives.
• New strategic partnerships and growth opportunities are identified, evaluated, and advanced thoughtfully.
• Sales and marketing resources remain current, compelling, and aligned with M2’s positioning and commercial priorities.
• Cross-functional initiatives move forward with clear ownership, timelines, and accountability.
• Commercial initiatives contribute to revenue growth, market expansion, stronger customer relationships, and improved partner performance.

Who You Are

You’re a self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. You combine strong commercial instincts with exceptional organization and a natural ability to build relationships.

You’re comfortable moving between big-picture growth opportunities and the details required to make them happen. Whether you’re following up with a new lead, reviewing distributor performance, coordinating a marketing initiative, or helping evaluate a strategic partnership, you bring ownership, curiosity, and a bias toward action.

Most importantly, you know how to build trust, create accountability, and turn opportunities into measurable business results.

Benefits & Perks 

We believe great work happens when people feel supported both professionally and personally. M2 Ingredients offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and continued growth, including:

• Competitive compensation
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with Company Safe Harbor Contribution
• Paid Time Off, paid holidays, floating holiday, and sick leave
• Paid parental leave
• Company-paid life and disability insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Professional development and career growth opportunities
• Health and Wellness Discounts through LifeMart