Business Development Jobs in Baton Rouge, LA (NOW HIRING)

*Benefits Eligibility: This position is eligible for benefits beginning the first of the month following your hire date.
*Recruiting Agencies: Thorpe Specialty Services does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiting agencies.
The Business Development Manager is responsible for driving revenue growth, expanding market presence, and developing strategic customer relationships for the organization's industrial services offerings, including refractory solutions, corrosion protection, rubber lining, scaffolding, and related specialty services. This role focuses on identifying new business opportunities, supporting strategic account development, and collaborating closely with Operations, Estimating, Engineering, and executive leadership to support sustainable growth and operational alignment.
Role and Responsibilities
Market Development & Strategy
• Identify, qualify, and pursue new business opportunities within petrochemical, power generation, mining, manufacturing, and other industrial markets.
• Conduct market research and competitive analysis to understand customer needs, maintenance cycles, asset integrity initiatives, and emerging industry trends.
• Develop and execute business development strategies aligned with company growth objectives, operational capabilities, and market priorities.
• Monitor competitor activity, pricing trends, market conditions, and customer buying behaviors to strengthen competitive positioning.
Client Engagement & Relationship Management
• Build and maintain strong relationships with customer decision-makers, procurement professionals, operations personnel, engineers, reliability teams, and executive leadership.
• Conduct regular customer visits, technical discussions, planning meetings, and executive-level interactions to maintain engagement and strengthen customer partnerships.
• Represent the company at industry events, conferences, networking functions, and customer meetings to enhance market visibility and brand recognition.
• Position the company as a trusted partner by understanding customer operational drivers, business pressures, and long-term goals.
• Serve as the voice of the customer internally to support alignment between customer expectations and operational execution.
Sales Process Management
• Qualify leads, support proposal preparation, and coordinate tendering activities in collaboration with estimating, engineering, operations, and safety teams.
• Lead opportunity development efforts from early-stage engagement through proposal coordination, pricing discussions, negotiation support, and contract award.
• Support contract negotiations, pricing strategies, and scope development while ensuring compliance with company approval processes.
• Maintain a structured sales pipeline and provide regular reporting regarding pursuits, forecasts, market conditions, and progress against business development goals.
• Utilize reporting tools, dashboards, analytics platforms, and AI-assisted forecasting technologies to improve sales visibility, forecasting accuracy, and strategic planning.
• Identify opportunities to improve sales processes, customer engagement workflows, reporting consistency, and operational coordination through automation and technology enhancements.
Technical & Commercial Coordination
• Develop understanding of technical services involving refractory systems, corrosion protection, rubber lining, coatings, scaffolding, and specialty industrial services.
• Coordinate with Operations, Engineering, Estimating, Safety, and Project Management teams to ensure proposed solutions are technically feasible, operationally executable, and commercially competitive.
• Participate in planning meetings, project reviews, and post-execution evaluations to strengthen customer relationships and future opportunities.
• Provide ongoing market feedback and customer insights to support service line development, staffing strategies, operational planning, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure effective handoff of awarded projects including customer expectations, scope clarity, operational requirements, and relationship continuity.
Compliance, Safety & Additional Responsibilities
• Maintain compliance with company policies, customer requirements, safety standards, and ethical business practices.
• Maintain confidentiality and integrity of customer, contractual, pricing, and business-sensitive information.
• Adhere to company and customer safety requirements while visiting industrial facilities, customer sites, and operational environments.
• Support special projects, strategic initiatives, and additional business development responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications and Education Requirements
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Engineering, Construction Management, or related field preferred; equivalent work experience may be considered.
• Proven business development, sales, account management, or customer relationship experience within industrial services, energy, construction, manufacturing, or project-based operational environments required.
• Familiarity with heavy industrial, petrochemical, refinery, power generation, manufacturing, or construction environments preferred.
• Strong understanding of industrial maintenance services, turnaround work, specialty contracting services, and project-based operations preferred.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship management skills.
• Ability to communicate technical and non-technical concepts effectively to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Strong organizational, analytical, strategic thinking, and time management skills.
• Experience utilizing CRM systems, reporting tools, business intelligence platforms, or sales analytics software preferred.
• Experience utilizing automation technologies, market analytics tools, predictive analytics, or AI-assisted business development platforms preferred.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently, prioritize competing demands, and meet deadlines in fast-paced operational environments.
• Ability to adapt to evolving technologies, customer requirements, market conditions, and operational priorities.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to customer sites, industrial facilities, conferences, and operational locations.
Physical Requirements
• Frequent travel is required, including driving, flying, overnight travel, and travel on short notice to customer sites, industrial facilities, conferences, project locations, and operational meetings.
• Must be able to safely operate a motor vehicle and maintain a valid driver's license in accordance with company requirements.
• Prolonged periods of sitting while driving, traveling, attending meetings, and working at a computer workstation are required as essential functions of the position.
• Frequent and repetitive use of hands, wrists, and fingers for typing, keyboarding, writing, mobile device usage, handling documents, and operating computers and office equipment.
• Requires fine motor skills and manual dexterity sufficient to operate computers, tablets, phones, presentation equipment, and other business technology tools for extended periods of time.
• Frequent viewing of computer screens, mobile devices, presentations, proposals, CRM systems, reports, spreadsheets, and operational documentation requiring close visual acuity and sustained concentration.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing in individual meetings, group presentations, industrial environments, and customer-facing situations.
• Ability to walk, stand, climb stairs, bend, stoop, kneel, and navigate active industrial facilities, construction sites, refineries, power plants, scaffolding access areas, uneven terrain, and operational environments during customer visits and field walkthroughs.
• Ability to occasionally access elevated work areas, ladders, platforms, or confined operational areas while following all customer and company safety requirements.
• Ability to occasionally lift, carry, transport, or move presentation materials, samples, luggage, laptops, PPE, or business equipment up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to work in indoor and outdoor industrial environments, including exposure to varying temperatures, humidity, noise levels, dust, fumes, weather conditions, and operational hazards.
• Ability to tolerate moderate office noise levels as well as elevated industrial noise levels during customer visits and operational site walkthroughs.
• Must be medically able to access customer facilities and comply with customer-specific site requirements, including fit-for-duty requirements, respirator clearance, drug/alcohol testing, and safety orientation requirements where applicable.
• Must be able to wear and properly utilize required personal protective equipment (PPE), including hard hats, safety glasses, hearing protection, gloves, steel-toed boots, respirators, fall protection equipment, or other required safety equipment while visiting operational or industrial locations.
• Must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Regular attendance, reliability, punctuality, responsiveness, and the ability to maintain consistent work performance are essential functions of the position.
The individual must also be able to wear and properly utilize appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to work or visit within areas where it is required. This includes hard hat, safety glasses/spoggles, respirators, ear plugs, steel toed shoes, or other protective equipment as required by the work performed and location the work is being done.
The Company expects and requires all employees to observe and fulfill all safety responsibilities as outlined in workplace safety training, and actively work toward maintaining a safe workplace. Failure to do so can result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Regular attendance and punctuality are required of all employees.
Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Employment at Thorpe Specialty Services Corporation is on an "at-will" basis. There is no contract of employment between Thorpe Specialty Services Corporation and anyone or all its employees unless explicitly stated elsewhere. Employment security cannot be guaranteed for or by any employee.
No Manager, Supervisor, or employee of the Company has any authority to enter into an agreement for employment for any specified period of time or to make an agreement for employment other than at-will.
Thorpe Specialty Services Corporation and its affiliates provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.