Head of Business Development, South America

**About Rumin8**
Rumin8 is tackling one of the biggest contributors to climate change: methane emissions from livestock. The digestive process of beef and dairy cattle produces a full 3.7% of all greenhouse gas emissions, a huge contribution from a single source. With billions of people around the world relying on animal products as part of their daily diet, eliminating livestock methane production is a powerful lever in the quest toward mitigating climate change.
Rumin8’s technology is demonstrating reduction of emissions from cattle by up to 95%. Our technology replicates the anti-methanogenic compounds that occur naturally in plants and turns them into dietary supplements for livestock. By reducing methane production, we enable the animal to convert otherwise lost energy into increased productivity, a win for farmers and a win for our planet.
With recent backing by top climate tech investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, and Harvest Road to commercialize our technology globally, we are on a mission to decarbonize hundreds of millions of cattle around the world for a secure and climate-optimal global food system. If you believe - like we do - that solving climate change is the greatest calling of our generation, let’s talk.
**About this role**
As Rumin8 prepares to commercialize our technology around the world and achieve our mission of decarbonizing 100 million cattle by 2030, we need to develop commercial partnerships that will allow us to reach the most cattle in the shortest period of time.
Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, the Head of Business Development in the South America region, will be responsible for forging relationships with potential partners across the animal agriculture industry across a shortlist of South American Countries, with a primary focus on Brazil and Argentina. Other areas of interest are Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia.
This role requires a deep understanding of the animal nutrition industry and a proven track record of successfully negotiating and securing large, strategic partnerships with leading industry players. You will be equally comfortable visiting farms to speak with farmers as you are negotiating with executives in large corporations.
To succeed in this role, you will draw on an established career in business development in the animal nutrition industry, and a deep network of relationships built over time. You have a creative, strategic, and commercial mind grounded in the practical realities of the industry. Empowered by your scientific or technical background, you understand how to communicate the intricacies of new products to educate customers and have experience launching products into new markets.
In addition to building relationships across the industry, you excel at negotiating partnerships. You’ll take a leading role in all negotiation in the South America region, from securing early commercial trails all the way through to major distribution or offtake agreements in order to roll out Rumin8’s products in the market at commercial scale.
Importantly, you will be the ambassador for Rumin8 in South America and you will fully understand the cultural nuances of doing business across the region. You will be a pivotal influence in how Rumin8 shapes and executes its market entry strategy and will chaperone Rumin8 through our market launch.
**You Will**:
- Forge strong relationships across a broad network of industry players and stakeholders.
- Act as the company’s primary representative to local stakeholders.
- Work alongside the commercial team to define the company’s business model market entry strategy in the region.
- Taking a leading role in negotiating all commercial relationships in the region.
- Ensure customer needs and wants are integrated into Rumin8’s R&D program.
- Develop and execute a marketing plan for the region to build brand awareness.
- Chaperone the company through to a successful market launch.
**You have**:
- **Industry knowledge** - A minimum of 10 years of business development experience in the animal agriculture industry.
- **Academic qualifications** - Degrees in a relevant scientific or technical background.
- **Regional knowledge** - Deep understanding of the nuances of the region, including cultural factors that influence how business is done in each country. Must demonstrate working knowledge of business best practices in Brazil and/or Argentina.
- **Relationship building skills** - Ability to forge deep relationships with external stakeholders and across internal teams.
- **Negotiation skills** - Proven ability to design, negotiate and secure large-scale commercial partnerships in the region.
- **Product Launches** - Proven experience taking a new product to market in the animal agricultural industry.
- **Liaison skills** - The ability to bridge communication gaps between technical and non-technical teams either internally or with customers and partners.
- **Communication

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