Senior Relationship Manager

Location:

United States (Remote with travel) Role Purpose

Lead the development and expansion of strategic partnerships with leading US vape and tobacco companies. Drive business growth by positioning the company as a trusted, compliant, and high-quality manufacturing partner capable of meeting the stringent requirements of top-tier clients. Act as liaison for strategic customer programs by coordinating cross-functional execution, gathering market insights, and facilitating engagement on regulatory matters throughout the customer lifecycle.

• Target and develop relationships with the largest legal US vape and tobacco players key employees.
• Build and execute account strategies for large, complex organizations.
• Navigate multi-level stakeholders across procurement, R&D, regulatory, legal, quality, operations and executive leadership.
• Convert opportunities into long-term, high-value strategic partnerships.
• Develop trusted advisor relationships with key decision makers and influencers.

• Act as the local project lead for key customer development programs from opportunity qualification through commercialization.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams both internally and at customer including Product Management, R&D, Regulatory, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain and Operations to ensure successful project execution.
• Input on project milestones, risks, dependencies and customer deliverables, escalating issues proactively where needed.
• Ensure customer commitments are translated into clear internal action plans with defined & detailed ownership and timelines.
• Support New Product Introduction (NPI) activities and product launches.

• Position the company as a credible, innovative alternative to incumbent suppliers.
• Translate customer requirements into actionable product, technical and operational plans.
• Ensure alignment with customer expectations regarding product quality and reliability, regulatory readiness (FDA, PMTA and applicable US requirements), supply chain resilience, and speed of execution and innovation.

• Develop productive working relationships with customers' regulatory, scientific and compliance teams.
• Support commercial discussions involving FDA, PMTA and product compliance considerations in close collaboration with internal Regulatory Affairs specialists.
• Help customers understand the company's regulatory capabilities, quality systems and product development approach.
• Gather customer feedback on regulatory expectations, emerging requirements and compliance challenges to help shape business priorities.
• Represent the organization during customer regulatory meetings and technical discussions as appropriate.

• Act as the voice of the customer internally and the voice of the company externally.
• Work closely with Product Management, Project Management, Regulatory Affairs, R&D, Quality, Global Sales and Operations teams.
• Drive alignment across functions to deliver customer commitments on time and with high quality.
• Continuously monitor the US nicotine and tobacco market, including competitors, customers, technologies and regulatory developments.
• Gather commercial, technical and regulatory insights through customer engagement, industry events and market interactions.
• Identify emerging customer needs, whitespace opportunities and market trends.
• Provide strategic recommendations to Product Management, Commercial Team and leadership on portfolio development, pricing, innovation priorities and go-to-market strategies.
• Share competitive intelligence to support business planning and strategic decision-making.

• Contribute to high-value commercial negotiations with sophisticated procurement and executive teams.
• Support structuring agreements considering pricing, supply terms, intellectual property, development costs, quality, regulatory responsibilities and long-term partnership objectives.
• Protect company interests while enabling sustainable business growth.
• Proven track record developing and growing strategic accounts within large US enterprises.
• Strong business development mindset with the ability to originate and close complex opportunities.
• Skilled in managing long-cycle, high-value negotiations and strategic partnerships.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional customer programs without direct authority.
• Strong project planning, prioritization and…