(Senior) Business Development Director

Upperton is the CDMO partner of choice for oral, nasal and pulmonary dosage forms from pre-clinical to late phase manufacture.

Our defining traits lie in our adaptability and nimbleness. We also pride ourselves in our culture, winning our category in the 2025 CDMO Leadership Awards and being officially recognised in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025

Now is a great time to join our team. Upperton’s business is growing, with significant investment in our newly expanded facilities enabling us to develop our sterile fill / finish and commercial manufacturing services.

With responsibility for the growth of our sales at a range of target regions and accounts across Europe, the Business Development Director will play a key role in this expansion of our business and of our commercial team.

The successful candidate will have a strong commercial track record in the CDMO / CRO market. They will be able to demonstrate success in developing relationships with new customers, key accounts, C-suite contacts, investors, biotech ecosystems and hubs.

Our customer-facing teams are key to our approach: science-led expertise providing unparalleled project delivery. You will be working closely with existing functions including our Subject Matter Experts, Business Development, Proposal Writing and Marketing.

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Ability to present and discuss with technical credibility the specific platforms where Upperton have a market-leading reputation.
• Demonstrable ability to develop long-term client relationships and evidence of building repeat business
• Accountable for achieving ambitious sales targets for new business.
• Responsible for the entire business development process from lead generation to contract close.
• Development of a comprehensive business development strategy ensuring sales targets are delivered
• Responsible for Business intelligence- understand and monitor the competitive landscape within the CDMO sector
• Work closely with Project Management colleagues to monitor project progression and identify potential upsell and/or cross-sell opportunities.

Essential Skills and experience:

• A suitable level of scientific understanding of the drug product development process.
• Experience in the field of dosage form development with a successful track record in selling development programs that range from early feasibility through to dosage form development and clinical manufacture, or related industry experience.
• Self starter
• Excellent, up-to-date knowledge of the marketplace, clients, and competitors
• Ability to understand the commercial and scientific aspects of drug product development across a broad range of dosage forms
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
• Proficient in the use of CRM software

What you will get in return

We offer employees not only a competitive salary but also an excellent suite of benefits, including:

• 25 days holiday and your birthday off!
• Company contributory pension package
• Life insurance
• Private Medical Insurance through Vitality
• Internal and external training courses and professional development support
• Competitive Incentive Compensation Plan

We know it is the little things that make every day special, so we also organise employee events for you to attend throughout the year, like our annual Christmas party, summer party and charity fundraising events.