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Business Development Manager Portugal

Pipeline from zero: the Business Development Manager in Portugal opens the segments, verticals and accounts your company does not have yet. Candidates find our live BDM vacancies and EUR benchmarks below; employers get verified new-business hunters — not account managers with a new title — shortlisted in 2–4 weeks.

  • Live Business Development Manager vacancies in Portugal
  • EUR benchmarks for industrial new-business roles
  • Searches run in Portuguese by native-speaking consultants — local market, local language
Hire a Business Development Manager
Our niches
  • Machinery & plant engineering
  • Industrial technology
  • Recycling & environmental technology
2–4 weeks

to a shortlist of Business Development Managers in Portugal

5–9 weeks

from briefing to a signed new-business hire

0→1 pipeline

the mandate profile: building revenue where none exists yet

100% focus

industrial B2B — machinery, industrial technology & recycling

Vacancies

Business Development Manager jobs in Portugal

Open Business Development Manager positions in Portugal — pure new-business roles in industrial B2B: new segments, new verticals, new accounts.

No public Business Development Manager vacancy in Portugal right now — BD searches often run confidentially because they reveal which market a company is about to push into. Send your CV below to be matched against those unadvertised mandates.

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Hiring a Business Development Manager in Portugal?

Business development recruitment Portugal

New business is a different job than managing existing accounts

Every sales team says it hunts; very few people genuinely build pipeline from nothing. A Business Development Manager in Portugal is hired for exactly that: qualifying a new vertical — recycling plants, automation lines, a new customer segment across the Porto–Braga north, the Leiria–Marinha Grande moulds cluster and Greater Lisbon — creating the first meetings where no relationship exists, and converting a cold market into reference customers. It is the highest-rejection, highest-leverage role in industrial sales.

The hiring risk is well known: account managers relabel themselves as BDMs, and the difference only shows six months in, when the pipeline is still empty. As a boutique agency for technical sales we screen for evidence instead of vocabulary — deals that verifiably started from the candidate's own first contact, in industries adjacent to yours, with buying committees like the ones in Portuguese industry. Compensation is structured for the role's reality too: new business needs a base that carries a long ramp, benchmarked in EUR, and it helps to know that Portuguese gross salaries are paid in 14 instalments and every package includes a daily meal allowance (“subsídio de alimentação”) — a standard line item candidates expect.

Candidates: if your track record is genuinely 0→1, you are scarce in Portugal — and priced accordingly. Check the benchmarks, apply to the live roles above, or place an open application for the BD searches that never go public because they would announce a market push to competitors.

100+ companies expanded successfully with our placements

Salary benchmarks

Business Development Manager salary in Portugal

What does a Business Development Manager earn in Portugal? Annual gross benchmarks in EUR for industrial B2B, target role first:

Position Base salary OTE (on-target earnings)
Business Development Manager €35,000 – 48,000 €45,000 – 65,000
Country Manager Portugal €70,000 – 95,000 €90,000 – 125,000
Head of Sales Portugal €60,000 – 80,000 €80,000 – 110,000
Sales Manager Portugal €40,000 – 55,000 €52,000 – 75,000
Technical Sales Manager €38,000 – 50,000 €48,000 – 68,000
Area / Regional Sales Manager €32,000 – 45,000 €42,000 – 58,000
Technical Sales Engineer €30,000 – 42,000 €38,000 – 52,000

Source: JN Recruitment placement and interview data, industrial B2B sales, Portugal. Greater Lisbon prices 10–15% above the national range; the industrial north is more affordable than its export strength suggests.

Portugal Q&A

Business Development Manager Portugal: frequently asked questions

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In Portuguese industrial B2B, a Business Development Manager typically earns €35,000 – 48,000 base and €45,000 – 65,000 on-target earnings, annual gross. Because pipeline ramps are long in capital equipment, serious offers carry a solid base rather than aggressive variable — and note that Portuguese gross salaries are paid in 14 instalments and every package includes a daily meal allowance (“subsídio de alimentação”) — a standard line item candidates expect.

The Sales Manager owns revenue in an existing market: accounts, distributors, a running pipeline. The Business Development Manager is hired where that market does not exist yet — a new vertical, segment or application in Portugal — and is measured on created pipeline and first closed references rather than managed turnover. Companies that give one person both jobs usually get the existing-account half done and the new-business half postponed.

Choose by what blocks the deal. If openings fail commercially — no access, no urgency, no budget owner — you need the BDM profile: a commercial hunter. If openings fail technically — the customer's engineers must be convinced before anyone talks price — you need a Business Development Engineer who can run specification discussions personally. In Portugal we recruit both; see our dedicated Business Development Engineer page for the technical sibling.

Our public BDM vacancies in Portugal are listed on this page and on the open-positions board — but business development searches are confidential more often than any other sales role, because a BD hire announces where a company is heading next. Submitting an open application once puts you into those hidden searches; nothing is forwarded without your consent.

We trace specific deals: which ones started from the candidate's own first contact, how the first meeting was created, who the buying committee was, and what happened in the months before the close. Claims are cross-checked in references. Vocabulary is cheap — a verifiable 0→1 deal history in Portuguese industry is not, and that is the shortlist bar.

First shortlist in 2–4 weeks, signing typically within 5–9 weeks. Plan the start date around local rules: Portuguese resignation notice is roughly 30 days for shorter tenures and 60 days beyond two years of service, so a Portuguese hire is in front of your customers remarkably fast. Then budget a realistic ramp — in capital equipment, a good BDM shows a qualified pipeline in the first two quarters and first closed business within the year, not in month one.

Machinery and plant engineering, industrial technology, automation and recycling — exclusively. New-business success depends on vertical fluency: a BDM opening the recycling market in Portugal must talk sorting quotas and EU circular-economy funding, not generic value propositions. Our candidate map is organised by exactly these verticals.

Related searches

Sales roles we recruit in Portugal

The same boutique search covers every commercial role in the market — pick the profile you are looking for, or looking to become.

Business Development Managers in other markets

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Candidate reviews

What placed candidates say about working with us

Real LinkedIn recommendations from candidates we placed in technical sales roles across Europe — names, roles and words are theirs.

Having worked with several recruiters throughout my career, I can confidently say that Natalia stands out as one of the most exceptional. She wasn’t simply focused on filling a position — she was truly committed to finding the best possible match for both the employer and the candidate. That genuine care made the entire experience feel like working with a trusted partner.

Stefan Wegner
Stefan Wegner Key Account Manager, Conveying Technology & Intralogistics
July 2026

She was incredibly supportive, responsive, and committed from start to finish, always making sure I felt informed and comfortable throughout every stage of the process. It is rare to meet someone in recruitment who combines professionalism with such a personal and caring approach.

Marta Lewandowska
Marta Lewandowska Sales Manager, Royal Apollo Group
May 2026

She maintained clear and regular communication, always keeping me informed and ensuring that every step of the process ran smoothly. Even after the recruitment was completed, she continued to reach out to learn firsthand about my progress in my new role.

Miguel Pavia
Miguel Pavia Business Development Engineer
March 2026

Beyond her professional skills, what truly sets her apart is her genuine care and empathy. She takes the time to understand not just the qualifications, but also the motivations. She builds trust easily and creates a positive experience for the candidate.

Josep Capdevila
Josep Capdevila Downstream Solutions, Packaging Industry
October 2025

From our very first conversation, her approachable attitude and clear, assertive communication made a world of difference. She truly listened, understood my goals, and guided me through each step with professionalism and genuine care. A true partner in your professional journey!

Ana Conejero
Ana Conejero Business Development Manager
May 2025

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Jonas Strambach – Director & Senior Recruiter, JN Recruitment
Our mission is simple: placements that open new markets.
Jonas Strambach Director & Senior Recruiter, JN Recruitment
Jonas Strambach – Director & Senior Recruiter, JN Recruitment

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